By Waiching
Crafting hit after hit, Katy Perry, as well as several music video producers, have managed to etch out some visually appealing music videos to accompany her songs & savvy and sassy attitude.
Since 2008's breakout I Kissed a Girl, Santa Barbera's very own Katy Perry (born on October 25 in 1984) has managed to present as herself as both the girl-next-door type and someone who isn't afraid of challenging herself, as represented through her diverse and never-ending various looks, the ideas and concepts of her videos and her career, which has ignited and thrived for almost two decades after her first album. Despite some bumps along the way (with 2017's Witness being cited as the low point in her career by many), Katy has cranked out several hits, setting a trailblazing impact in the pop world and became the latest female solo pop star to rise to superstar stardom. The unique visual and creative ideas & aspects that accompany her pop videos set the standard for the pop world to live up to.
These are my 10 chosen Katy Perry music videos to date:
1. Swish Swish (2018) - It's one of the most entertaining music videos of Katy's I've enjoyed sitting through with its basketball theme, a cameo by Terry Crews and Katy Perry paying homage to the now late great Kobe Bryant, it's like a human version of Space Jam. What it lacks musically in terms of its pop-feel, there is never a dull moment around and always something happening every few seconds in the video. It's occasionally witty and humorous, poking fun and having fun with the sport.
2. This Is How We Do (2014) - a pop art-style looking video for an (underrated) song which wasn't as successful as I'd thought it would be & should have been, it is accompanied by numerous outfit and hairstyle changes. Oh and the twerking ice cream cone, priceless
3. Chained To The Rhythm feat. Skip Marley (2017) - analysing the music video today, it appears that it was way ahead of its time, with the song's lyrics (penned by Sia) becoming more relevant particularly during the current coronavirus crisis. Bombed back in 2017 amidst the LP, Witness, it turns out Chained To The Rhythm is a really good song with a catchy chorus and melody, combined with a video that packs a strong & rather compelling political/social message, but is also aesthetically pleasing to the eye.
4. E.T. (2011) - probably the game changer for Katy Perry in her evolution as a solo artist, her music videos up until this point weren't as dynamic and daring as this, but in E.T, as well as a cameo from Kanye West, we have a song about making out with an extraterrestrial and therein lies a bizarre-yet stylised intergalactic-themed, sci-fi video production. Its chart success led to more creatively ambitious and as equally bolder music videos of Katy's later on, as she transforms herself into an alien travelling through space.
5. Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F) (2011) - a take on the 1980s with a teenybopper feel with guest appearances by Glee's Darren Criss and Kevin McHale, '80s singer, Debbie Gibson & Kenny G in a clip inspired by an '80s montage and Katy playing a nerdy teenager, Kathy Beth who goes through a transformation from a dork to a beauty queen with big hair.
6. Bon Appetit feat. Migos & Quavo (2017) - MasterChef given the quirky Katy Perry twist, like Swish Swish, if it wasn't for the cannibalistic-ish, yet entertaining music video being as visually pleasing to the eye, I wouldn't have paid much attention to the song. But with the video, it made me like the song, just a little more. Talk about the expression, 'food porn', this is it, and a so-called flop that, nonetheless, garnered almost 1 billion views on Youtube, like Swish Swish, Bon Appetit represented the experimental period of Witness.
Image credit: Popsugar
7. Dark Horse feat. Juicy J (2014) - her first crossover moment blends pop with trap, hip- hop and R&B, the video sees Katy as a character named, Katy Patra - a play on Cleopatra in Memphis, Eygpt. In 2015, Dark Horse became the first music video by a female artist to hit 1 billion views for Vevo on YouTube and is nearing 3 billion to date. Not only is this one of the most unconventional songs coming from songwriter and producer Max Martin, but also from Perry herself.
8. Roar (2013) - this jungle-inspired hit and lead single off Prism has claimed over 3 billion views on YouTube and the video sees Katy Perry in the role of a female version of Tarzan. A fan favourite, Roar manages to get little kids and older fans singing at the top of their lungs. After her exploits here, I wouldn't mind seeing how Katy fares on 'I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!'
9. Smile (2020) - There are two versions of this latest song that she has released, but my favourite is the performance one with Katy dressed as and looking like a clown, - pardon my pun. She looked terrific here. The song itself is like a mixture of California Gurls with This is How We Do. The end result is that of being one of her best efforts of the late 2020s.
10. Part of Me (2012) - a video that is not so much Private Benjamin as it is G.I Jane, Perry plays the role of a cadet/soldier who finds out her boyfriend cheated on her with another woman, dumps him and enrols herself in the U.S army. The video's theme, as well as song lyrics, affirmed themes of self-confidence, female empowerment, self-belief and battling against all the odds and triumphing in the end.
Honourable Mentions: Peacock, Rise, 365 feat. Zedd, Teenage Dream, Feels feat. Calvin Harris, Pharell Williams and Big Sean, Daisies (Can't Cancel Pride), Waking Up In Vegas, Never Really Over, Small Talk
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