Katy Perry

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Lore & Background

After concluding her California Dreams Tour, Perry stated she intended to "live a little" before recording new material. Following her divorce from Russell Brand on December 30, 2011, she felt devastated and contemplated suicide. Perry revealed to Vogue in June 2012 that she planned to record a "darker" album. Development of Prism began while Perry was on tour, using a process she called "slow cooking," recording random "fragments of ideas" into her phone. Recording officially started in November 2012 with Greg Wells and Greg Kurstin, but Perry noted she was still in a "dark place." Sessions began again in March 2013 after a trip to Madagascar, which Perry credited with helping her "let the light in." She reunited with her Teenage Dream team—Dr. Luke, Bonnie McKee, and Cirkut—in Santa Barbara for a month of recording at Playback Recording Studio. She then went to Stockholm to work with Max Martin, whom she described as putting "the ice on the cake." Perry described writing sessions with McKee as "emotional abuse," saying they argue over the "best lyric" as if fighting in a boxing ring. McKee described the album as "a little bit more grown up" and "interesting."

Reader's Guide

Prism is a pop album that opens with "Roar," an empowerment anthem containing elements of arena rock and glam rock. "Legendary Lovers" is a bhangra-based song dealing with karma and infinity. "Birthday" was described by Perry as her attempt at "writing something Mariah Carey would have put on her first record." "Walking on Air" is an early 1990s-inspired deep house-Eurodance-disco song, inspired by CeCe Peniston and Crystal Waters. "Unconditionally," Perry's personal favorite on the album, is a "soaring" power ballad about unconditional love. "Dark Horse" features strong influences from trap, grime, and hip hop. "This Is How We Do" was described as a "buoyant pop blast with hip-hop underpinnings." "Double Rainbow," produced by Greg Kurstin and co-written by Sia, allowed Perry to "dump pent-up emotions." "Love Me" is described by Perry as "about loving yourself the way you want to be loved." "International Smile" was inspired by Perry's friend Mia Moretti. "This Moment" was inspired by the audiobook of Eckhart Tolle's The Power of Now, with lyrics about "living in the present." The album's lead single "Roar" was released on August 10, 2013, and topped the US Billboard Hot 100. "Unconditionally" debuted on October 16, 2013, and reached the top 10 in Italy. "Dark Horse" followed on December 17, 2013, and reached number one in the United States. "Birthday" and "This Is How We Do" were the fourth and fifth singles. "Walking on Air" was released as a promotional single. Prism was promoted through the Prismatic World Tour, and a concert from the tour was released as The Prismatic World Tour Live in 2015.

Did You Know?

• Prism was initially planned to be a 'darker' album, but became a dance-inspired record after Perry's trip to Madagascar.
• Perry described her writing sessions with Bonnie McKee for Prism as 'emotional abuse,' comparing them to fighting in a boxing ring.
• The song 'This Moment' was inspired by the audiobook of Eckhart Tolle's The Power of Now.
• Perry recorded random 'fragments of ideas' into her phone's dictaphone app during a process she called 'slow cooking.'
• Prism was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards.