PRISM by Katy Perry
Prism is the fourth studio album by American singer Katy Perry. It was released by Capitol Records on October 18, 2013. While the album was initially planned to be "darker" than her previous material, Prism ultimately became a prominently dance-inspired record. The singer worked with several past collaborators, while enlisting new producers and guest vocals. Much of Prism revolves around the themes of living in the present, relationships, and self-empowerment. Critical response to Prism was generally mixed; many reviewers deemed the lyrical content more mature while others considered the album to be more formulaic than her previous material. The album debuted atop the US Billboard 200 with 286,000 copies sold, becoming Perry's best opening week to date. The album also peaked at number one in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Prism became Perry's fastest-selling album, the second best-selling album in Australia in 2013, and the second best-selling album released by a woman in the United States in 2013. The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) reported that Prism was the sixth best-selling album in the world in 2013, the best-selling album in the world in 2013 released by a woman, and labeled Perry "a global phenomenon." It has globally sold 4 million copies as of August 2015. The album's success continued throughout 2014, ranking within the top 10 of the annual charts for 2014 in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, and earned Perry a Grammy Award nomination for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards. The release of the album was preceded by the release of two singles. "Roar" was released on August 10, 2013 as the album's lead single. It became a commercial success and topped the Billboard Hot 100. "Unconditionally" debuted on October 16, 2013 as the record's second single and was a moderate commercial success worldwide. In between the release of these two tracks were the releases of promotional singles "Dark Horse" on September 17 and "Walking on Air" on September 30, 2013. "Dark Horse" was released as the album's third single three months later on December 17, 2013, and also reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100. "Birthday" and "This Is How We Do" were the fourth and fifth singles, respectively. Prism was further promoted through The Prismatic World Tour.
For years, Katy Perry dealt with her depression by writing hit songs. “It was like, ‘You break up with me? I’ll show you. Here’s a No. 1,’” she tells Apple Music. But after the release of her 2017 album <i>Witness</i>, which struggled to resonate with fans and critics, her method fell apart. Feeling creatively lost and emotionally disconnected, the world’s biggest pop star finally got help. It was an adjustment. “I was like, ‘I’m Katy Perry. I wrote “Firework”. I’m on medication. This is fucked up,’” she said.<br /> The next three years were wholly transformative. With the support of her fiancé, actor Orlando Bloom, Perry embarked on a psychological, spiritual and emotional journey in which she learned how to be kinder to herself and take control of her mental health. She chronicles that progress on her joyous and confessional sixth album <i>Smile</i>, which often feels like a message of hope to her younger self. Through giddy pop beats and breathy balladry, she details some of the life lessons she’s learned during her rebound: that love takes work (“Champagne Problems”), survival is persistence (“Resilient”) and failure is ultimately subjective (“Not the End of the World”). “This is a record full of hope,” she says, and you can hear the determination baked into these songs; even the most anguished numbers (“Teary Eyes”) are designed to be danced to.<br /> The project’s most triumphant moment is easily “Daisies”, which addresses the fair-weather public that “counted her out” when she was down. “They said I’m going nowhere/Tried to count me out/Took those sticks and stones/Showed ’em I could build a house,” she sings. Through that pain, Perry learned to rely on herself. It feels poetic that on the very day that <i>Smile</i> was released, the superstar gave birth to her first child, also named Daisy, and embarked on another new chapter in her life: motherhood. Now, she feels ready. “This record is a representation that I overcame [the pain] and got to the other side,” she says. “I’m not saying I’ll always be on this side. I could fall backwards. But at least I have this body of work that says, ‘You did it once, you can do it again.’”
