“Gotta say it’s really been a while, but now I got back my smile,” pop superstar Katy Perry sings on her latest single titled “Smile.” How did she get her smile back and where did it go in the first place? Well, that’s a different article for a different time. But today, I’ll be reviewing one of the best pop albums in history. Filled with catchy hooks, fun pop production and loads of charisma, this album managed to produce not one, not two, but FIVE chart-topping singles. This album is your dream album, my dream album and the Teenage Dream.
I don’t think that I could talk about this album without mentioning its many iconic singles. The lead single “California Gurls” (not “Girls,” that’s SOOOO 2009) features California rapper Snoop Dogg and was a reinvention of Perry’s sound at the time. Her debut album One of the Boys was mostly a pop album with a few splashes of rock influence, but this song was pop music at its purest. Perry singles “You can travel the world, but nothing comes close to the golden coast / Once you party with us, you’ll be falling in love” in the pre-chorus over a four on the floor kick pattern, a snare and some chords. Little did Perry know that her life would change shortly after releasing this song.
The second single was the title track “Teenage Dream,” but the single after that is probably the most iconic of them all. “Firework” is a motivational pop anthem that cemented Perry’s place in the music industry. The song peaked at #1, like four other singles on the album, and was praised for not only its good songwriting and production but its message. Perry sings “'Cause baby, you're a firework, come on, show 'em what you're worth / Make 'em go, "Aah, aah, aah" as you shoot across the sky” in the chorus of the song.
Don’t worry though, the rest of the album’s songs are just as good as its singles. “Peacock” is a provocative double-entendre stuffed song that Perry actually described as a Pride anthem. The production is upbeat and reminiscent of a modern and faster “Hollaback Girl” by Gwen Stefani. “Not Like the Movies” is the closing track on the album. The piano ballad is about how Perry had not yet experienced a love so cinematic and dramatic that you would see in the movies. She sings “I didn't feel the fairytale feeling, no / Am I a stupid girl for even dreaming that I could?” in the pre-chorus of the song.
In conclusion, Teenage Dream marked a turning point in Perry’s career and solidified her spot as one of the or THE main pop superstar of the early 2010s.
Stream Teenage Dream by Katy Perry on Spotify and Apple Music.
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