Review Katy Perry's Witness

[iCpro 14,846]

After listening for a second and third time, I can say that this might be one of my favourite albums ever. I love just about all of the songs

[Sister 9,907]

I think it's a solid Katy Perry record and has some deserving single hits on it. It is a success to me, certainly not worse than her past discography.

[Talent 9,333]

Finally listened to it. I appreciate Katy's effort and I understand this album is really personal (but like, really really personal). You can feel she's in a bad place, that she feels trapped somehow and wants to embrace something different, I get that. I wish her the best. Katy is problematic, yes, but you can sense that's unhappy with her life. Her weird antics are just a cover-up. Now that I said that, I don't think this album is good. At all. It goes nowhere and every song is just the same. The production is nice, but that's it. 

BA is a bop, but nothing more. 
Swish Swish is a bop, but those lyrics are stupid.
Save As Draft/Mind Maze/Hey Hey Hey, what are those songs? 

Into Me You See and Chained to the Rhythm are the only songs that feel like... real songs. Not just like unfinished products. 

A 4/10 in my opinion. You can do better, Katy. I believe in you. 

[GunninMan 1,406]

So I had to listen to the album twice. I couldn't stand it the first time and barely finished any song. The second time however, I sat with my headphones and really listened to the production because I already knew the lyrics were ****. I have a lot of respect for her trying new sounds and how every song sounds so different, but it somehow works (of course with a few mishaps here and there). It upsets me that she adds these generic ass songs like BA and Swish Swish in, because there are waaaaaaaaaaayyyyy better songs on the album. My personal favorites are Deja Vu, Roulette, and Tsunami. Don't get me wrong, I live for BA and Swish Swish, they are mindless bops that i cannot stop listening too, but I feel like it cheapens the whole album. I would respect her more if she weren't so thirsty for a hit, she's made that blatantly obvious. Another thing I am having trouble with is the aesthetic of her looks versus the album photoshoot. I wish she would be consistent. These weird dresses she has been wearing truly do not reflect the feel of the album, and I feel like she is trying harder to make her look more mature, but it's falling flat. I feel like this album needs a look with this bleach blonde short hair, slicked back, with form fitting and modern looks. Minimal and strong, super chic outfits suit her well when she wears them, I just want her to fully commit to a look and sound, and I think she could truly become more respected and taken seriously as an artist.

[Poope MOnster 1,446]

love 2 song (that s not single)

witness
pendulum (this song is feel so right)

in big picture i get why  bon appetit exit is very blend in for album and its stand out from other song

to much filler  missing great hook and melodies

but instruments and other production is okay

 

[Eros92 2,513]

I really enjoyed it.

When I first listened to it I wasn't feeling it... but it was all a grower. The first half of the album is full of bops, yeah lyrically all the songs on the album are a little weak but she's trying. I mean there isn't so much social commentary on any of the songs other then CTTR.  But I mean I feel like it's her strongest album next to Prism. While I REALLY love Teenage Dream and the album is full of great songs I never felt connected to any music. It was all just kinda mindless pops. Prism and Witness have songs that do have meaning. Yeah they aren't presented in the best and and not ALL of them having meaning but more so then what was on TD. I think people are being very over critical of the album. Like Katy isn't held to the same standard as Gaga. If gaga were to put this out I'd vomit. She's capable of making better music. Katy has always been a little behind with quality. But Prism was a very personal/beautiful album and was a step in the right direction. I feel like with Witness she kinda veered off the path a little but it still walking the line.  

[Bio 23,538]

After listening to it the whole day yesterday I kind of fell in love with it. 

Great songs: Witness, Roulette, Deja Vu, Power, Tsunami and Chained To The Rhythm.

Good songs: Pendulum and Save as Draft

Meh: Hey, Hey, Hey, Miss You More and Into Me You See

Don't like:  Bigger Than Me, Mind Maze and Bon Appetit

In my opinion Swish Swish does not fit this album at all. When it starts it feels like someone changed the playlist.

[Nirvana 2,712]

This album has grown on me a lot since I first reviewed it. Yes, there are stuff that could be improved lyric or melody-wise, but in general this is quite solid record!

[nattuggla 21,799]

At the first listen I liked Witness, Roulette and Bigger Than Me the most.

Next to the singles also Mind Maze, Hey Hey Hey, Save As Draft grew on me.

The rest is meh or boring..... 

[Mister Gaga 22,889]

Well, after listening to it, i finally have an opinion. 

