Katy Perry: Prism review

Three years removed from her last release, Teenage Dream, we find Katy Perry has grown in different ways since 2010.  Like all of us life has happened for the much paid attention to pop star.  She had a HUGE surge of worldwide success with Teenage Dream and played many shows around the world to support it, she married and then divorced Russell Brand and her massively popular 3D movie. Don’t forget her role as Smurfette in both Smurf movies, plus she had a few singles here and there to let fans know she’s still around but fans really didn’t know what to expect from her with the new release. After months of working on new material from late last year fans finally got to hear “Roar” in mid-August which has been back and forth dueling with friendly pop queen Lady Gaga’s “Applause.” “Roar” definitely stands alone as a great lead single and the album’s first song.  In mid-September and early October fans got to hear new singles “Walking on Air” and “Dark Horse (feat Juicy J).”  Lastly we are experiencing “Unconditionally,” as Prism was released on October 22. All four singles are great starters but for those who are not sure about the rest of the album be assured the rest of Prism is just as good if not better than anything else Perry has ever put out to this date with the standout being “Birthday,” “This is How We Do,” “International Smile,” “This Moment,” “By the Grace of God,” “Spiritual” and “It Takes Two.” Lyrically we hear Perry take on love, self-empowerment, sex, romance, religion and her relationship with God, as well as learning from past mistakes.  Other notes of interest is that if you’re looking for a good quality pop album that you could play on your computer, phone, stereo this album has it.  It’s got lots of vocal ranges that are well within Perry’s powerhouse vocals and the beats mixed into the new songs that sound fantastic. Rating: 10/10 -Matt Robinette