Katy Perry
Teenage Dream

THE REVIEW

The enchanting Katy Perry, after cashing in on the good sales of "One Of The Boys," decides to return to the global scene with her third album, titled "Teenage Dream." The cover image sees the singer depicted atop a white-pink cloud, lost in her teenage dreams, indeed. The album is actually produced for teenagers, departing a bit from the pop-rock of its predecessor to favor dance parts, a choice undeniably linked to commercial success.

The overall idea that emerges after listening is one of banality; banality in the lyrics, banality in the "instrumental" parts, so to speak, banality in the vocal melody. In short, an album that requires very little time to be put together. 

The release of "Teenage Dream" was preceded by the hugely successful singles "California Gurls," yet another superfluous, banal tribute to the East Coast, and "Teenage Dream," a title track that is not very impactful and leaves no lasting impression. The commercial success of the singles essentially compensates the artist for an insignificant work, negligible and seemingly tailored for the young generation.

There are, in any case, "salvageable" tracks: "Last Friday Night," more linked to the pop-rock mold of "One Of The Boys" and a unicum within the album for having a sax solo, "Humminbird Heartbeat," and the praiseworthy "Firework." In the latter, worthy of a note of merit, Katy Perry "enhances" her voice, often criticized. 

The rest falls or, rather, degrades into mediocrity: with "The One That Got Away" it reaches the pinnacle of that banality which permeates the product; some managed to call "Peacock" a "fun episode" due to its more than ambivalent lyrics ("I wanna see your peacock-cock-cock") when in reality there's little to laugh about; "Circle The Drain" and "What Am I Living For?" are anonymous tracks that tire after a few seconds.

We are thus faced with a qualitatively negligible product, filled with mushy songs and few ideas. But, on the other hand, who would advise the beautiful Katy to change direction when this way she has made history on the American charts for producing 5 singles from the same album (and perhaps it's not over) that went straight to number one? (5/10)