No one does massive effervescent pop quite like Katy Perry, and no album perfectly encapsulates the shiny bubblegum aesthetic of her prolific career better than 2010’s Teenage Dream. Is it vain, juvenile, and all a bit mindless? Absolutely. But it’s also an absolute pop masterpiece, filled with smash hits that are simply impossible to get out of your head once they worm their way in. The hedonism that’s fully celebrated here feels like being young again and all of that entails.
Show me someone who doesn’t start bopping their head along when “Teenage Dream” or “California Gurls” comes on and I’ll show you someone who has lost the ability to recognize that the ability to shut your brain off for a few moments and simply have fun is one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself on this wild ride that is life.
Standout Songs: “Teenage Dream”, “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)”, “California Gurls”, “Firework”
