Katy Perry's new album "Smile" garners mixed reviews

[corpsetranger]

3 minutes ago, bliss said:

Stream this queen instead, new album out now:

 

We like Toni, but we stan Chanté

 

[Hooked-On-Knee]

5 hours ago, Blackout2006 said:

Receipts?

What she did with Justin with that Britney blowup doll. Can't Hold Us Down is a joke to me because of what she was saying about other women at the time.

(I'm not a bitter stan who hates Christina 17 years later, I just find it hypocritical given the things she was doing at the time.)

[ralphcornio]

15 hours ago, GMFlop said:

 

Great, a new vulture has finally shows up. 

You can either handle the truth or say nothing at all hun.

[GMFlop]

Just now, ralphcornio said:

You can eiter handle the truth or say nothing at all hun.

What truth? My first post was meant as a joke to the exhalers around here, you nimrod. 

[carlosallauca]

TUCKED is giving me life

[bitbitboi]

I honestly haven't read any reviews, I just listened to the whole thing and I'm amazed at how GOOD it is. I didn't find it boring at all (except for "Champagne Problems", which was surprisingly repetitive and unimaginative for such a cool name really), and as well I loved the lyrics, she's a quirky and smart songwriter, and she always has something to say, and I love that about her.

[Stefani]

Some of these reviews - yikes. They're really going all in and dragging Katy by her weave.

It's weird that a lot of reviews are dragging Katy for not growing or changing her sound on Smile though considering that she's never been known to be the type of artist who evolves as a songwriter? I mean jokes aside, she's never been a Bjork in terms of lyricism. 

[Blackout2006]

On 8/25/2020 at 6:26 AM, Invitation said:

Whether releasing 'Smile' so close to the anniversary of her most-loved album is a coincidence or not, Perry could really do without the comparisons as they show just how far she’s fallen. While 'Teenage Dream' beamed with vitality, melody, and the kind of *** appeal that veered more towards wholesome cheekiness rather than outright raunchiness, Smile leans on tired cliché and outdated dance-lite production.

This is why the first half of the record is like being stuck with someone who keeps talking about their emotions but will never let you in or tell you what’s actually wrong. It’s full of the kind of generic, empty platitudes that have kept P!nk with a roof over her head for over twenty years, like The Dalai Lama recast as a suburban Wine Mom. It’s easy to pick lyrics in isolation without context, but lines like “Every tear has been a lesson” and “There’s gotta be rain if I want the rainbows” are reductive and hackneyed. You’ll get more profundity and nuanced insight into the human condition from a fortune cookie.

Musically, Perry’s refusal to adapt to the times leaves her lagging behind. Put any of the songs on Smile up against recent releases from artists like Dua Lipa or Charli XCX, and it’s like she’s from a bygone generation. Any of its tracks could happily sit on a commercial radio playlist from 2004 without raising an eyebrow and would likely fade from memory the second they’d stopped playing.

If Katy Perry found the creation of 'Smile' a rewarding and cathartic experience, then all power to her. Whilst we all have our battles at times, fighting them under the glare of the public eye can surely only make them tougher, and it’s a level of scrutiny most of us will never experience. However, taken as a standalone piece of art, 'Smile' truly isn’t worthy of your time. It’s a “Live, Laugh, Love” cushion, it’s a faux-inspirational quote over a stock image of a sunset, it makes “Do you ever feel like a plastic bag?” seem like a deep philosophical rumination on the transient nature of existence. In short, it’s no substance, and not even that much style

[Invitation]