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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Perry’s Smile is a message sent from her slightly outdated pop world, but at its best, it can indeed make you smile and make you dance despite your most cynical inclinations.
70
Smile is leaps and bounds ahead of Witness and even the splendidly boring Prism, which in itself is a miracle.
67
Smile still feels like the too-familiar work of a star committed to remaining pleasantly, fundamentally unchanged.
67
Katy Perry has grown up, but in doing so, she’s abandoning some of the best things about “Katy Perry.”
60
It fits the current mood, and musically at least, there’s still plenty to smile about.
60
Rather than build on any of the sounds she experimented with in the past, the singer seems content to stay in her lane.
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.
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.
60
The US pop queen flits between styles on a fifth album that lacks focus.
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.
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.
60
Pop music is escapism, which in this day and age is beyond needed, but Smile feels like it’s just kind of there.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
43
Smile is utterly committed to bombastic aphorisms and the soaring positivity — and anonymity — of a megachurch.
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.
40
Everything pretty much goes downhill after Smile's opening track.
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.
40
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
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.
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
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.
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
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
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
Contributions By
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Track List
| 1 | Never Really Over 3:43 | 86 |
| 2 | Cry About It Later 3:09 | 78 |
| 3 | Teary Eyes 3:02 | 71 |
| 4 | Daisies 2:54 | 75 |
| 5 | Resilient 3:07 | 57 |
| 6 | Not the End of the World 2:58 | 65 |
| 7 | Smile 2:46 | 62 |
| 8 | Champagne Problems 3:16 | 71 |
| 9 | Tucked 3:07 | 71 |
| 10 | Harleys In Hawaii 3:05 | 80 |
| 11 | Only Love 3:18 | 70 |
| 12 | What Makes A Woman 2:11 | 63 |
Total Length: 36 minutes
Year End Lists
| #14 | / | Idolator |
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4mo
man if only she put never really over at the end then we'd have something to look forward too
2y
I didn't even know that this album was a thing.
So from now on, I'm gonna put as much effort as possible into making sure I never hear this fucking album
So from now on, I'm gonna put as much effort as possible into making sure I never hear this fucking album
2y
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
2y
It's so hard to enjoy something that tells me to s m i l e yet still wastes my precious time
Added on: July 8, 2020