Flashback Friday: "Teenage Dream" - Katy Perry (2010)

Welcome back again, Katy Perry.

Now this song I want to talk about isn't exactly ancient, but I figured it's a good song for looking at the career of Katy Perry, especially since I pretty much trashed her new single. Has she always been overhyped? Did she ever deserve all her praise and accolades? Well, let's find out. Today on Flashback Friday, we're looking at Katy Perry hit "Teenage Dream"!

You think I'm pretty

Without any makeup on
You think I'm funny
When I tell the punchline wrong
I know you get me
So I let my walls come down, down

Um... you know, I just have to ask the question: what the hell is up with Katy Perry's voice?

This doesn't sound like Katy Perry. This sounds like someone's drunk aunt singing karaoke after one too many brewskies. But let's look at the lyrics, too. Pretty generic, cheesy lovey-dovey crap. Let's move on.

Before you met me
I was alright but things
Were kinda heavy
You brought me to life

Wow, spare us the details. But seriously, this is way too generic to even elicit any response from me. It's so devoid from any emotion. "Before you met me, I was alright, but things were kinda heavy"? Who cares?
 

Let's go all the way tonight
No regrets, just love
We can dance, until we die
You and I, will be young forever

Okay, let's make one thing clear: When I was wondering what happened to Katy Perry's voice, it didn't necessarily mean that I appreciated her voice. Katy Perry is not a very good singer. And sometimes I can let it slide, like when she's singing about waking up in Vegas.  But not when she's singing a love song. Her mediocre singing combined with mediocre lyrics makes for - guess what? - a mediocre song.

I mean, even the title - "Teenage Dream". This doesn't imply romance. It implies undisciplined, irresponsible sex. Trust me, I've been a teenager. So when you have a title like "Teenage Dream" and you're singing about how he finds you pretty without any makeup on, something that implies more love than sex... it's just confusing.

But even though I've pointed out numerous things I've found wrong here, I can't get too mad at Katy Perry, or even this song. I find that her songs usually aren't meant to be taken too seriously. Her songs are a kind of brain candy: not mentally stimulating or challenging, but catchy enough that you wouldn't necessarily turn it off, either. This is one of Katy Perry's worst (before “Roar”), in my opinion, but even then, it's okay. There were definitely songs from2010 I hated more, and if I ever get to any of them, you're in for a treat.

But back to the question I originally posed: Does Katy Perry deserve all the hype? Well, she's not the worst possible artist to receive it. As far as pop music goes, she's relatively generic, no matter how much she tries to shock with her supposed bi-curiosity in "I Kissed a Girl" or the various things shooting out of her breasts in all her other videos. There are much better things out there than Katy Perry, but there are also much worse. And if Katy Perry is the one to represent pop music today, then so be it.

And hey, this is still better than “Roar”.