Maps of Music

Prism (2013)

Where the lyrics of Prism take you, and where it was really made.

Much of the album was recorded in the singer's hometown of Santa Barbara, at a studio called Playback Recording Studio, where the team spent a month.

Key places

A month of recording in Santa Barbara (2013)

Recording site Playback Recording Studio — The team spent a month recording at Playback Recording Studio in Perry's hometown of Santa Barbara, California. This session followed her reunion with Teenage Dream collaborators before the work moved on to Stockholm. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Prism: fourth studio album by American singer Katy Perry
• Released by Capitol Records on October 18, 2013
• Initially planned to be 'darker' than her previous material, but ended up as a prominently dance-inspired record
• Perry partially handled production with Dr. Luke, Max Martin, Stargate, Benny Blanco, Greg Wells, Cirkut, and others
• Guest appearance by Juicy J of Three 6 Mafia
• Main themes: living in the present, relationships, and self-empowerment

Background

• Perry concluded her California Dreams Tour before she began recording new material
• Ex-husband Russell Brand left her on December 30, 2011
• In June 2012 Perry told Vogue she planned to record a 'darker' album than her previous records
• She said she aspired to include a more acoustic vibe in the record

Recording

• Development began while Perry was on the California Dreams Tour
• Random song ideas were recorded into a phone dictaphone app and transcribed by Ngoc Hoang of Direct Management Group
• Perry officially started recording in November 2012 with Greg Wells and Greg Kurstin
• Sessions began again in March 2013, after a trip to Madagascar
• She reunited with Teenage Dream collaborators Dr. Luke, Bonnie McKee, and Cirkut in Santa Barbara, California
• The team spent a month recording at Playback Recording Studio
• Perry then went to Stockholm to work with Max Martin
• By April 2013 recording was halfway complete

Cover

• Ryan McGinley shot the album cover
• The cover was unveiled on September 6, 2013 on a Jumbotron during Good Morning America

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson, born October 25, 1984, in Santa Barbara, California; known professionally as Katy Perry.
• Released the gospel album Katy Hudson (2001) under Red Hill Records at age 16; it was commercially unsuccessful.
• Moved to Los Angeles, then signed to Capitol Records in 2007 and rose to fame with One of the Boys (2008).

Members

• Solo artist. Her sister Angela influenced her early singing; her brother David is also a singer.

Career

• "I Kissed a Girl" from One of the Boys topped the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.
• Teenage Dream (2010) became the only album by a woman to produce five U.S. number-one singles.
• Prism (2013) yielded "Roar" and "Dark Horse" as U.S. number ones; later albums include Witness (2017), Smile (2020) and 143 (2024).
• Performed the Super Bowl XLIX halftime show in 2015, which drew 118.5 million U.S. viewers.
• Prismatic World Tour grossed $204.3 million worldwide.
• Estimated sales of over 151 million records worldwide; seven RIAA Diamond certifications.
• Judge on American Idol from the sixteenth season (2018) to the twenty-second season (2024).
• Flew into space aboard Blue Origin NS-31 in April 2025.
• Named UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in December 2013.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Rolling Stone (Jon Dolan): three out of five stars; praised the darker, moodier intimacy but found the ballads' introspection weaker
• Entertainment Weekly (Nick Catucci): B+; praised songs that are relatable and quickly become inspirational
• The Daily Telegraph (Helen Brown): five out of five stars; praised the album's vulnerability
• AllMusic (Stephen Thomas Erlewine), The Guardian (Alexis Petridis), and Slant Magazine (Sal Cinquemani): three out of five stars each
• Consequence: three and a half out of five stars
• Chicago Tribune (Greg Kot): 2 out of 4 stars, calling it more serious but no less formulaic than its predecessor
• The A.V. Club (Marah Eakin): C+
• Spin (Rob Harvilla): 5/10
• Metacritic: 61 out of 100, based on 26 reviews

Records

• US Billboard 200: debuted at number one with 286,000 copies in its first week, Perry's second consecutive US number-one album
• Largest first-week sales by a female artist for 2013 at the time of release
• Nielsen Music: 1.74 million copies sold in the US as of August 2020
• RIAA: five-times Platinum
• UK Albums Chart: debuted at number one; later BPI Platinum
• Australia (ARIA): number one; six-times Platinum
• Canada: debuted atop the Billboard Canadian Album Chart; eight-times Platinum by Music Canada in September 2024
• IFPI: sixth best-selling album overall in 2013 and best-selling album by a woman that year
• More than eight million copies sold worldwide
• Nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Development began while Perry was on the California Dreams Tour, and she recorded random 'fragments of ideas' on her phone.
• Perry described writing sessions with McKee as 'emotional abuse', adding that they argue over the 'best lyric' as if fighting in a boxing ring.
• Ryan McGinley shot the album cover, which was unveiled on a Jumbotron during Good Morning America.
• Perry's team spent a month at Playback Recording Studio in Santa Barbara, her hometown.
• The Dark Horse single was released early on iTunes on September 17, 2013, after fans voted for it through a Pepsi promotion.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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