Album Review: Witness - Katy Perry

Katheryn Hudson, professionally known as Katy Perry, is a singer-songwriter from California, U.S.

Throughout her childhood, Katheryn moved across the country as her parents (Mary & Maurice) set up churches, they are Pentecostal pastors. She grew up primarily listening to Gospel music, before discovering Pop music through CD's she sneaked from her friends. Katheryn began vocal training at the age of 9, and began singing in church from then onwards.

When she was 15, and her singing career began, she caught the eye of Steve Thomas and Jennifer Knapp, who took her to Nashville, Tennessee, to improve her songwriting skills. She began recording demos, and shortly was signed to Red Hill Records, where she recorded her debut album, 'Katy Hudson'. Unfortunately, Katy was commercially unsuccessful, selling an estimated 200 copies. The label ceased operations in December 2001, and Katy transitioned from gospel music to secular music.

When she was 17, Katy moved to Los Angeles, and briefly changed her performance name to Katheryn Perry to avoid confusion with the actress Kate Hudson. However, she later adopted the stage name Katy Perry, using her mother's maiden name. In 2004, she signed to Glen Ballard's label, Java, which was affiliated with The Island Def Jam Music Group. After working on a solo record, it got shelved due to Java being dropped. However, Ballard introduced Katy to Tim Devine, an A&R executive at Columbia Records, and was signed. Over the next two years, Katy wrote and recorded material, as well as working with major songwriters. Unfortunately, Katy was dropped from Columbia in 2006, just as her record was near completion.

Once Columbia dropped Katy, Angelica Cob-Baehler, a publicity executive at the label, took Katy's demos to Virgin Records chairman, Jason Flom. In April 2007, Katy signed to Capitol Records. After writing and recording songs for her second album, a digital EP, led by 'Your So Gay', a track from the upcoming album, 'One Of The Boys', was released to create interest. Perry released her first single, 'I Kissed A Girl', in April, 2008. The single reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. Shortly after, her second album, 'One Of The Boys', was released in June, and that reached number nine on the U.S. Billboard 200. The second single, 'Hot N Cold' was released in September and became the album's second successful single, reaching number three on the Billboard Hot 100. Two more singles, 'Thinking Of You' and 'Waking Up In Vegas', were released in 2009, reaching the top 30 of the Hot 100. Perry embarked on her first headlining world tour, the 'Hello Katy' tour, in 2009 to support 'One Of The Boys'. Whilst on her tour, Perry recorded a live album, 'MTV Unplugged', which featured five tracks from OOTB and two new songs, 'Hackensack' and 'Brick By Brick'.

In May 2010, Perry released 'California Girls', featuring rapper Snoop Dogg. This was the lead single from her third studio album, 'Teenage Dream', and reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100. In July, she released the second single from the album, 'Teenage Dream', which also reached number one on Billboard. Continuing with this success, 'Teenage Dream', the album, was released in August and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. In October, 'Firework' was released as the third single, and also went straight to number one on the Hot 100.

In 2011, a remixed version of the song 'E.T.', featuring rapper Kanye West, was released as the fourth single. It reached number one on the Hot 100 chart, and stayed there for 5 non-consecutive weeks, making 'Teenage Dream' the ninth album in history to produce four number one singles on the Hot 100. The fifth single, 'Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)', was released in June and Perry became the first female artist to achieve five number one Hot 100 songs from one album, and the second artist, following Micheal Jackson with his album 'Bad'. In September, she set another new record by becoming the first artist to spend 69 consecutive weeks in the top ten of the Hot 100. In October, the sixth single, 'The One That Got Away', was released, and peaked at number three.

In February 2012, Capitol Records, released the lead single from 'Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection', 'Part Of Me', which debuted at number one, making it Perry's seventh single overall to top the chart. 'Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection' was released in March, which 'Wide Awake' being the second single from the re-release, peaking at number two.

