I have never heard Katy Perry before I listened to this album so I wasn't entirely sure what kind of music I would get. I will admit that I already had an idea of her style of music, mostly because I know that teenage girls are her main audience. I was not let down once I started going through the songs. Her music is the definition of young, from the sound to the subject matter. It sounded like it could be the soundtrack to Degrassi with all the talk of partying, having sex, drug abuse, and fairy tale endings. Basically, it was the musical personification of our dreams in high school. Good times those were.
Anyway, I just established that the theme here is "youth", but let me zero in on a couple of things. First, the idea of sex is pushed a bit much, which I find a little disturbing considering Perry's target audience. Not to mention that it's not cryptic at all; what she is talking about is actually very clear. The songs "Hummingbird Heartbeat" and "Peacock" are prime examples. In "Peacock", she says "come on baby let me see/what you're hiding underneath". Not so bad, huh? How about this... "let me see your peacock, cock, cock"...and having it repeated a couple of times. Or how about in "Hummingbird Heartbeat" when she sings, "constantly craving for a taste of your sticky sweet". Now, I have a hard time believing that she is seriously promoting sex among irresponsible teenagers, but someone could make a case that she does with these lyrics.
Another thing I want to talk about is the interesting mix of serious topics that are discussed. Some young people suffer from drug abuse and its downward spiral, which is covered in the song "Circle the Drain". She also tells the story of a girl who is being held back by a controlling boyfriend in "Pearl". These subjects refer back to the overall theme of the album but reminds us that life isn't all partying and fun. Serious subjects can effect young people just like they can for adults.
The last thing I wanted to address were the songs that she released as singles. First, "California Gurls" featuring Snoop Dogg...was one of the corniest things I have ever heard in my life. However, it had an appeal to a mass amount of people considering what the song was about. Having Snoop Dogg make an appearance made it even more corny for me, and his verse wasn't even good. I just had a whole heap of issues with this song and I would be happy if I never heard it again. As for "E.T." I was tempted to like this song, but not because of her. The entire time I was listening to it, I thought of that song by T.A.T.U. called "All the Things She Said", which is a much better version of what Perry was trying to do. I just couldn't get past it, so that single was lost upon me.
To sum everything up, I can't stress enough how much this album is for the younger crowd. If you are older than 18, then this is probably not for you. It was just too campy for me and I wouldn't listen to it again. My rating: NO, 2 stars!
