By Albert Vuoso | Arts and Entertainment Editor –
As the title of her debut single indicates, Katy Perry let out a “roar” this summer with the release of her first track off her third studio album, Prism. That roar, however, proved to be a rambunctious cry of unoriginality; a trend that is laced throughout the entire album. A trend that some won’t let go unnoticed.
Late October, before the release of Perry’s album, Gawker.com, a gossip blog known for outing Congressman Chris Lee’s solicitation of women on Craigslist, counted and announced all 226 cliches found on Perry’s album.
With lyrics like, “I stood for nothing so I fell for everything” , “I’ve got the eye of the tiger” and “you are my destiny” Gawker.com raises doubts behind the enterprise of highly successful pop musicians.
“It’s Pop”, says Matt Girard, a DJ at WADK Newport. “It isn’t known for being deep.” As Girard points out, “pop” music stands for “popular” music, which may indicate why the lyrics are sometimes boiled down.
“Everyone has to be able to understand it,” says Girard of pop music lyrics.
As for Katy Perry, Gawker.com’s expose has done little to hinder her success. Prism sold 286,000 copies within its first week, surpassing the first week sales of Miley Cyrus’s Bangerz. Perry currently holds the number one album spot on the Billboard top 100, beating out Drake and Miley. A solid fan base, catchy beats, and good PR are often reasons why an album does well, reasons that can be applied to Perry’s Prism.
“Lady Gaga’s fans will buy 10 copies of her album,” says Girard, noting the power of a fan base to ensure the success of an artist.
If Prism, an album publicly called out for its unoriginal content holds the top spot on the Billboard charts, what can be said about the expectations of audiences and lyrics? For Girard, the answer is nothing that hasn’t already been said.
“Music is always changing,” points out Girard.
From Madonna, to boy bands, to the current high-paced dance songs, audiences adapt to whatever the norm is at the time. Although it may be easy to find faults in it, pop music has served as an influential and highly celebrated part of the music industry.
For the complete list of cliches on Katy Perry’s album visit: http://gawker.com/all-226-cliches-uttered-by-katy-perry-on-her-new-album-1451718946
