MUSIC REVIEW: Teenage Dream by Katy Perry

TEENAGE DREAM by Katy Perry
(Released 2010, Capitol Records)

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Last time we saw Katy Perry, she was newly engaged to "comedian" Russell Brand, starred opposite 3Oh!3 in their video for "Starstrukk," and three singles from her debut album dominated the Billboard Hot 100 chart ("I Kissed A Girl," "Hot & Cold," "Waking Up In Vegas").

Ever since she released her controversial singles, "Ur So Gay" and "I Kissed A Girl," Katy Perry has been a polarizing figure in the GLBTQ community because she constantly sends mixed signals. Personally, I love her because I've realized while that she may not be a die-hard GLBTQ Rights advocate, she is a champion of sexual freedom and experimentation, and I respect that. In fact, I've always been drawn to female singers who openly express their sexual desires, like Madonna, Britney, and Janet. With her newest album, Katy does a marvelous job of paying tribute to the ideas of Hollywood fantasy and hormone-driven teenage love/lust.

The entire album appeals to twenty-somethings like myself, as Katy takes a lyrical stroll down memory lane and reiterates that she's still got the sexual appetite of a teenager. For that reason, I love the title track, "Teenage Dream," in which Perry roars lines like "I'll let you put your hands on me / In my skin-tight jeans / Be your Teenage Dream tonight!" On that same note, the lead single, "California Gurls," is more of an homage to Hollywood perfection and immortality. The tune is pure sex, literally so hot it'll melt your popsicle. Honestly, I hated the song during its first few months of airplay but NOW that I've heard all the other crap on the radio, it stands apart as an 80s-inspired bubblegum pop song.


Another favorite of mine is "Peacock," for its brashness and unbelievable lack of subtlety. The song is SO ridiculous with an explicit chorus that within a week of the album's release, it already had dozens of YouTube tributes and parodies. "Peacock" is a legitimately fun song with a synthetic Spanish guitar giving it some extra texture. Next on the album is, in my opinion, the best track, "Circle the Drain." A song about a self-destructive lover (we've all experienced them) with a ballsy chorus, "You fall asleep during foreplay / 'Cause the pills you take are more your forte / I'm not sticking around to watch you go down / Wanna be your lover / Not your fucking mother / Can't be your savior / I don't have the power / I'm not gonna stay and watch you Circle The Drain."


Other songs also brought me back to my teenage years, most notably "The One That Got Away." I'm sure we've all looked back on the past and wondered, "What if I dated/fucked/married so-and-so? Would my life be any different?" This track talks about a missed opportunity at romance. Later on the album, Perry once again pays homage to the 80s with "E.T." about an extraterrestrial lover. With its depressing lyrics but upbeat background music, the next song, "Who Am I Living For?" simultaneously sounds like an 80s club song and Justin Timberlake's "Cry Me A River."

Katy wakes from her "Teenage Dream" with two of my favorite tracks off the album, "Pearl" and "Not Like The Movies." "Pearl" is a ballad so sad that it literally makes me want to cry, because so many times, I've seen my friends change when they start dating someone. It's a lament about wasted potential: "She is a pyramid / But with him she's just a grain of sand / This love's too strong like Mice & Men / Squeezing out the life that she'd be leading." And finally, "Not Like The Movies" once again pays tribute to the idealistic and unrealistic concept of Hollywood romance, "cinematic and dramatic with the perfect ending."

With "Teenage Dream," Katy Perry has definitely taken it up a notch from her debut album, "One of the Boys." She's still growing as an artist, and this latest effort features an excellent balance of sensuous dance tracks and haunting lyrically-driven ballads. Kudos, Katy!