Teenage Dream (Album)

Teenage Dream is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Katy Perry. It will be released on August 24, 2010 in the United States. It will be her second mainstream pop album, following her pop debut album One of the Boys. The album's first and lead single titled "California Gurls" featuring Snoop Dogg was sent to US radio on May 7, 2010.

Background

Prior to starting recording the album, Perry told Rolling Stone: "The second record is really important to me because I think it shows whether I'm meant to do this, or I got lucky. Basically what I want to do is not alienate the audience that I have at all. I think some people feel like they have had success with one thing and one idea and one record and they want to pull a 180 and try a totally different thing, I definitely feel like that's the wrong move. I feel like you just have to grow from it, you can branch off of it but keep the tree the same in some ways. Some people get full of themselves, and they think that anything they do is going to work or turn to gold or be the right move, and the reason why you're here is because of the people that like your music and the fans, so you always should keep an ear open to what they're saying". Perry said she would "definitely keep it pop. 'Love Fool' by the Cardigans meets 'Into the Groove' by Madonna but a little more meat on the bones lyrically. I'm not just gonna talk about the beat and just dancing, I like to get into the meaning."

Perry started recording the album on October 13, 2009, stating that she has "lots of layers to get through, thankfully Greg Wells is there to do the peeling". It has been announced that she is working with numerous artists and producers including Greg Wells, Guy Sigsworth, Dr. Luke, Max Martin, Ryan Tedder, Rivers Cuomo, Thaddis "Kuk" Harrell, Greg Kurstin, Benny Blanco, Darkchild, Cathy Dennis, Ester Dean, The-Dream and Christopher "Tricky" Stewart, who told Rap-Up magazine in December 2009 that the sound of the album will be pop/rock, the same sound as One of the Boys. He added: "It’s a different gear for me. This is a very important project for me ’cause people are waiting to see what I’m gonna do".

Development

In May 2009, Perry talked to Rolling Stone about the album: "The second record is really important to me because I think it shows whether I’m meant to do this, or I got lucky. Basically what I want to do is not alienate the audience that I have at all." Perry said she’ll “definitely keep it pop. ‘Love Fool’ by the Cardigans meets ‘Into the Groove’ by Madonna but a little more meat on the bones lyrically, I’m not just gonna talk about the beat and just dancing, I like to get into the meaning”. As for the visual component, Perry likens it to "going from Shirley Temple, Betty Boop to more of a Betty Paige, pop art-sarcastic-fun-Lichtenstein picture: still bright, but the colors are more saturated, and it's more metallic fuchsia or purple than bubblegum pink."

On March 27, 2010, at 2010 Kids' Choice Awards, Perry told MTV News that the album is "coming out this summer. It's a summer record". She added that her previous teases about the album still fit. "It's what I said I wanted earlier," she told MTV. "We nailed it: It's roller-skating! It's '90s! It's Ace Of Base! It's Cyndi Lauper! It's like all these colors and more". She also said that there "might be some really cool guest appearances by some cool rappers from the West Coast. I mean, you'll just have to see, since I'm a California girl, you know. And then some best friends might be appearing. ... We'll see!. It's going to be fun. It's going to be one of those records that is everybody's favorite guilty pleasure". Perry has also stated that the album is inspired by ABBA and The Cardigans. According to Perry, she gave her producer Dr. Luke a mixtape of songs by the two groups in order to demonstrate how she wanted her next record to sound. Perry described the album as "more groove-driven". She added, "When I went on tour, as much as I love all the in-between songs, I felt I was missing some of the stuff that made people bounce up and down."

During a Rolling Stone photo shoot in April 2010, Perry revealed details about a song on the album, called "California Gurls", allegedly a response to Jay-Z's "Empire State of Mind", she stated: "It’s so great that 'Empire State of Mind' is huge and that everyone has the New York song, but what the f**k? What about LA? What about California?. It's been a minute since we had a California song and especially from a girl's perspective. We took the references of Prince, which is always a great reference, and some of the '90s, almost house music references". The song features California rapper Snoop Dogg. USA Today gave the song a positive review: "Potential single California Gurls, with Snoop Dogg, is an effervescent toast to summer fun". Perry also spoke about working with producers Max Martin and Dr Luke: "Working with Max Martin and Dr Luke was a wonderful collaborative effort, I worked with them on the first record ['One of the Boys'], and of course I wanted to come back and work with them even more on this record, so instead of it being two songs we have six or seven on this record now".

On April 30, 2010 Perry stated that it's the last day of recording the album and thanked Greg Wells, one of the producers. On May 5, 2010, Perry shot the album cover until she posted in her own website that she'd revealed the official album cover via video with Will Cotton, at the Will Cotton's Art Studio.

Singles

• "California Gurls" featuring rapper Snoop Dogg is the lead single from the album. Capitol Records sent the song to U.S. radio on May 7, 2010. The music video has been shot, and is expected to premiere soon. The song became available as a digital download on May 11, 2010.

• "Teenage Dream" is the title track and the second single off the album. MTV says it "picks up right where "California Gurls" leaves off. With a strong beat to back her up, Perry sings about a boy who makes her feel like a teenager again" after hearing it at a listening event in New York City. It was released to radio stations on July 22, 2010. The following day the single was released via iTunes.

Track listing

Deluxe Edition

Release history

Region	Date
North America	August 24, 2010
Worldwide	August 30, 2010