Prism (Katy Perry album)

Untitled

PRISM is the upcoming fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Katy Perry. It is scheduled to be released on October 18, 2013 in Germany, October 21 in the UK and Australia, October 22 in the US, and October 23 in Japan. Recording for the record began in 2012, following the reissue of her third studio album Teenage Dream (2010), subtitled The Complete Confection, and continued into the following year. "Roar" was released on August 10, 2013 to American radio stations as the album's lead single and topped the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Background

Johnny Wujek, who designed costumes for Perry's California Dreams Tour, said in a July 2012 interview: "We heard this new song for her next album and I was like, 'oh my god I see the video', and she was like 'I see the video too', and we were totally on the same page." Perry told Billboard in late 2012 that she wanted to take some time off before starting recording the album, stating:

I'm an adult and what I'm not going to do is hurry up to fail, to shoot myself in the foot. I need to live so I have something worth singing about. That's always been the case for me..... I know exactly the record I want to make next. I know the artwork, the coloring and the tone..... I even know what type of tour I'm doing next. I'll be very pleased if the vision I have in my head becomes a reality.

Perry also mentioned that she did not want the album to be a "Teenage Dream 2.0", stating "That would be silly. It's not of any interest for me to try and outdo myself at every corner. Eventually you just like pop, explode". Furthermore, she stated: "I am doing little things here and there. I was just in the studio with another artist and it turned out all right. I'm going to start dusting off the wheels just a little: [I'm] going in with a couple of people in November [2012] and try out fun collaborations that maybe people wouldn't imagine". The singer told L'Uomo Vogue that the record would contain "darker" elements than her previous material. She has collaborated with Diplo, Sia Furler, Klas Åhlund, Greg Kurstin, Dr. Luke, Max Martin, Greg Wells, Juicy J, Sarah Hudson, Cirkut, Stacie Orrico, and Bonnie McKee on the album.

In April 2013, she stated that the album is halfway complete and described it as a "schizophrenic" album, adding that: "When I tell the record company when I want to release the album, that's when the race starts. That's when I put pressure on myself". She added that Greg Wells "allows me to vomit words. Not that I can't find that with others but he just lets me. Max [Martin] and [Dr.] Luke push me the most. As a team we have certain strengths, with Max, it's melody choices, Luke is production and I'm topline and melody. Working with Bonnie McKee is like an emotional abuse session, Bonnie and I argue [like] we're in the ring fighting for the best lyric".

In July 2013, McKee revealed that Perry and herself wrote four tracks together in Perry's hometown of Santa Barbara, California, and added that they are more "grown up". The following month, McKee also stated: "Well, you know, we work with [producers] Dr. Luke and Max Martin, they're like melodic geniuses....." Perry had a very specific idea of what she wanted. "[Luke] and [Max] come back [to us] with the track and we kind of find the story within the track".

In August 2013, at the 2013 MTV video music awards, Perry stated that the album will not be "Dark", she explained that she was in a darker place in her her life at the time when she initially said that. She added that the reason the album is titled Prism is because after she did some self reflection and worked on herself, she finally "let the light in", which made her feel "very prismatic". She stated that she will "get to beam the colors" 's she experienced out from herself through these songs.

Promotion

On July 29, 2013, a big golden truck driving in Los Angeles revealed the album's title as Prism and that it would be released on October 22, 2013. The truck made stops through varies cities in the US, however, on August 9, 2013, the truck was hit by a drunk driver in Pennsylvania. After hearing the news, Perry tweeted that "She is a champion!. she will return".

Prior to the release of "Roar", Perry released four teasers, all of which stated the single would be released August 12, 2013, though the single was released two days earlier than expected. The first teaser showed her burning the blue wig she wore in her 2010 "California Gurls" music video, revealing the song title and planned release date. The second teaser showed her at a funeral for her trademark peppermint swirl outfit. The third teaser showed a cat eating a feather toy and roaring afterwards. The fourth teaser showed Perry walking into a recording studio. The latter two teasers contain snippets of the song. On the day of its iTunes release, Perry promoted the song's release in New York City.

On August 20, 2013, fans were given the opportunity to unlock song titles, lyrics, and snippets from Prism by tweeting #KATYNOW. After fans heard the two snippets, they chose which one they wanted to be made available for purchase via iTunes on September 17, 2013 before the album is released. The two snippets were "Dark Horse", featuring rapper Juicy J, and "Walking on Air". At the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards on August 25, 2013, "Dark Horse" was declared the winner with Perry giving a brief description of each song afterwards. Perry stated that with "Walking on Air", she wanted to "really wanna bring that kind of authentic 90's deep house song styling back". Perry stated that "Dark Horse" was written with friend Sarah Hudson and described the song as having an "urban kinda hip-hop flavor". She describes its lyrics as "a witch warning this man not to fall in love with me and if you do just know I'm gonna be your last". Perry also tweeted that "Dark Horse ft Juicy J is just a PREVIEW of #PRISM when released on Sept 17, NOT the 2nd single".

