Movies

Album Review: Teenage Dream

31 May 2016

By Lauren E. White

Released in 2010, Katy Perry’s Teenage Dream was the breakthrough of the decade and is still highly regarded by critics today. A mixed bag of bubble-gum pop and dark, twisted ballads, the Californian-born superstar has something for everyone.

Teenage Dream is filled with perfect song after perfect song, so it’s difficult to choose a favourite. However, for the whole six years I’ve been listening, ‘The One That Got Away’ has never failed to strike a chord. With its beautiful acoustics and lyrical genius – all credit to Perry herself for that – this track touches you in every way possible. It’s teeming with nostalgia and pain, but it’s a song that you can just never shake off and showcases Katy Perry’s talent as a musician at its best.

Of course, Teenage Dream is famous for its smash-hit singles like ‘California Gurls’ and ‘Firework’. They really give the album its colour and life – the vibrancy that Katy Perry portrays in her quirky music videos and indeed the album cover itself.

However, one of the main mysteries surrounding Teenage Dream is ‘Peacock’. What is it all about? Well, the message is quite clear, but why was it ever put on the album? When it is mixed with the likes of ‘Pearl’ and ‘Not Like the Movies‘, ‘Peacock’ stands out as the album’s filler track. It lets down the album, but it’s important to note that the track doesn’t overshadow the pop genius of the remaining eleven tracks.

There is no doubt about it: Teenage Dream is one of the greatest pop albums of the past sixteen years. It should’ve won multiple Grammys but instead it lives on in the hearts and minds of millions around the world.

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