I just feel they're many, many songs that are bops but have no soul neither excitement. Hey Hey Hey, Roulette, Deja Vu, Mind Maze...the production is nice, but they're very similar, i can't find anything distinctive or that makes them stand out. 

Swish Swish is the 2nd worst song on the album after Mind Maze imo. Sorry not sorry.

The album has a few highs tho. Witness is good, it'd fit perfectly on prism. Bon Apetit is a solid bop, along with Pendulum (very TD). CTTR is definitely lead single material (is the best track on the album. period.). And, as always, katy stands out on ballads. But the album itself lacks on strong hooks (imo) and clear messages, apart from CTTR.

[Brian Ryan 1,468]

Her best album. She let go of the prism she was stuck in and refuse to give a **** about top 10s. This is her best lyrical and artwork design. Overall, her best album. A

Top 5 Songs
1. Witness
2. Save As Draft
3. Miss You More
4. Chained To The Rhythm
5. Tsunami

 

[NotGeigh 109]

Okay so not gonna do every song but here's my review :

In general (based on my music experience as a listener) I'd give the album a C 

by Katy standards I'd give it an A.

The reason I score the album this way is because as always you can see her growth but sometimes the growth feels minimal. I feel like there was too many times when a song was saved by the beat. At this point in her career, she should definitely have songs that can stand alone with just it's lyrics (see: Gaga).  It's very clever that almost every song has a beat that could make any lyrics sound great, the production doesn't feel lazy or rushed. Maybe sometime dated but not to a distracting extent. 

I'm gonna base these scores on my general standards as a listener 

CTTR - 3.5/5 one of if not the highest points on the album. I can see beforehand why Katy expected this to slay. (I wonder what the reaction would've been if it didn't feel so gimmicky) The beat is instantly pushing you into at least a jolly head nod. The song at times feels a little too wordy for this Beat and made it feel like it drug on longer than it should've (so on later listens I found myself saying "wow, you're still here?") but all in all it's a good listen. (I wish SS lyrics were this vague/general) 

Save As Draft - 4/5 WOW I can't believe Katy did that. I'm not why ppl are downplaying this and also not sure why ppl look for ballads by a girl who's infamous for "mindless bops" but this is her best one. If she wants to be taken seriously, this Will be the future single. The title is tragic but that makes the surprise even sweeter. Not only is the ballad beautiful enough to keep you awake but the song feels like it satisfies from a musical, narrative/conceptual/literal viewpoint. Absolutely amazing 

BA- 2.8/5 A grower and a bop, the song takes too long to climax and it feels like this albums song meant to be an emergency single 

Pendulum - 3.6 Beautiful production, it's very rare for a pop song to pull off the choir sound but she did THAT. It's ballsy enough to utilize the choir for more than 2 seconds and it will have you SHOOK

SS - .05/5 I hate the way Katy brings Handles this beef in a "real housewives" way instead of a "pop diva " way. The insults should've been left to Nicki. Nicki saved that song but it felt like even she was holding back on purpose not to outshine Katy. Katy should've dragged her with pop song lyrics and not rap lyrics in the sense that the drags should've been passive rather than aggressive for 2 reasons 

- it feels too messy for a comeback to TAYLOR SWIFT (BB was smart bc it was vague enough to still be appropriate for radio Disney demographic but still slightly  aggressive enough to be seriously taken) 

- the lyrics feel try hard to the point of embarrassment. I don't wanna be on the bandwagon but lyrics like "an old coupon expired" is something only a mom would say. (And she gave Corden sh-it for being a dad lol) 

in all the song feels like a disappointing comback mostly because Katy of all ppl should be able to compete with Tay's perfect bops 

Witness - 2.9/5 The song is very cute for a KP song in the sense that's it could almost pass for being a deep disco bop. The score would be higher if it wasn't so hyped. The sound feels dated and the lyrics feel like they want to be deeper than they really are but at least it has the essentials to spawn some great remixes though  

Tsunami - 3.8/5 The song gives me serious Tame Impala vibes and anyone who knows them knows that their beats are Flawless. I really love and appreciate Katy's vocals but I feel like they weren't ready for this song. sometimes her singing sounded offkey (not enough to ruin the song but I mean could you imagine if Rih or FKA Sang this?). However it's a high rating because the lyrics and feel of the song are dirty and clever enough to be sexy yet clean enough to be appropriate. 

IMYS - 2.0/5  I like what she was going for with the song but it feels too Prismy/boring to be listened to feel for a second (or even fully first) time. 

