Katy Perry announces new album Smile and drops title track
The release of Katy Perry’s upcoming album, her first since 2017’s Witness, is little over a month away. Today she announced that the body of work released on the 14th of August is titled Smile and will include previous singles, of which ‘Daisies’ and ‘Never Really Over’ were easily the strongest. To get her fans even more excited, she decided to drop another new tune taken from the record, title track ‘Smile’.

‘Smile’ samples the song ‘Jamboree’ by hip hop group Naughty By Nature, for which the members received credits. In terms of vibe, Perry seems to aim for a summer hit in the style of her Teenage Dream record. It never really reaches the heights of that iconic pop album though. Sure, ‘Smile’ is instantly catchy and has a nice, swinging production (thanks to that sample), but it misses something that elevates it into an unforgettable pop anthem. ‘Smile’ is fun while it lasts, but nothing here makes me want to hit the replay button. The melodies seem to repeat themselves quite a bit and the lyrics are not as inspirational as they might have been intended to be. Let us not even discuss the Lionel Richie and BeeGees references, because they are… not it. ‘Smile’ sure ain’t one of the best songs Katy Perry put her name to, but with a little goodwill this could actually become a decent summer hit as its safe and radio friendly.