Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection

Now that I've listened to all of Katy Perry's albums (through Prism as of the time of writing of the review), I'd have to say that this one is definitely my favorite of all of them. This one seems to contain the highest proportion of excellent songs, and it's definitely the one that I listen to the most. Here's a rundown of the individual songs (which I am keeping brief since this album is so long): Teenage Dream (5/5) – This is a nice opener. It's kind of an anthem to teenage experiences, and it feels strangely nostalgic to me despite the fact that it's not nearly old enough to actually be nostalgic. It's a weird effect, but I like it. Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.) (4/5) – This is a nice, carefree (and rather hyperbolic) song about partying. I like it. California Girls (5/5) – This could be thought of a party song, even though it isn't explicitly about parties. Either way, I like its light tone and catchy chorus. The guest verse from Snoop Dog is nice, too. Firework (4/5) – I'm not sure this works well as a "motivational" song due to the slightly weak lyrics, but I still like the sound of it, and it's pleasant enough to listen to. Peacock (5/5) – I know a lot of people find this song to be stupid, but I like it solely because I find it amusing. It doesn't hurt that it's darn catchy, too. Circle the Drain (5/5) – This is an interesting change of tone from the previous album's songs, since this song is much darker, exploring drug addiction. Despite the heavy tone, it still manages to be high energy in its delivery! The One That Got Away (5/5) – This is a bit more of a wistful, regretful song, and it manages to explore its topic without being overly whiny. E.T. (5/5) – I love this song! It's definitely a unique love song amid a sea of generic love songs, so I have to give it credit solely for its originality. On top of that, it's catchy as hell, so no complaints here! Who Am I Living For? (4/5) – This is once again a shift in tone from the previous song. It has good energy and is listenable enough. Pearl (4/5) – This is another reasonably decent song; not much to say about it. Hummingbird Heartbeat (3/5) – I notice myself skipping this song a lot, and I don't really know why, because it's a decent enough song. I guess after all the stellar songs on this album, this one just feels a bit average and dull. Not Like The Movies (3/5) – This is another song that I often skip. It's not terrible or anything, but I guess after all the upbeat, high energy songs on the album, this one just feels a bit too slow for me. Also, for some reason, it feels like it just drags on for a bit too long for me. The One That Got Away (Acoustic) (4/5) – This is just what it sounds like – an acoustic version of the original song. It's not much different from the original, but I prefer the original, just because it feels more energetic. This is a fine enough version, though. Part of Me (4/5) – This is another decently good song; it's got a catchy chorus and is nice enough. Wide Awake (3/5) – This is another song that just feels average to me – I don't really find it too memorable, and I skip it often. Dressin' Up (5/5) – I rather like this song. I guess I have a weakness for songs with really obvious sexual innuendos! E.T. (feat. Kanye West) (5/5) – I loved the original song, and I love this version, too. Kanye manages to add something extra, and I don't find it better or worse then the original – just different. Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.) (feat. Missy Elliott) (5/5) – I feel like Missy Elliott adds interest to this song, and I actually slightly prefer this version over the original. Tommie Sunshine's Megamix Smash-up (2/5) – This is probably the worst "song" on the album. I've heard better mashups on youtube done by amateurs (granted, those only involved two songs, but maybe this "megamix" concept shouldn't have been done to begin with), and this one unfortunately does nothing clever or interesting with the concept of a Katy Perry mashup since it's essentially just a bunch of her songs playing for a bit before fading into the next song. Of course, no one is buying this album for this weird and superfluous bonus track, so it doesn't really detract much from the overall album. Overall Score (5/5): NOTE this score is not a mathematical average of previous scores; it’s my subjective overall score. This is definitely Katy Perry's best album so far (inclusive of Prism), and this longer version ("The Complete Confection") is the definitive version to get. For a whole 19 tracks (18 if you discount the weird "smash-up" thing), it's a great value and definitely worth adding to your collection if you like Katy Perry's music.

Original.