On September 5, 2013, a Prism listening party took place, Perry played 12 songs from the album to an audience of 100 industry insiders and journalists in New York, Perry stated that not all of the tracks were mixed and that the album was due to be handed in to her label on September 9, 2013. The 12 songs that were played as confirmed by Billboard magazine were: "Roar", "Walking on Air", "Unconditionally", "Dark Horse", "Double Rainbow", "Legendary Lover", "Birthday", "This Is How We Do", "International Smile", "Ghost", "Love Me", and "By the Grace of God". The album cover, shot by Ryan McGinley, was unveiled the following day on Good Morning America. A second Prism listening party took place on September 6, 2013 in Atlanta, while a third took place September 12, 2013 in Los Angeles at the Hammer Museum; during the Los Angeles party, all 13 tracks on the album's standard edition were played, including "This Moment" being played for the first time.

Tour

On August 12, 2013, during an On Air with Ryan Seacrest interview, when asked if she will miss anything from the Teenage Dream era, she replied: "I'll probably be integrating it in a new way especially when I go on tour next year. It will just be kind of an evolved version of Teenage Dream. And when you see me on tour, you're always going to get the songs you want to hear..... I'm not deserting any of it".

Singles

The first single from the album is titled "Roar". Perry stated that the song is "about speaking up for yourself because there was a time in my life I didn't stand for anything, so I fell for everything..... Sometimes you can feel burdened by people or a thing or a relationship and it causes you to go inside yourself versus say 'Hey! No, this isn't okay.' So it has been very therapeutic writing these songs. I'm getting myself stronger". It is a midtempo, synth-driven power pop song. The song also contains elements of folk rock, arena rock, and glam rock. It debuted on August 10, 2013, and was released onto iTunes and YouTube two days later. She performed "Roar" for the first time at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards on August 25, 2013. The same day, a 21-second preview of the official music video was released. On September 4, 2013, Billboard announced the song reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The song's official music video was released the following day.

A representative for Perry confirmed that the second single is expected to hit radio by the end of 2013.

Promotional singles

The first promo single, "Dark Horse" featuring Juicy J, will be made available for purchase via iTunes on September 17, 2013.

On September 12, 2013, at the Los Angeles Prism listening party, it was announced that The second promo single "Walking On Air" is scheduled to hit iTunes on September 30, 2013.

Recorded songs

Billboard attended the Prism listening party on September 5, 2013 where 12 songs (including "Roar") were played and verified to be included on the album. iTunes was the first to reveal that the standard of the edition of the album will consist of 13 songs while the deluxe edition will have a total of 16 songs; this was later confirmed at the listening party as well. Meanwhile during an interview with Vogue magazine in June 2013, Perry revealed a track titled "Bad Photographs". The following month, during an ELLE UK interview, she revealed another track titled "It Takes Two". It has not been officially announced yet whether "Bad Photographs" and "It Takes Two" will appear on the standard edition of the album. On September 12, 2013, at the Los Angeles listening party, all 13 tracks on the album's standard edition were played, including "This Moment" being played for the first time.

• "Bad Photographs"
• "Birthday" (produced by Max Martin and Dr. Luke)
• "By the Grace of God" (co-written by Stacie Orrico and produced by Greg Wells)
• "Choose Your Battles"
• "Dark Horse" (featuring Juicy J)(produced by Dr. Luke and Max Martin, co-written by Perry and Sarah Hudson)
• "Double Rainbow" (co-written by Sia and Bonnie McKee, produced by Greg Kurstin)
• "Ghost"
• "It Takes Two" (co-written by Emeli Sandé)
• "International Smile"
• "Legendary Lovers"
• "Love Me" (produced by Bloodshy)
• "Roar" (co-written by Dr. Luke, Max Martin, Bonnie McKee, and Cirkut)
• "Spiritual"
• "This Is How We Do"(produced by Max Martin and Klas Ahlund)
• "This Moment"
• "Unconditionally"
• "Walking on Air" (produced by Klas Ahlund)

Release history

Region	Date	Label
Germany	October 18, 2013	EMI, Universal Music
Australia	October 21, 2013
United Kingdom		Virgin EMI
United States	October 22, 2013	Capitol Records
Japan	October 23, 2013	EMI Records Japan