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CRITIC REVIEWS
75
Perry’s Smile is a message sent from her slightly outdated pop world, but at its best, it can indeed make you smile and make you dance despite your most cynical inclinations.
2mo
70
Smile is leaps and bounds ahead of Witness and even the splendidly boring Prism, which in itself is a miracle.
2mo
67
Smile still feels like the too-familiar work of a star committed to remaining pleasantly, fundamentally unchanged.
3mo
67
Katy Perry has grown up, but in doing so, she’s abandoning some of the best things about “Katy Perry.”
2mo
60
Rather than build on any of the sounds she experimented with in the past, the singer seems content to stay in her lane.
3mo
60
For all its good intentions, Witness felt tired. But on Smile, Perry sounds rejuvenated. It’s a relief to hear her double down on what she does best: fizzy bops, huge hooks and about as much emotional subtlety as a sledgehammer.
3mo
60
There’s nothing on this record to equal the giddy delight of Perry’s greatest hits. No fireworks to light up the dance floor, but enough to raise a smile.
2mo
60
There’s still a bit too much self-help book redemption here ... But in the darker corners of this record, there’s a definite sense of a more mature and grown up pop star emerging.
2mo
60
On Smile, she stops trying to keep up with the Halseys and happily defaults to the fizzy bombast that is her stadium-size safety zone.
2mo
60
Pop music is escapism, which in this day and age is beyond needed, but Smile feels like it’s just kind of there.
2mo
60
Creatively, it is definitely a return to form for the pop superstar. Unfortunately, there is a staggering lack of growth present in this album, surprising considering most of the foundation for Smile’s marketing was focused on Perry’s career rebirth, coinciding with the star’s impending motherhood.
2mo
60
The US pop queen flits between styles on a fifth album that lacks focus.
2mo
60
Think of Smile as Katy Perry doing the work to (eventually) get her groove back: she's recharging. Smile plays like a necessary centering exercise, indulging her insecurities and less surefire instincts.
2mo
60
She's not ready to yield the spotlight yet there's a distinct sensation that she's following fashions on Smile, not setting them.
2mo
57
Katy Perry’s bubbly, cliché-ridden pop feels especially unsuited for life in a pandemic. But despite all her garbled platitudes, she remains a master at executing chart-topping formulas.
2mo
50
The album falls around a narrative of self-growth and perseverance, particularly after the failure of Witness, but going back to Prism’s concoction of flavorless production and lyrical cliches doesn’t help anyone.
2mo
43
Smile is utterly committed to bombastic aphorisms and the soaring positivity — and anonymity — of a megachurch.
2mo
40
It’s frustrating, as this is the woman behind some of the most fun – and biggest-selling – songs of all time. But as much as you want ‘Smile’ to be a return to form, her fifth album’s songs fail to grip.
2mo
40
In July on Instagram Perry promised an album about her "journey towards the light". These are lofty ambitions for a star who cut her teeth on absurdist pop jaunts, and sadly the result is milquetoast, at best.
2mo
40
Everything pretty much goes downhill after Smile's opening track.
2mo
20
Taken as a standalone piece of art, 'Smile' truly isn’t worthy of your time. It’s a “Live, Laugh, Love” cushion, it’s a faux-inspirational quote over a stock image of a sunset, it makes “Do you ever feel like a plastic bag?” seem like a deep philosophical rumination on the transient nature of existence.
2mo
As is the case in her albums, Smile is boring, marked by a mechanical, predictable and generic interpretation, without the few interesting subjects reaching you. To top it all off, this new album shows how Katy Perry has remained stuck in another era, without having reinvented herself, not even a little.
It's been a long time since Katy Perry became a woman, also comforted by the latest events in progress. When she conquered her star status around the theme of the teenager, Katy hadn't ... read more
It's been a long time since Katy Perry became a woman, also comforted by the latest events in progress. When she conquered her star status around the theme of the teenager, Katy hadn't ... read more
If Future Nostalgia was Horse Tranquilizer then Smile is Fentanyl. It's not even a nuanced death. Most listeners will immediately fall over dead from the corniness of 'Never Really Over' including me but I'm a man of focus, commitment, sheer fucking will so this album isn't going to keep me down for long. After a while, I wished I stayed in my eternal slumber. By the horrid track 'Not the End of the World' I realized something. The retrobutnotreallykindaretro aesthetic has gotten incredibly old ... read more
Never Really Over is such a great single. Zedd's production is just so sharp and clean and Katy's vocals on the chorus are just so addicting.
Everything from that point on is...
Utterly okay.
Remarkably fine.
Thoroughly mediocre.
Exceedingly decent.
Spectacularly average.
Astonishingly meh.
Unfathomably forgettable.
It's like pop's answer to Dominic Fike's What Could Possibly Go Wrong, except with actually finished songs.
Everything from that point on is...
Utterly okay.
Remarkably fine.
Thoroughly mediocre.
Exceedingly decent.
Spectacularly average.
Astonishingly meh.
Unfathomably forgettable.
It's like pop's answer to Dominic Fike's What Could Possibly Go Wrong, except with actually finished songs.
yeah this was pretty boring. the only standout tracks were the singles, one of them being one of the best songs from 2019 (Never Really Over), and Daises is pretty good too. but other than that, it's just some standard generic pop. which is a shame because Katy's last album, Witness, was amazing. Smile is also a really bad song, probably my least favorite track. it sounds like Chained To The Rhythm but missing everything good about that track.
favorite tracks: Never Really Over, Daises, Teary ... read more
favorite tracks: Never Really Over, Daises, Teary ... read more
Why are we here, just to suffer?
"You know, I really didn't think I had the strength to purchase that box of NEW Crest® 3D Whitestrips, but then like a shitty PA voice from heaven I heard Katy Perry tell me to smile. It was like I had been infused with holy spirit! Not only did I gain the strength to purchase that box of NEW Crest® 3D Whitestrips, but I purchased two boxes instead of one! Thanks, Katy! *Smiles and teeth sparkle* " - Satisfied customer
There was no way in ... read more
"You know, I really didn't think I had the strength to purchase that box of NEW Crest® 3D Whitestrips, but then like a shitty PA voice from heaven I heard Katy Perry tell me to smile. It was like I had been infused with holy spirit! Not only did I gain the strength to purchase that box of NEW Crest® 3D Whitestrips, but I purchased two boxes instead of one! Thanks, Katy! *Smiles and teeth sparkle* " - Satisfied customer
There was no way in ... read more
stereogum.com
New Track: Katy Perry – “Smile” 
stereogum.com
New Track: Katy Perry – “Daisies” 
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Track List
- Never Really Over
- Cry About It Later
- Teary Eyes
- Daisies
- Resilient
- Not the End of the World
- Smile
- Champagne Problems
- Tucked
- Harleys in Hawaii
- Only Love
- What Makes a Woman
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2mo
understimated, over-hated and underrated. Some hot tracks like Champagne Problems, Never Really Over, Cry About It Later and Not The End Of The World are some unique songs that need to be appreciated
2mo
It's so hard to enjoy something that tells me to s m i l e yet still wastes my precious time
2mo
It's hard to create a intimate connection with Katy when her voice is so compressed and processed and the instrumentals goes sooo away from anything organic
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Added on: July 8, 2020