Avril Lavigne turned 30 years old just three days ago. Katy Perry will turn 30 in less than a month (25 days). Lady Gaga is 28 years old. Adele turned 26 years old this past May. Sarah Dooley turned 26 about 2-1/2 months ago. Taylor Swift is 24 years old. Rihanna, Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato are all 22 years old. Miley Cyrus is 21 years old. Birdy is 18 years old. Lorde is 17 years old. Jasmine Thompson is 13 years old. And all of the above (with the possible exceptions of Sarah and Jasmine) are almost certainly MUCH richer than you or me. It goes without saying that they all are probably far more talented than you or me as well. But none of them are as rich as Dr. Dre, the rapper and electronics magnate, who is 49 years old, and who earned $620 million dollars just this past year alone! Not counting Avril (the Queen of Canada), the other twelve female recording artists are all still under 30, so we can "trust" them-- at least for the time being, I suppose. Jack Weinberg, the man who, in 1965, inadvertently coined the phrase, "Don't trust anyone over 30," would be 74 years old now. But issues of trust aside, the real question for this review of Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection" is can any of these other young ladies (or anyone else in the entire world, for that matter) ever top the massive, astounding commercial success (and I would argue the artistic success too) of the "Teenage Dream" album (and its expanded reissue)? For a long time now, it has been fashionable in those circles which consider themselves the hip cognoscenti of the music world to dismiss Katy Perry as an artist of lesser abilities and to denigrate her artistic accomplishments. Of course, it is undeniable that her commercial success has been virtually without equal. Between the original album and its expanded reissue, there were *SIX* #1 singles, a #2 single and a #3 single. But maybe this should not have been too big a surprise to anyone considering that the lead single, "I Kissed a Girl," from her prior album had reached #1 status in eighteen different country or regional charts worldwide! Not to mention the fact that the lead single, "Roar" from Perry's 2013 album, "Prism," reached #1 status in twenty-four country or regional charts around the globe! With the album, "Teenage Dream," though, we are talking about an achievement that can only be compared with the chart success of the early Beatles! Since Katy Perry has basically written most (if not all) of her own songs, I think it's fair to count her in the ranks of the very best songwriters the music industry has ever seen. And needless to say, her music videos which have illustrated most of her top hits have been works of amazing brilliance. I realize she cannot take full credit for the production of the videos, but she does star in all of them, and I'm sure her hand was heavily felt in the creation of them. Why do I feel the need to defend the artistic accomplishments of an international star worth $110 million dollar (or more)? I guess it's because of all the naysayers in those fashionable circles who attempt to belittle and deride the accomplishments of anyone who creates breathtakingly brilliant music or art or literature and then has the good fortune to be very successful commercially to boot. It reminds me of all the critics who have tried to tear down the reputation of John Updike BECAUSE his writing was so elegant and so perfect. Artistic perfection coupled with massive commercial success is often (but not always) the route to outright critical damnation or else condemnation by faint praise. It's totally NOT cool to dismiss artistic genius for reasons of phony hipness or bandwagon fashionability. True artistic genius is scarce and should be cherished and revered as the rare treasure it is. From my view, Katy Perry belongs to this elite group without question. NOW, if we could only do something about her taste in men in her personal life!

IMO this is THE best album by Katy Perry! Her One of the boys and Prism album are good but this is the one you should get without second thought. Peak Perry Perfection!!

As a Next Generation music artist Katy Perry is fun to listen to,and this work truly is the best work she has ever done in her career.

This album was perfect! I had it on my CD wishlist for ages. A lot of the classic songs such as “Teenage Dream"; “Firework"; “Part of Me"; “E.T.", “California Gurls"; and “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F)" that got me into Katy Perry are on this album. One song I don't really like on this album is “Peacock" as it just sort of sounds juvenile. It is catchy though. Another song I don't really like is the last song, which is a mix of some of the songs on the album. I just don't really get the purpose of it when you have already heard the full tracks to the featured songs leading up to it. Overall, the album is a great listen and I don't regret purchasing it one bit.

It will take a minor miracle for her to top this. The first 6 songs are all classic and fit together perfectly. It's not to say she won't have good songs and albums in the future. It's just this will be hard to top.

First, this is the only album of hers I like the other was nice and all but not quite my thing for music though it was well done. This one, blows you away. She's not some crappy song writer, she reminds me of the old Singer/storytellers of the 70's(come on you know you've heard or remember "Little boy blue and the man in the moon") these are just story songs of her...and of all of us. I will admit though I liked the California Gurls edition that had legal action taken against it, personally that version was the best, course maybe its cause I heard it 3 times driving from Milwaukee to Wausau on various radio stations, but I just think that was the best, Snoop Lion (Dogg at the time) does a good interlude but...its just not quite as good. its a fun album. even the last additions are still fun its like okay you had this awesome party and fun for the album and suddenly you have to wake up to reality and bam there it is, you're "wide awake" the phone's annoying you and you "just want to throw my phone away" and dang going back to bed and back to the fun dreams would be SOOO much better.