Let's go back to times when Katy Perry was still Katy Perry, or at least she looked like one. It was the time when she was regularly in tabloids, either due to her provocative and eccentric style, or because of her unusual marriage with comedian Russell Brand. This was also an era when everything Katy Perry released became a massive hit.
Contrary to her debut One Of The Boys that contained some scandalous songs (I Kissed A Girl, Ur So Gay), Teenage Dream was a casual summer record bursting from catchy tunes you could sing in the shower or in your car. Remember when California Gurls, a song that featured Snoop Dogg, was constantly on the radio? It was also a number one single in United States. This song can be used as a frame for the whole album, because the rest fall into the category of 90s pop, influenced by bands such as Ace of Base. Modern production with stream of electronic particles were there to make sure nothing sounds copy/pasted.
Besides Snoop Dogg, the album featured many other musicians who made sure that Teenage Dream is every teenager's favorite album. Video collaborators made sure that grown up man have something to look at. There were talks about collab with Rivers Cuomo from Weezer, and although it never happened, the album often sounded like a female take on this band's music. I mean, just play title track once again and you will understand what I am saying.
Firework gave Katy Perry third number one single from the same album, cementing her status as a pop icon. I still remember how pleasantly surprised I was the first time I have heard string section on Firework. The rest of the album was not as luring as these three numbers. Peacock had a strange rhythm and hackneyed matrix which proved the hypothesis about big singles and small albums. Circle The Drain was weak electro-pop, while The One That Got Away lacked big chorus. Closing ballad Not Like The Movies was pure shi*, and Who Am I Living For and Pearl showed us how it sounds like to be a bad copy of Kylie Minogue. There is one more bright moment, though. E.T. revealed Katy Perry in T.a.t.u. fashion, with interesting electronic arrangement and cool vocal interpretation.
Was there a particular reason to throwback to this record? Not really, other than the fact that my genderfluid friend played it the last weekend while we were playing monopoly. I thought it might be refreshing to cover some pop for #tbt instead of metal. However, I am sure some of you will enjoy this reminder of Teenage Dream.
