Smile
| Katy Perry
Smile
Smile is the sixth studio album by American singer Katy Perry. It was released on August 28, 2020, by Capitol Records, three years after its predecessor Witness (2017). Perry worked with a multitude of producers on the album, including Josh Abraham, Carolina Liar, The Daylights, G Koop, Andrew Goldstein, Oligee, Oscar Görres, Oscar Holter, Ilya, Ian Kirkpatrick, The Monsters & Strangerz, Charlie Puth, Stargate and Zedd. She described Smile as her "journey towards the light, with stories of resilience, hope, and love". Musically a pop album, Smile is characterized by its themes of self-help and empowerment. -Wikipedia
Critic Reviews
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Rolling Stone
The singer has a good time for the first time in a while on her fifth album.
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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.
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NME
pop icon sounds somewhat recharged, but lacks the fireworks of old.
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Pop Matters
Smile is an earnest exhale, for better or for worse. It delivers an image of her journey towards inner peace that is honest (if corny) and catchy (if not exactly inventive). Smile shows glimpses of a future where Katy Perry hones her supreme pop music chops once more to deliver her Confessions on a Dancefloor. That will be a return to form that will remind people of the gaps of silence in their lives that only a Katy Perry song can properly fill.
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AV Club
Perry is struggling to be taken seriously, and the results tend to stray too far from the pleasures that pop music is meant to deliver. “Fun” and “serious” are not opposing concepts, and Perry needs to make peace with that.
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Idolator
Just don’t judge Smile by the hodgepodge of singles that have sprouted up over the last two years. It all makes sense as a complete body of work. There is a little something for fans of every Katy era and enough growth, both personal and artistic, to welcome newcomers to the KatyCat litter.
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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Perry’s Smile is a message sent from her slightly outdated pop world, but at its best, it can indeed make you smile and make you dance despite your most cynical inclinations.
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The Guardian
her fifth album is coloured by a depressive period during which this all-American trouper found her work was no longer working for her.
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The New York Times
Their version of faith may look different from hers, but Perry sounds like she has not given up searching for a force greater than herself. In these moments, however fleeting, she seems at last to have figured out what “purposeful pop” actually means to her.
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Hotpress
Perry is still doing what she does best on Smile – delivering Cotton Candy-coated hooks, and while the lyrical content might not be groundbreaking and the production isn't necessarily new and exciting, I'm happy she's happy and hope she stays that way.
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EW
But even at its sweetest, Smile still feels like the too-familiar work of a star committed to remaining pleasantly, fundamentally unchanged — and that may be the only mortal sin pop music can’t forgive.
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Vulture
Smile is an improvement on her last album, and Perry’s evolution from preternaturally talented Christian contemporary music circuit hopeful to hit machine to the wise veteran Smile shows in its better moments continues to inspire.
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The Independent
pop resorts to bright’n’boring basics.
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Cryptic Rock
Smile definitely has moments of self-empowerment and heartfelt sincerity, reminders of the fierce woman that we first met 12 years ago.
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Pepperdine Graphic
there is no doubt that her music holds a special place in the hearts and minds of millions. “Smile” and its electric bounce will surely reside in those hearts too.
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Female First
Whilst Smile isn't exactly reinventing the wheel, she remains an incredibly special artist whose music will live forever and for that, she must be celebrated.
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The Times
The cartoonish star has grown up, but the results are a little boring.
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The Daily Californian
Katy Perry’s “Smile” is entirely generic yet still danceable.
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musicOMH
Katy Perry is funny, vivacious, a little over the top in the best way, a powerful vocalist and so much more; she clearly now knows all of this, and her admirable confidence soars on this album.
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Metro
She is still singing bops in a post-bop scene, but they feel more personal and reflective than her earlier records. The sound is cool and bouncy rather than brash and bravura, although she still loves a crescendo.
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Star Tribune
This isn’t an album of pop songs as much as a therapy session set to music. The fireworks have vanished. There’s no eye of the tiger anymore. Her dancing sharks have left the stage.
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Chicago Sun-Times
“Smile” is a course-correction back to pure pop, with no featured artists and no political messages. It is Perry’s “I’m so sorry” album, littered with references to a chastened songwriter.
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Medium
Perry pours her life experiences into an album that hopes to pivot from the unintentional debacle of the Witness era & though Perry may not regain her superstar status, she has created a solid, light and enjoyable body of work.
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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 existing. It just sits at the table surrounded by Perry’s past, which has some of the aforementioned biggest tracks of the ‘00s, and a couple of toe-dips into new territory which were at least commendable, but Smile just walks the line of enjoyable.
