page_title: Prism (Katy Perry album)
section_title: Composition
hierarchical_section_title: Prism (Katy Perry album) / Composition
caption_attribution_description: English: Katy Perry performing "Dark Horse", The Prismatic World Tour, Glasgow SSE Hydro 17 May 2014
context_page_description: Prism is the fourth studio album by American singer Katy Perry. It was released by Capitol Records on October 18, 2013. While the album was initially planned to be "darker" than her previous material, Prism ultimately became a prominently dance-inspired record. The singer worked with several past collaborators, while enlisting new producers and guest vocals. Much of Prism revolves around the themes of living in the present, relationships, and self-empowerment. The album garnered generally positive reviews with critics praising its lyrical content for being more "mature" and personal, while others considered Prism to be more formulaic than her previous material.
  The album debuted atop the US Billboard 200 with 286,000 copies sold, becoming Perry's best opening week to date. The album also peaked at number one in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Prism became Perry's fastest-selling album, the second best-selling album in Australia in 2013, and the second best-selling album released by a woman in the United States in 2013.
context_section_description: The album opens with "Roar", a midtempo synth-driven power pop track. Musically, it contains elements of arena rock and glam rock, while lyrically it is an empowerment anthem. Comparisons were established between "Roar" and "Brave" by Sara Bareilles. "Legendary Lovers", a bhangra-based song, deals with the concepts of karma and infinity. "Birthday" was described by Perry as her own attempt at "writing something Mariah Carey would have put on her first record". Musically, it is a "fluffy" pop song that is primarily styled in the genre of disco. "Walking on Air", the album's second promotional single, is an early 1990s-inspired deep house-Eurodance-disco song, inspired heavily by CeCe Peniston and Crystal Waters. It was produced by Klas Åhlund and Max Martin. "Unconditionally", Perry's personal favorite song on the album and second official single, is a "soaring" power ballad with an "epic chorus". Jason Lipshutz from Billboard noted that the song includes a "woodblock percussion" as well as "a dramatic bass line" and deemed it the album's "most mature offering". Furthermore, he called it "an ode to love that looks past all flaws" and stated that the song acts as a "compellingly grounded predicate" to the title track from Teenage Dream. Perry herself described the song as a song about unconditional love that could come in all forms, including those from relationships, from parent-to-child, and from sibling-to-sibling.
  "Dark Horse" is a song with ample influences of trap, grime, hip hop, and "Southern rap-techno mashup" genres. "This Is How We Do", produced by Max Martin and Klas Ahlund, was described as being the possible "song of summer" for 2014. Shirley Halperin from The Hollywood Reporter described "This Is How We Do" as "a sunny 80s throwback", while Edna Gundersen from USA Today described it as a "buoyant pop blast with hip-hop underpinnings" and praised the song's recurring refrain ("It's no big deal!"). James Montgomery from MTV News called the song a "cocksure, club-ready banger". With "Double Rainbow", produced by Greg Kustin and co-writer Sia, Perry was allowed to "dump pent-up emotions" and "get things off her chest". The song was described as a "massive ballad". Lipshutz deemed it as a "breathy love track" with a "powerful chorus that explodes upon impact" with lyrics that include "One man's trash is another man's treasure / so if it's up to me, I'm gonna keep you forever". He added that "Kurstin brings the pop sensibility he's flashed with artists like Kelly Clarkson and P!nk, while Sia's presence connects this sleek, shimmering pop track to [her David Guetta collaboration] 'Titanium'". Elijah Sarkesian felt that "Some of Katy's finest vocals of the album are on this song".
  Perry described "Love Me" as a song "about loving yourself the way you want to be loved". Gundersen called it "irresistibly catchy and energetic". The song was produced by Bloodshy. Sarkesian called it "an interesting mix – the lyrics are dark, but the music is very dance-centric. At the very least, it'll do well in clubs". Montgomery stated that "Love Me" and "International Smile" both "seem destined for the dance floors". The latter was inspired by Perry's friend Mia Moretti, and was compared to the songs on Perry's previous album. Lipshutz called it a "straightforward pop-rock offering" and described its guitar hook as "kicky", adding that the song also includes a "Melting Daft Punk-esque vocoder breakdown". Halperin stated that in the song, Perry sings the "hooky" line: "Please fasten your seat belts and make sure your champagne glasses are empty".
  Halperin described "This Moment" and "Ghost" as "mid-tempo ballads that are closest in DNA to Perry's previous smashes". Perry stated that she was inspired to write "This Moment" after she heard the audio book of The Power of Now; the song's lyrics talk about "living in the present"; with Perry "add[ing] a romantic spin" to it. Gary Trust described "Ghost" as a "mesmerizing ballad", while Gundersen described it as "powerful, dark, and haunting". Lipshutz felt that "Ghost" and "By the Grace o
caption: Perry performing "Legendary Lovers" at the Prismatic World Tour
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