Hey 3x - 2.3/5 the message has been done a lot so it didn't feel like anything new or groundbreaking. This was too forgettable and some of the lyrics are cringey

 

All in All the album is Meh but it's a higher Meh than I expected. There's a few lows but the highs are high enough to make it okay. 

P.S. sorry for an typos 

 

 

[jstein777 0]

1) Witness - Honestly probably the best song on the album = 8.5

2) Hey Hey Hey - While it may be filler it is pretty catchy = 7.5

3) Roulett - Has a good beat and catchy, easy to listen to = 8

4) Swish Swish - Nicki's verse is the only thing saving this song = 5 

5) Deja Vu - Its catchy, but the lyrics aren't good = 6.5

6) Power - Second favorite, empowering sound, very catchy and familiar = 8.5

7) Mind Maze - Least favorite, insanely annoying autotune = 3

8) Miss You More - Too familiar song topic, nothing special, ok lyrics = 5

9) Chained to the Rythm - Good topic, strong hidden messages, catchy = 8

10) Tsunami - Good beat, its catchy, although lyrics could be better = 7

11) Bon Apetit - Guilty Pleasure to sing too, but the lyrics are so weak, Purposeful Pop??? (yeah right) = 6

12) Bigger Than Me - Same as Miss You More, familiar, boring, nothing special = 5

13) Save as Draft - Good lyrics, very nice and soft, moody (which is good) = 8

14) Pendulum - Its catchy, but also somewhat annoying after a few listens = 7

15) Into Me You See - another sappy slow song, sounds too disney, don't really care = 3

 

Overall this album could be good, if a few songs were removed, the lyrics on many songs could be improved, but for now, it is meh.

[River 116,228]

I tried to give it a 2nd listen and I just can't with this album, sorry, it's just not good, it's like I'm waiting for something to happen and it's not, it's just makes me nervous and makes me wanna turn off the speakers and go to the corner and cry for the horror.. it's too noisy and messy and it's not reaching a point that doing bang in my heart.. it's doing the contrary..

And the lyrics ugh, one of the reasons why I feel dumb listening to Bad Kids or Hair is the lyrics and on Witness is like in every damn song.. even the ballads, something that supposed to be very serious and "high level" let's say, even there the lyrics are made me feel dumb..

There is one song that I almost could finish it and it's Deja Vu and that's it.. Power is a huge miss, could be a good song if they did a good job on it.. had potential that got lost.

Pendulum sounds like a music from a cartoon or something at the beginning, I must admit that it is nice but then it's becoming bad..

[callumxoxo 69]

After third listen...

1) Witness - Still adore this track. So chill, and her vocals are really nice. Catchy too (8.5/10)

2) Hey Hey Hey - Definitely a grower, despite pretty bad lyrics and cheesy message (6.5/10)

3) Roulette - There's something about this song that feels so right to me, kind of reminds me of Eurovision tho lmao (8/10)

4) Swish Swish - still a bop (8/10)

5) Deja Vu - this song has some cheesy lyrics, but I can look past it, BECAUSE THE REST OF THE SONG IS PERFECT (8.5/10)

6) Power - I had high expectations from the snippets, but it disappointed at first. Can still appreciate it tho, even if it does fell a little messy (7/10)

7) Mind Maze - first song on the album that I didn't like. Slowly growing on me, but it's just dull (4/10)

8) Miss You More - too much like Mind Maze. Appreciate the lyric "I miss you more than I loved you" (5/10)

9) Chained to the Rhythm - still love this song, and it's probably my favourite (9/10)

10) Tsunami - very chill... bit too chill. And the lyrics are cringe. Okay I guess (6/10)

11) Bon Appetit - I am no longer ashamed to say I love this song... but the Migos feature is still awful ew (8/10)

12) Bigger Than Me - very dull to me, reminds me of MM and MYM, but slightly better (5.5/10)

13) Save As Draft - sweet song, and makes me feel something. Don't understand the cringe comments about this song tbh (7.5/10)

14) Pendulum - I love this song! Really nice vibe. Reminds me of It Takes Two a little bit (8/10)

15) Into Me You See - can't stop singing this song in my head. Really nice song, but the "Open sesame" lyric makes me cringe. Despite this, I love it (8/10)

 

Overall, I actually really like this album! Going into it, I expected just a load of trashy bops, with no lyrical substance. But I was pleasantly surprised by the amazing production and interesting themes. I think it's better than Prism, but not as good as OOTB and TD.

Overall score - 7.5