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The Telegraph
The album excels on tracks like Never Really Over and Cry About It Later, both of which have a gleefully destructive air, not to mention killer choruses. Life may have beaten some of the freewheeling excitement from Katy Perry’s work but she’s not about to let it go completely. Smile still has a twinkle in its eye – it’s just that sometimes that twinkle is a tear.
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Cillacritic
In summary the album is more of the reflections of a mature lady who have been through ups and downs.
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Black Boy Bulletin
In essence, Smile is a transitional album that is not without its moments of genius and greatness. Now, it is time to pull from Smile‘s most inventive moments to properly mold Katy into the next iteration of herself, whatever that may be.
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Thomas Bleach
‘Smile’ embraces hope in a bright kaleidoscope of colours that include bold moments of empowerment, mature reflection and playful concepts. Some critics have already panned the cohesiveness of this record, but personally I don’t think they’re actually seeing this album for what it is; a reflection of hope. It showcases all the different ways that people address depression, anxiety, grief, heartbreak and pain, and takes you on journey of self reflection and celebration along the way.
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London Evening Standard
It fits the current mood, and musically at least, there’s still plenty to smile about.
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The Reviews Are In
I hope that Perry’s fans embrace the personal depth on this album and I hope that pop music fans give it a good listen as well. And, if I’m really reaching with hopes, I hope that Smile and the songs and stories included, get measured alongside other pop albums that are celebrated for their writing just as much as their sing-along potential or danceability.
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Vinyl Chapters
The expansive, whooshing pop with predictable build-ups and drops is fun for a while, but overdone and doesn’t serve much of a purpose beyond TV advertising and ‘safe kids’ birthday party soundtracks.
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The 13th Floor
There it is. Classy and expensive. You may feel this is shallow in this time of strife. But let’s admit the medium is the message. Invites you in, plants a kiss. Grabs the hips and the heart. The head will follow. Try social distancing to that!
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inews
Her songs tend to embody the sad cycle of self-abasement and self-help positivity that drives a lot of the consumer economy.
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Wopular
"Smile," a reliably catchy but unadventurous journey through the singer's healing and happiness.
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Stack
With Perry dressed all great-clown-Pagliacci on the cover, Smile is upfront about its ambitions to laugh through the tears.
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Clash
seem like a deep philosophical rumination on the transient nature of existence. In short, it’s no substance, and not even that much style.
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Stereogum
Although it’s possible to imagine a more engaging version of Smile, credit Perry for moving forward with dignity rather than frantically scrambling to preserve a moment that has passed. If she never again approaches the record-breaking success of Teenage Dream, at least the Smile era is succeeding on its own terms.
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The Irish Times
Subpar lyrics with otherwise perfect melodies.
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The Daily Nebraskan
Katy Perry’s “Smile” is larger than life, but ultimately stale and uninspired.
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No Ripcord
Smile is an album searching for an identity—and when it fails, it falls back on lazy writing.
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Breathe Heavy
The record is not a revival of her iconic Teenage Dream but rather a continuation of the PRISM's club inspired contents. And though it lacks with the promising and experimental sound of her ambitious Witness, the narratives and production are surprisingly cohesive, considering the weights of Never Really Over as an opening track has put in. The tracklisting is also well blended and sync as the album progresses, without hearing the lead singles being aggressively overshadowing the following tracks.
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Alternatively Pop
If you are looking to have fun, dance around and simply smile, then it just might be exactly what you’re looking for.
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Melodic Magazine
As simple as these deep themes have become in the lyrics of Smile, there’s something to be said of the universal quality that this simplicity brings. And with the theme of the record being clownery, Katy Perry can get away with pure entertainment and with persistent joy, hopefulness, and resilience.
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Her Campus
Smile is nonstop pop fun, but at times it leads to sonic fatigue, in which the songs start blending together. The album's themes, supporting visuals and catchy lyrics elevate the album to a cohesive, sparkling addition to Perry's discography.
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Palatinate Online
Although this is not her strongest album and lacks that spark used in One of the Boys and Teenage Dream , this album is still a demonstration that Perry is continuing to grow as an artist in the industry and is never shy when it comes to experimenting with her style.
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The Indiependent
The ghost of Teenage Dream looms large over this album. The moments of joy are short-lived amongst the painting-by-numbers pop. Smile, as a body of music, does not make me grin. The context of its arrival as part of Perry’s journey to happiness and the fact it followed the birth of her child does. Hopefully Smile is the stepping stone to a return to form.
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Riff Magazine
Smile is the album that meets the moment of the age we live in. A fitting celebration of strength, pain and individuality under dire circumstances. The album hits all the right notes in mixing joy and pain without ever getting too down on itself.
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The Shorthorn
I’m not confident Perry will be able to continue producing hits, but only time will tell. For now, she needs to realize that to keep up with a thriving pop industry, she’ll have to get with the times.
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