Katy Perry - Smile
Critic Score
Based on 23 reviews
2020 Ratings: #852 / 863
User Score
2020 Ratings: #1012
Liked by 73 people
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CRITIC REVIEWS

75
The Young Folks

Perry’s Smile is a message sent from her slightly outdated pop world, but at its best, it can indeed make you smile and make you dance despite your most cynical inclinations.

70
Spectrum Culture

Smile is leaps and bounds ahead of Witness and even the splendidly boring Prism, which in itself is a miracle.

67
Entertainment Weekly

Smile still feels like the too-familiar work of a star committed to remaining pleasantly, fundamentally unchanged.

67
A.V. Club

Katy Perry has grown up, but in doing so, she’s abandoning some of the best things about “Katy Perry.”

60
Evening Standard
It fits the current mood, and musically at least, there’s still plenty to smile about.
60
Slant Magazine
Rather than build on any of the sounds she experimented with in the past, the singer seems content to stay in her lane.
60
AllMusic

She's not ready to yield the spotlight yet there's a distinct sensation that she's following fashions on Smile, not setting them.

60
PopMatters

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.

60
The Observer
The US pop queen flits between styles on a fifth album that lacks focus.
60
Rolling Stone

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.

60
musicOMH

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.

60
The Line of Best Fit

Pop music is escapism, which in this day and age is beyond needed, but Smile feels like it’s just kind of there.

60
The Arts Desk

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.

60
The Independent
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.
60
The Telegraph

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.

57
Pitchfork

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.

50
No Ripcord

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.

43
Consequence of Sound

Smile is utterly committed to bombastic aphorisms and the soaring positivity — and anonymity — of a megachurch.

40
The Sydney Morning Herald

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.

40
The Needle Drop

Everything pretty much goes downhill after Smile's opening track.

40
NME
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.
40
The Irish Times

Smile misses the mark by pairing subpar lyrics with otherwise perfect melodies and getting totally bogged down by the need to bounce back from past failings.

20
Clash

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.

Doublez
45

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

RakkSmells
45

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.

oh
55

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

hylertunt
30

just remembered this happened and instantly repelled back into my seat

Katy why did you think this would be a big pop return when the songs are even lower quality than the album that supposedly defamed you

Harmofgemini
78

Polished Pop From The Pop Icon.

Jonathanz9266
82

Never Really Over — 8
Cry About It Later — 8.5
Teary Eyes — 8
Daisies — 9
Resilient — 6.5
Not the End of the World — 7.5
Smile — 7
Champagne Problems — 8.5
Tucked — 7
Harleys In Hawaii — 9
Only Love — 8.5
What Makes A Woman - 8

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Track List

1Never Really Over
3:43
86
2Cry About It Later
3:09
78
3Teary Eyes
3:02
71
4Daisies
2:54
75
5Resilient
3:07
57
6Not the End of the World
2:58
65
7Smile
2:46
62
8Champagne Problems
3:16
71
9Tucked
3:07
71
10Harleys In Hawaii
3:05
80
11Only Love
3:18
70
12What Makes A Woman
2:11
63
Total Length: 36 minutes

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Added on: July 8, 2020