The pop singer, Katy Perry recently released her sophomore album entitled “Teenage Dream”. To recall a bit of her history, she had her first break into the music business was with her single that took a stab at a self-absorbed ex-boyfriend. “Ur So Gay” grabbed the people’s attention but didn’t make the top hits chart. Her next controversial single “I Kissed a Girl” did though, making number one song for weeks after its release. Her freshmen album soon followed in 2008 titled “One of the Boys”; it did extremely well in sales and on the top hits chart. Perry’s new album “Teenage Dream” has twelve songs on it, the first one being the inspiration for the theme of the entire album. The songs are listed: 1. Teenage Dream 2. Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F) 3. California Gurls 4.Firework 5. Peacock 6. Circle The Drain 7.The One That Got Away 8. E.T. 9.Who Am I Living For 10. Pearl 11. Hummingbird Heartbeat 12. Not Like The Movies. There are basically two different types of songs on this album: the bubble gum pop that somehow sells and the songs with actual meaning and relevance to life.
The tracks “Last Friday Night”, “California Gurls”, “E.T.”, and “Peacock” all fall under the category of the bubble gum pop. They have the techno auto tuned beats with the fun, flirty, and slightly inappropriate lyrics. For a perfect example “California Gurls” chorus “California gurls we're unforgettable/Daisy dukes, bikinis on top/ Sun-kissed skin, so hot, we'll melt your popsicle/California gurls, we're undeniable/ Fine, fresh, fierce, we got it on lock/ West Coast represent, now put your hands up”. The songs entirely about teenage girls trying to be sexy on the beach partying in the summertime; immature lyrics all relating to sex and drinking, like most people would expect. I must comment though on how well the songs stay with the theme of the album, for each song is easily relatable to an average teen’s lifestyle: consisting of partying and boys/girls. Some songs are in the middle of the two categories, they have that pop song sound and most of the lyrics have that same vibe. Yet particular verses used in the songs “The One that Got Away”, “Teenage Dream” and “Hummingbird Heartbeat” have substantial meaning; for they relate to first loves as well as loses, and the feeling of those high school sweetheart relationships; emotions everyone has had and can recall.
The compositions “Firework”, “Who Am I Living For”, “Circle The Drain”, “Pearl”, and “Not Like The Movies” are in the group I titled as songs with actual meaning and relevance to life. These are the tunes that express the painful chapters of (teenage) life: finding out who you are, why you’re here, dealing with abusive/destructive relationships, and the infamous line “there is a person out there for you, keep looking”. My personal favorites of the few listed songs are “Firework”, “Pearl”, and my top choice is “Circle The Drain”! “Circle The Drain” is the one song that seems like it doesn’t fit on the album, but at the same time it’s necessary for it to be there. For one it has a rock and roll sound instead of Perry’s usual pop which sets up for quite a shocking change when listening through the album. The song talks about a girl [Perry] being fed up with her drug using boyfriend, saying how she’s “not sticking around to watch him go down”; it’s an extremely powerful song for you can hear all of Perry’s raw emotions (you can also hear some choice, explicit words she uses in this song). “Wanna be your lover, not your f*****g mother/ can’t be your savior, I don't have the power/I'm not gonna stay and watch you circle the drain” is just a sneak peak of the vile things she has to say in “Circle The Drain”. (For the sake of a little extra info/gossip it’s believed this song is about her ex-boyfriend, singer Travie McCoy, who she had a long term relationship with before marrying actor Russell Brand.)
“Teenage Dream” is a bit more mainstream than Perry’s pervious albums, content wise (in some of the songs). Yet, at the same time it contains a smaller amount of juvenile pop songs and a few more thoughtful tunes then her other albums. All in all Katy Perry’s album “Teenage Dream” was a good, entertaining listen, while it also pulled up some nice, and not so nice personal memories of my present teenage years. The fact that an album in the standard pop genre of music can do this has me convinced that it’s a fine album and is worthy of your time and money.