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5413
Teenage Dream
(2010)
Katy Perry
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Label: Capitol
Duration: 58:32
Genre: Pop

Although Katy Perry's debut album "One of the boys" didn't reinvent the wheel, you had to be pretty jaded not to enjoy its infectious pop songs. The album had its ups and downs, but overall it presented Perry with a distinct musical personality and killer hooks to match. Unfortunately, "Teenage Dream" doesn't live up to the bar set by its predecessor. In fact, it's almost impossible to listen all the way through.

The horrible cover should have been a warning: Perry is now merely content to present herself as yet another sexpot female entertainer. The key word here is generic, from overrated producers to melodies that you feel you've heard before. Her vocals on this album rely so heavily on Auto-tune and audio compression, that you will find yourself wondering who the hell is this robot chick whose CD you just bought. Worst of all, the lyrics are terrible - shallow and loaded with inane sexual innuendos that were already worn out by the time Samantha Fox lost her audience in the late 80s; "Peacock" sounds like something that a rather immature nine year old could have written, while "Last Friday Night" could very well have been on Paris Hilton's album. She may feel like she is pushing the envelope here, but she's really just serving the same old clichés. The second half of the album features a string of bland, midtempo tracks that could have been performed by, well... just about anybody. And that is the main problem with "Teenage Dream": by trying to come up with something sellable (guest rappers, auto-tune, producers used by about 50% of the recording industry), Perry has wiped out whatever personality she had and has become one of an endless string of pop tarts.

To be fair, not every single song is bad on this album. Predictable lyrics asides, the title track certainly is one of her best tracks ever, "The one that got away" is a pleasant enough potential single and "Circle the drain" demonstrates that when she is willing to present something a little bit more personal, she can be something more than a poor man's Britney Spears. Unfortunately, those moments are too few on the album. It will probably still be a big seller, however, but as we all know that is not enought to qualify as great music. And she will definitely have to come up with something more interesting the next time around - if she wants her success to last, that is...


TrackDuration
Teenage Dream3:48
Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)3:51
California Gurls3:56
Firework3:48
Peacock3:52
Circle the Drain4:33
The One That Got Away3:47
E.T.3:27
Who Am I Living For?4:09
Pearl4:08
Hummingbird Heartbeat3:32
Not Like the Movies4:01
California Gurls (Passion Pit Main Mix)5:12
Teenage Dream (Kaskade Club Remix)6:27
Original Release: 2010-01-01
Composer: Max Martin, Lukasz Gottwald, Katy Perry, Benjamin Levin & Bonnie McKee
Producer: Ammo, Benny Blanco, Mikkel S. Eriksen, Dr. Luke, Max Martin, Christopher Stewart, Sandy Vee, Miles Walker, Greg Wells
UPC: 5099968460129