Katy Perry - This Is How We Do

Katy Perry just released the music video for last year's severely underrated jam, "This Is How We Do".  The single was a highlight from Prism, spawning the completely amazing "Mariah Carey-oke" line.  The video is a summery color palate that puts aside all of the antics from her "Roar" and "Dark Horse" concepts.  It's simple, yet wacky enough to be recognizably "Katy".  Check out the video below.  I kinda love it.

Prism is out now, via Capitol Records.  You can grab a copy of the album here.

Katy Perry - Dark Horse (Feat. Juicy J)

I've been addicted to "Roar" for a while now.  It's just so difficult to resist screeching along to that chorus.  Even though that song is still a newborn in terms of your average radio hit's lifetime, Katy Perry went ahead and released a new promo single.  "Dark Horse" was chosen for release by her fans in a little poll she held a while ago.  It managed to beat out "Walking On Air", another song from her upcoming album.  But don't worry, both songs will see an early iTunes premiere anyways.  "Walking On Air" will be out on September 30.

"Dark Horse" is a complete and total new direction for the California Gurl.  It's what the industry people like to call "urban", as it's generally less pop sounding and unfortunately features Juicy J.  That's by far the rotten spot in an otherwise exciting single.  Juicy J adds no more personality than your usual rent-a-rapper feature.  Push that aside, or create a "no rap" version, and you have a great follow up to "Roar".  Katy's vocals are nice and sleek compared to her usual belting and the tone reminds me of Jessie J and Becky G's recent track, "Excuse My Rude".  Prism is shaping up to be something quite interesting.

Pre-Order: Katy Perry - "Prism"

Friday I'm In Love - 6/9/13

Friday I'm In Love is a weekly feature.

Highlights of what I loved over the past week.

Week = Friday to Friday.

May include things of a non-musical variety.

MTV Movie Awards: Katy & Christina

Tonight was the evening of the MTV Movie Awards.  While the show focuses on film, Katy Perry and Christina Aguilera also performed.  They each performed new singles from their upcoming albums.  Katy's "Teenage Dream" is out on August 24th, and Christina's "Bionic" is out on June 8th.  Here's a summary of how the performances turned out...

Katy Perry's performance came first with her new single, "California Gurls".  The song started with Katy standing on a flying surf board while wearing a blue wig.  There were giant monitors with rays of sun and backup dancers in roller skates.  The song, which is "TiK ToK" version two, really isn't groundbreaking.  Sure, the stage was sunny and matched the vibe, but her vocals weren't spot on.  Snoop Dogg was there to rap his verse.  He stood up from a golden throne and joined Katy at center stage.  While the pairing of the two artists is odd, his verse sounded just like the recording.  Overall, it just didn't amaze me.  At this point I was hoping Christina's performance would be much more entertaining.

Christina came on after a few more awards were given out.  Her new image is very... "Lady Gaga".  With every album, comes a new look.  Her most recent style is synth covered club pop music.  She performed a medley of songs as opposed to Katy's single tune.  The first song was "Bionic".  It was very dark with plenty of smoke and shadows.  She then moved on to her semi-big single, "Not Myself Tonight".  The vocals were so good that it made me suspect her of using a backing track or lip syncing.  Finally, Xtina performed "Whoohoo".  The song started with several censored lines, that's not a great start or finish to any song.  The medley seemed very strange.  It's like Christina doesn't know what to do with her music.  The biggest surprise was when the camera zoomed in on a flashing light-up heart located on Christina's crotch.  Very strange.

The entire show was poorly done.  The comedy was entirely based around swearing.  The censoring was unbelievably heavy, and off. Several times the swearing was left uncensored.  If you missed the show, don't worry.  It was nothing special.  If you really wanted to see the performances or awards, I'm sure they'll either replay it or you can find it on MTV's website.  I usually really enjoy these award shows, but this year MTV couldn't get anything right.

Katy Perry - California Gurls (Feat. Snoop Dog)

After the success of Katy Perry's debut album, the pop singer has the level set high with her next release.  Her first album, One Of The Boys, spawned four hit singles.  If she can do that with her upcoming sophomore album, Teenage Dream, then she has proven herself as a successful pop singer.  The first single from Teenage Dream is "California Gurls". The upbeat song features Snoop Dog.  There's only one problem with it and it's not the spelling of "Gurls".  Katy Perry's new single sounds exactly like Ke$ha's hit song, "TiK ToK".

The song starts with a synth tune.  Perry then joins in with her bright vocals.  She sings of palm trees and bikini's.  It's a great song for driving by the beach in a convertible.  Teenage girls (or "gurls") will be blasting the song with their sunglasses on.  Basically, the same crowd that loves Ke$ha will enjoy this song.

I feel that the song structure and melody are way too similar to the singles by Ke$ha.  From the "ohs" in the chorus to the prominent use of a synth line, it's something I've already heard.  Snoop Dog's verse matches the song great.  It keeps the fresh and sunny theme.  The two artists may seem like an odd couple, but they work well together.

One thing is certain, Katy Perry's vocal abilities are much better than Ke$ha's.  While neither of them are amazing, Perry could knock out Ke$ha in two seconds.  If you're interested in "California Gurls", you can find it on iTunes now.  Her album, Teenage Dream, is out August 24.  I would pass on the song for now. Unless she has an incredible album planned, I doubt Perry will replicate the same success as her debut.

Katy Perry - Waking Up In Vegas

Once again, the controversial pop star, Katy Perry has a number one hit. Her newest single, Waking Up In Vegas, follows the footprints of her past hits, such as I Kissed A Girl and Hot N Cold, by climbing the charts. This comes to a total of three number one singles on the Billboard Pop Charts.

Her blueprint for a hit seemed to be "dance beat and catchy melody", with no concern when it comes to the lyrics. "Vegas", from her album "One Of The Boys" is a bit lacking when it comes to most of those categories. Her previous singles were implanted into your brain, making you hum throughout the day, even if you hated them. This single doesn't stick. You might remember it for fifteen minutes after hearing it, but then it will fade. Unless you follow everything Perry does, Waking Up In Vegas will be no more than a guilty pleasure song. One you would only listen to when you're alone, with your car windows rolled up. If you want some shameless pop music you can dance to, you might be better off listening to Lady GaGa...