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Review | Review: Katy Perry’s new album Witness takes a stand, but ultimately doesn’t deliver

On album that’s supposed to be about self-empowerment, Perry gets you on her side with the honesty of Bigger Than Me, the humour of Bon Appetit - soundtrack of the summer - and the sass of Swish Swish, then lets us all down

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Katy Perry’s new album, Witness, has its moments, but is ultimately a letdown.
Katy Perry
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Witness

Capitol

2.5 stars

It’s a challenging time for pop stars: they’re saddled with the conundrum of remaining relevant and socially aware, yet fear alienating themselves from the charts with party-stopping talk of politics. When big-label names go on the hunt for wokeness, many fall back on the same stodgy tropes.

Much has been made of Katy Perry’s refreshed world view on her latest album, Witness, on which the 32-year-old star finally takes a stand against vague societal issues. Under the cover of self-empowerment, she spends much of the album preoccupied with her own PR: trumpeting her own superiority and implying we’re finally seeing behind the cupcake bra to glimpse the real K Pez.

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