Review: Katy Perry sheds the ‘purposeful pop’ thesis for a much-needed dose of optimism
What is the purpose of “purposeful pop” today?
That phrase was Katy Perry’s go-to as she rolled out her latest album, “Witness,” in June. It tried to sum up the tough job she’d given herself — to advocate for liberal causes and newer, deeper sounds, while still hitting the beats of her hugely successful pop career over the last decade.
By some counts, it didn’t quite pencil out — singles like “Chained to the Rhythm” and “Swish Swish” didn’t dominate culture like cuts from 2010’s “Teenage Dream” did. And to promote the album, she opted for a “Big Brother”-like 72-hour online live stream, a rather strange roll-out even by today’s stunt-focused marketing standards.
But then again, most of us had all been a little distracted by the news this past year. What kind of escape could Perry provide in the midst of seemingly never-ending political and cultural divisiveness? And what kind of advocate could the generally optimistic artist be at a time when her side was feeling rather pessimistic?
On Tuesday night at Staples Center, Perry essentially went back to basics — enormous, colorful sets with eye-popping props, strong vocals that kept her at the front of top-40 live performers, and a presence now more refined than radicalized. She may not be changing minds politically, but she might earn Katy Perry a new look in 2017.
As Taylor Swift’s “Reputation” stumbles out of the gate (an over-saturated marketing blitz, a threatened lawsuit against a blogger and some unforgivably weak singles), maybe it’s fair to say that pop music is kind of done with white women saviors for the moment.
But that dismisses what Perry actually tried to do with “Witness,” which was a pretty noble project in itself. She attempted to pair deep-cut ’90s house and modern electro-trap with earnest descriptions of modern youth malaise, plus a little seasoning of delicious, gossipy pettiness.
When it landed, it was like nothing else in her catalog. But fans didn’t quite take to it as they had her past work, and at Tuesday’s set, it was obvious that Perry saw a need to course correct. So she returned to her core themes at Staples Center — cartoonish fun, an unbeatable volley of chart-topping singles and a wink-nudge at her personal past that, unlike Swift’s recent singles, grounded her rather than defined her.
In this context, the “Witness” cuts were some of her best. “Swish Swish” and even the oft-loathed “Bon Appetit,” once freed from their obligations to “purposeful pop,” turned out to be exemplary Robin S.- or CeCe Peniston-style dance tracks. Songs that used to feel like outliers, like “Dark Horse” or “E.T.,” now suddenly had a context in a set more interested in the deeper, tougher edges of Perry’s sound.
When she didn’t have a mission statement to live up to, she could be herself, which remains one of the most gifted, enjoyable and powerful figures in all top 40.
And of course, she had hits on hits. A “Teenage Dream” mini-medley; a ballad portion where she gave a shout-out to Hollywood venue Hotel Cafe from atop a spinning planet; a one-song encore of “Firework” that felt like a welcome reminder of human worth and hope.
But walking out of the show, it was worth imaging what Tuesday night’s homecoming set could have been — a chance for Perry to fully dive into an exciting new sound and still-necessary message that refracted our anxious time back to us. Maybe that’s too much to ask from a pop star who still very much needs her old structures to stay fun and appealing. But what’s the purpose of pop, if not to push back?
In fact, Purity Ring’s opening set underlined how Perry is truly interested in challenging her audience. For the first half-hour of the show, the duo’s heavy-lidded bass music took some of the elements of Perry’s sound — shimmering electro-pop, coy vocals and refined melodicism — and used them for dreamier, more complicated ends.
The band worked on three tracks for “Witness,” and for an opening arena set pitched to an unfamiliar crowd, it showed Perry’s young fans that other acts are also doing this work alongside — and ahead — of her.
♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
Katy Perry
When: 7 p.m. Wednesday; 7:30 p.m. Friday
Where: Staples Center, 1111 S. Figueroa St.
Tickets: $50.50-$200.50
Info: www.staplescenter.com
For breaking music news, follow @augustbrown on Twitter.
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