The reviews for Katy Perry's 'Smile' are in, and Katycats aren't happy
Katy Perry released her long-awaited sixth studio album Smile today, and suffice it to say the response has been mixed. It currently holds a Metascore of 56 based on 13 reviews, with many critics voicing disappointment in the songs' cliché lyrics and unadventurous production after 2017's Witness.
"Between rows of Spandex at Forever 21, in the back of a cab coming home from the bar... in a pandemic, all the ideal templates for listening to Katy Perry have disappeared. No more can the pop star's songs seep into the background of a normal social life... you have to actively opt into [Smile] and launch yourself willingly into its suffocating glitz." 5.7/10 -Pitchfork
"...full of the kind of generic, empty platitudes that have kept P!nk with a roof over her head for over 20 years, like the Dalai Lama recast as a suburban Wine Mom." 2/10 -Clash
"With its peppy brass, turntable scratches, and indefatigable optimism, the title track feels... unmoored from the current moment. Which is emblematic of Smile as a whole: Rather than build on any of the sounds she experimented with in the past, Perry seems content to stay in her lane when, at this point, she has nothing to lose." 6/10 -Slant
"It's not even that the songs are bad-it's worse than that: they're largely forgettable. Gone are the pithy couplets and catchier-than-a-rash hooks, replaced with lacklustre imitations." 4/10 -NME
"Rainbows, daisies, dragons, hearts and stars. The imagery crayoned through Katy Perry's sweetly forgettable fifth album, Smile, comes straight out of the primary school colouring book. Musically as well as lyrically, the whole record blu-tacks itself firmly to bright'n'boring basics." 6/10 -The Independent
The unspoken question of Smile is: Why now? https://t.co/06lj6Zcywc
- Pitchfork (@pitchfork) August 28, 2020
Review: Katy Perry's 'Smile' is an overtly BIG pop statement - it's just a shame that it's empty in almost every way.
Once an unstoppable pop force, oh how the mighty have fallen...https://t.co/iIC4k7pkgP #KatyPerry #KatyPerrySMILE pic.twitter.com/PrZcmgBgso
- CLASH (@ClashMagazine) August 28, 2020
Despite a newfound sense of freedom, #KatyPerry seems content to stay in her lane on #Smile. Read our review. https://t.co/Roz0DmI68h
- Slant (@Slant_Magazine) August 24, 2020
Katy Perry sounds recharged on new album ‘Smile’, but lacks the fireworks of old - read the ⭐️⭐️ NME review https://t.co/foZtE9Bqc4
- NME (@NME) August 28, 2020
Katy Perry's new album Smile goes back to bright’n’boring basics - review https://t.co/ZrNnVrBe0U
- The Independent (@Independent) August 28, 2020
Lukewarm reviews of the album have raised the ire of Perry's fanbase (lovingly referred to as "Katycats"), at times to inordinate degrees. Harassment by fans has led several reviewers (for Entertainment Weekly and NME) to lock their Twitter accounts, while others' mentions continue to be flooded with misogynistic and threatening tweets.
these are the critics that gave smile a low score and notice how they are all uglee yt women... they talked more about disliking Katy’s personality than the actual music in their reviews, jealousy is really a disease #KatyPerrySMILE pic.twitter.com/e4SJ63Ucwz
- there it is, lukas 🎪 (@lukasperry) August 28, 2020
@Leahbats f*ck you bitch, I hope you learn how to do your job well, b*tch, b*tch and biiiiiiiiitch.
- Brandon (@Brandon_pc3) August 25, 2020
@HannahMylrea come on go public, I just wanna talk pic.twitter.com/fQgyJ7wLqe
- Crispy | Normal Era (@ArrozBori) August 28, 2020
katy: worth $300M, multiple #1's, multiple achievements
you: jealous, poor, ugly, no achievements
- Moonlight Records (@kyledabrenica) August 28, 2020
Source 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
What do you think of Smile?