In support of 'Teenage Dream', Perry embarked on her second tour, the 'California Dreams Tour'. Alongside music, Perry also was involved in various TV programmes, and films, including her film debut in 'The Smurfs', as Smurfette. Also, she began to venture into business when she endorsed her first fragrance 'Purr' in 2010, followed by 'Meow' in 2011.

At the end of 2012, Perry began to work on her fourth studio album, 'Prism'. In August, 2013, 'Roar' was released as the lead single for the new album, and reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The second single, 'Unconditionally' was released in October, but only peaked at number 14 in the U.S. 'Prism' was then released in October, and received positive reviews from critics. It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart. The third single, 'Dark Horse' was released at the end of the year, and it became her ninth U.S. number one single.

In 2014, 'This Is How We Do' and 'Birthday' were the fourth and fifth singles, and reached the top 25 on the Hot 100. Perry embarked on her third headlining tour, the 'Prismatic World Tour', beginning in May 2014, and ending in October 2015. Throughout 2014, NFL announced Perry would perform at the Super Bowl XLIX halftime show. Two days after the performance, the Guinness World Records announced that Perry's performance garnered 118.5 million views in the U.S. and became the most watched and highest rated show in Super Bowl history.

In June, Perry announced she had founded her own record label under Capitol Records, Metamorphosis Music. Ferras was the first artist to get signed to the label.

In 2016, Perry started writing songs for her new album. She recorded a stand alone anthem for NBC Sport's coverage of the 2016 Summer Olympics, titled 'Rise'.Perry stated that she didn't want to rush her fifth album as she is trying out different producers, collaborations, and styles. The album, titled 'Witness' was released on the 12th June 2017, and debuted at number one.

Track Listing:

1. Witness

2. Hey Hey Hey

3. Roulette

4. Swish Swish (ft. Nicki Minaj)

5. Deja Vu

6. Power

7. Mind Maze

8. Miss You More

9. Chained To The Rhythm

10. Tsunami

11. Bon Appetit

12. Bigger Than Me

13. Save As Draft

14. Pendulum

15. Into My You See

...............................................

16. Dance With The Devil

17. Act My Age

I have been waiting for this album for so long and I am so happy with it. I was a bit wary on what it would sound like due to hearing 'Chained To The Rhythm', the first single, and 'Bon Apetit', the second single before the album was released, but over the course of the month, this album has grown on me massively.

So the first song, 'Witness', is the perfect song to kick the album off with. I listened to the demo last year and loved it, but I think the album version is even better. The chorus is continuously stuck in my head, and I always find myself singing it out of the blue. I love the retro/different spin the song brings.

'Hey Hey Hey' is the second song, and when I first listened to it, it reminded me of 'Hello Kitty' by Avril Lavigne. I wasn't that keen on the song but after listening to it a couple of times it's another favourite. I have the same lyrics stuck in my head, points for anyone who can guess them! I like that this song shows the versatility of Katy's vocals.

'Roulette' is a song that I haven't listened to as much but I still think it's a tune. It is very different, very daring, and has an old school vibe to it. Katy's vocals are really nice and I like the lyrics. It is lead by the beat, and I like the build up to the chorus.

'Swish Swish', featuring Nicki Minaj, is surprisingly one of my favourite songs at the moment. When it first came out, I wasn't overly fond of it, as you can see from my review here, but boy has it grown on me. I love the lyrics, especially this section: "You're 'bout as cute as, An old coupon expired, And karma's not a liar, She keeps receipts..."

The fifth song is 'Deja Vu'. This is another song I haven't listened to all that much. It is another dance/electronic song, and is very catchy. I really like her high vocals in this, it adds to the vibe of the song, and the lyrics are very different and descriptive, which is good.

'Power' is the sixth song on the album, and I think it is a really good place for it. It has a really unique, and interesting beginning, and I love the drums leading to the vocals. Listening to this song, I got 'Dark Horse' vibes! I feel like this song will sound incredible live, and the production could be insane. I love her vocals on it and think they will shine so much on this song live. It is such an empowering song, she's basically describing how she is going to stand up and love herself, it's such a tune.

