Social media was awash with celebratory messages and flower puns last Friday, as Katy Perry delivered her sixth album, Smile. Perry, 35, took to instagram at midnight to announce the album release. Her post, accompanied with a video of her clown-concept album art, proclaimed “IT’S HERE! IT’S REALLY HERE! 🙃 I finally got back my smile!”
The album release concluded two days of significant events for the singer. Just the day before, Perry had given birth to her first child. Perry and her fiancé, Orlando Bloom, used their official instagram accounts to welcome their appropriately named daughter, Daisy Dove, to the world. Perry had been teasing the name for months, the album’s lead single ‘Daisies’ being released in May 2020.
Just before the album was officially released Perry had posted a jokey instagram photo of a woman throwing a child to her partner. She cheekily concluded her midnight album launch statement with “(sent from my hospital bed lol)”.
Smile was originally set for release on August 14, but at the end of July the singer reported there would be a two week delay due to “unavoidable production delays”. At that stage, Perry said she didn’t know which would arrive first, the baby or the new album.
For Perry, Smile, represents a return to the pure pop that drove her early stardom, being released exactly ten years after the hugely successful Teenage Dream. It comes three years after her last album, Witness. With no collaborations amongst its twelve tracks, Perry remarked; “Hope this record puts [a smile] on your face”.
Smile comes after a difficult period in the singer’s personal life. Following on from a previous split from Bloom and rumours of depression, Perry described the album as being about “my journey towards the light — with stories of resilience, hope, and love.”
The album includes the singles; “Never Really Over,” “Daisies,” and “Smile” all of which saw disappointing chart performances by Perry’s previous standards. However, with a new found sense of self empowerment pervading the lyrics of the album, and a new ‘bundle of joy’ with her Fiancé, Perry has plenty to Smile about.
Words by Andrew Butcher
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