Katy Perry has arrived back to the music front with her new studio album 143. After performing at her Las Vegas residency Play, and teasing new music for the last year, Katy Kats can be rest assured that her latest album is here to serve them with new bops to shake your head to. The album comes four years after her last album Smile, which was released midway through 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The one thing that fans can look forward to is an upcoming world tour and more live performances as the world is finally back to how it was before 2019 in terms of live shows.
Releasing the lead single “Woman’s World” back in July, Katy Perry was met with unfavourable criticism from fans, critics and your average Twitter (X) user. There are many controversies around the single, and 143, but we’re not here to discuss that. We’re here to dive in deep and uncover the newest universe Katy Perry has created for fans.
The album opens up with a run of four songs, that from personal taste, are not strongly suited for the album. “Woman’s World” serves as the opening track, although it does have a fun catchy beat, the song lyrically seems to just be a little too basic for my tastes. “Gimme Gimme,” featuring 21 Savage is a great track that is squished between “mid” tracks, with a fun jumpy beat, high hats to tap your foot to, and verses from 21 Savage you can immerse yourself in. Following “Gimmie Gimmie,” fans can expect to hear tracks “Gorgeous” featuring Kim Petras, and “I’m His, He’s Mine” featuring Doechii. Both tracks are fun songs, but personally, I think they lack at giving the album the true core strength it needs to flow flawlessly. They may have been better suited as tracks for a deluxe to 143, or as droplet singles prior to the album's release. Having them be associated with the album, but not on the main core of the track list would have been the way to go, in my opinion.
Heading into the remainder of the album is where Katy Perry truly shines on the 143. “Crush” serves as a reminiscent track, with sounds you could find from her album Prism, and Smile, but having a modern twist that allows it to compete with songs that have come out more recently. Pairing “Crush” with the album's second single “Lifetimes,” the song follows a beat that reminds fans of Prism’s “Walking on Air.” I’m unsure if it was unintentional, but in the end, if it was, it was a favourable nod to Katy’s 2013 era. Moving through the remaining tracks, we have a more updated sound for Katy with “All The Love,” followed by my favourite track on the album “Nirvana.” The track is a fun upbeat song, that perfectly compliments Katy’s vocals, and lyrically the song seems to serve as a statement to her husband Orlando Bloom, in a way, saying that he saved her life and offered her eternal happiness.
Diving into the remaining 3 songs, “Artificial” featuring JID, and “Truth” are unique, modern tracks that offer a new range of styles. Closing out the album features a song about hope, and never losing your inner child despite growing old. “Wonder” closes out the album perfectly, giving fans of Katy a warm hug, featuring cute vocals from Katy Perry’s daughter Daisy Bloom. Personally looking at this album, there are some tracks unsuited for this body of work, and if it were up to me, the 3 singles released before the album would have been “Nirvana” as the lead, “All The Love” as the second, and “Artificial” with JID as the third. With a weak start to the album, it does finish off strong. I’m intrigued to see what Katy Perry has in store for the upcoming Lifetimes Tour, and the deluxe right around the corner. There are some stepping stones to get across, but I know Katy will transform the 143 era into something even more magnificent.
You can stream 143 below on Spotify:
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