The seventh song is 'Mind Maze'. It is quite a hypnotic song, very edgy and different. The only thing I really didn't like was the effects on her voice, it sounds very auto-tuned/robotic. It wasn't on all of her vocals, but definitely shone through in the chorus. It is another song that has grown on me since I first listened to it, but is definitely not my favourite.

The eighth song is 'Miss You More'. This is a slower, more emotional ballad, compared to the dance tracks. This type of song is my favourite from Katy because you can hear the emotion in her voice. The verses are my favourite because she fluctuates her vocals so much, and it sounds amazing. I love the lyrics, but I did find the song quite repetitive, the chorus especially, but it's not necessarily a bad thing.

'Chained To The Rhythm' is next, and I was surprised at how low down on the track list this song is. This another favourite of mine, purely because it is the first single from the album. However, when it first came out I was unsure because of how different it is to her previous music. It has definitely grown on me now, and I adore it, especially the lyrics, and the message the whole song is portraying. The music video is possibly one of my favourites from her as well. Her vocals are great and it was a great song to use as the first single.

'Tsunami' is a weird one for me. When I first listened to it, I wasn't impressed. I felt like it was just a filler song on the album, and that it wasn't going anywhere. But now I quite like it. Don't get me wrong I'm still on the fence about it but it's a very chill, slow song, but with a weird twist to it. I like the lyrics though!

'Bon Apetit', is another song that has grown on me, and I really like it now! The lyrics are so catchy, yet slightly repetitive, but hey that makes it easier to learn them! I did do a review which you can read here, but in all honesty, but opinion on the song has completely changed.

The twelfth song is 'Bigger Than Me'. It is another dance track, but sort of slower than the others, with a hypnotic vibe to it. I like the pre-chorus build up, and it is quite catchy. This is a song that I have barely listened to, so I will definitely make sure I listen to it more, to give it a chance.

Holy crap... is my description of this song. 'Save As Draft' is hands down my favourite song on this album. It is a slow, emotional ballad, and when I first heard it, I cried. As I wrote earlier, these are the type of songs I love from Katy. I literally adore this song, the vocals and lyrics are both incredible and I have been non-stop listening to it. I love the added effect of someone typing in the background of the song. The chorus is incredible, it is so powerful and her vocals are so versatile. You really can hear the emotion in her voice, and I can't wait for the day I hear this song live, pretty sure I will cry.

'Pendulum' is the fourteenth song on the album. It is a great song, another one of my favourites. It is quite funky and different from the other songs on the album. What I love about this song is that it's a strong anthem and the lyrics are so real and catchy. This would be a good close to the album/a live show.

'Into Me You See' is the closing song on the album. It is another slow, emotional song.. and I love it. It is so gentle and pure, and her vocals and lyrics are to die for. This song reminded me very much of another song of Katy's, 'Pearl'. The one thing I couldn't decide on was if it was a good closer for the album... In a way, I think the album should've gone out with a bang.. but then it is quite an emotional end to it, which isn't bad.

I also have listened to two extra tracks that are on the Target edition, 'Dance With The Devil' and 'Act My Age'. 'Dance With The Devil', is another alternative, unique, dance tune. It is a shame that this song is only on this edition because it is really catchy. I find this song quite hypnotic and weird but so great.

'Act My Age' is another favourite of mine, and I honestly think it should have been on the normal version of the album. It is so catchy and her vocals are so versatile. The lyrics are so great, and I just love everything this song stands for... It is such a Katy Perry song.

This album for me is getting a 5 star rating because it is just so amazing and I really love the way she has grown and how she is expanding her music. I found from each song that I have a favourite lyric, with some being relatable and the others just being funny/unique. Katy Perry also did a 96 hour live stream for her fans, alongside the release of the album, where she was in a 'Big Brother' styled house, doing various activities/tasks/performances. I think it was great promo for her new album as it got her in the news and trending on social media, even if that wasn't the point of it.

Also, if you hadn't heard.. Katy is going on a European, Australian & American tour, which I believe most are on sale now.. So go buy them, I have!!