Katy Perry – “Smile”

It is no secret that after Katy Perry released her album Witness, she went through a difficult period. In several interviews she revealed that business failure and negative criticism made her enter a kind of storm in which she saw nothing. Fortunately, with claws, she rose and arrived in an epiphany. After announcing the dates and name of her new album—Perry’s new album, Smile, comes out on August 14^th—the singer released the album’s title track. In a press interview during the release of the new single, she commented, “I wrote this song when I was coming through one of the darkest periods of my life. When I listen to it now, it’s a great reminder that I made it through. It’s three minutes of energizing hopefulness.” Despite sharing the same essence as her previous single, “Daisies,” “Smile” is more energetic but less deep.

Perry abandoned the guitar, piano and synthesizer aesthetic of intimacy and went for a walk around the Circus. Mixing several samples with keyboards that sound like trumpets at times, Perry shows a catchier, more pop and even brighter track. Unfortunately, that choice made the track seem less confessional and intimate than her previous single and more like another track about not caring what others say and just smiling. Even though the lyrics have more lines and more memorable passages—like “But every tear has been a lesson/Rejection can be God’s protection”—the track does not sound so intimate and deep, however, that does not mean that this is not a fun BOP.