Katy Perry speaks with a British accent. Is this a carry over from her short-lived marriage to comedian Russell Brand? Or is it Australian? I’m not really sure. If it is, then it must be the result of this California Girl’s close coordination with the local part of the superb crew that helped her put together her The Prismatic World Tour Live in Sydney last December 2014.
I do not know if this was the same show that Perry brought over some months ago. All that I can remember from those who watched was the agony of getting in and worse, out of the Philippine Arena parking lot. Now if this was the concert they saw, then all I can say is that you were very lucky guys. Judging from the excellent video release, The Prismatic World Tour Live was a visually-stunning, hit-filled, truly enjoyable experience.
Perry as a hitmaker is right up there with the big guns. Dark Horse, Roar, The One That Got Away, Last Friday Night (T.G.I. F.), E.T., Firework, Teenage Dream, California Gurls, Hot n Cold, I Kissed A Girl. Now unlike Madonna she is no trained dancer. Neither is she a drop-dead beauty like Beyoncé and she does not sing in the four-octave range like Christina Aguilera. What she brings to her fans though are pop-dance tunes, they can sing to, youthful energy that knows no bounds and an incredible sense of fun that makes watching her such a joy.
All of those are present in Prismatic where Perry distributed her hits and other songs into seven fantastic segments. Each one has a theme. Prismatic, as in glass prisms for the Roar opener; Egyptian as in pyramids, Catoure as in cats on Rodeo Drive, Acoustic where she does a tearful By The Grace Of God, Throwback and Hyperneon plus a magnificent Firework encore.
And all of these were wonderfully staged from Perry’s make-up and costumes to the stage design, the props and all those fun gimmicky things dear to kids that her young fans (and there were so many of them in the audience) could not have enough of. Think cute kitty cats, sunflowers, butterflies, pizzas, little dresses that light up, etc.
Perry’s Prismatic is a video even non-fans will enjoy and want to keep. And not in the top shelf or under the bed where you have now relegated Miley Cyrus. Remember that girl once had pride of place as Hannah Montana. I do not think Perry ever aspired for that distinction. But Prismatic is one show parents can watch with the kids without much explaining to embarrassing questions. Just be prepared for all those Perry items that your little girls will want a lot of.
Meanwhile, since music nowadays has also become visual and as a way of putting the past year to a close, here is the list of the 20 Most Viewed Music Videos on YouTube as of Dec. 20. Note that Perry’s Dark Horse and Roar, the hit singles from her Prism studio album are both in the Top 10:
Gangnam Style by Psy, 2,477,697,773; Blank Space, Taylor Swift, 1,353,125,613; See You Again, Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth, 1,263,366,119; Baby, Justin Bieber featuring Ludacris, 1,259,654,127; Uptown Funk! by Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars, 1,225,801,565; Shake It Off, Taylor Swift, 1,218,568,836; Dark Horse, Katy Perry, 1,215,446,612; Bailando, Enrique Iglesias featuring Descemer Bueno and Gente De Zona, 1,203,253,350; Roar, Katy Perry, 1,186,674,412; All About That Bass, Meghan Trainor, 1,168,896,412.
Counting Stars by OneRepublic, 1,074,696,412; Chandelier, Sia, 1,039,741,244; Party Rock Anthem, LMFAO featuring Lauren Bennett and GoonRock, 994,211,799; Love The Way You Lie, Eminem featuring Rihanna, 984,368,491; Waka Waka (This Time For Africa), Shakira featuring Freshlyground 972,125,266; Sugar, Maroon 5 933,155,391; Lean On, Major Lazer and DJ Snake featuring MO 927,186,432; Gentleman, Psy 907,804,568; Thinking Out Loud, Ed Sheeran 894,981,354; On The Floor, Jennifer Lopez featuring Pitbull 885,345,575.
Now, here are the Top 10 names who got the most likes, who were the most mentioned and whose songs got the most mentions on the file-sharing app, Instagram in 2015. One Direction (@onedirection); Ariana Grande (@arianagrande); 5 Seconds of Summer (@5SOS); Justin Bieber (@justinbieber); Taylor Swift (@taylorswift); Selena Gomez (@selenagomez); Beyoncé (@beyonce); Rihanna (@badgalriri); Demi Lovato (@ddlovato); and Miley Cyrus (@mileycyrus).
And the Top 10 songs most mentioned on Instagram are: What Do You Mean?, Justin Bieber; Good For You, Selena Gomez, A$AP, Rocky; Hello, Adele; She’s Kinda Hot, 5 Seconds of Summer; Blank Space, Taylor Swift; Bad Blood, Taylor Swift; Focus, Ariana Grande; Worth It, Fifth Harmony; Thinking Out Loud, Ed Sheeran; and 100, The Game by Drake.