With the release of Katy Perry’s candy-coated Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection, the world is excited, but a little puzzled as to why the album, originally released in 2010, needed another release. Maybe because it contained five number one singles, including: “California Gurls” (featuring Snoop Dogg), “Teenage Dream”, “Firework”, “E.T.”, and “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)”, which all went multiplatinum, by the way. This made Perry not only the second person, but also the first female to deliver five number one hits on the same album; the first being none other than Michael Jackson, with Thriller.
The Complete Confection features all 12 tracks from the original album, Teenage Dream, along with three brand new tracks: “Part of Me”, “Dressin’ Up”, and “Wide Awake”. Out of these three, “Part of Me” is the one that showcases Perry’s talent the best. The boy-bashing anthem is already a hit, but the music video is a little strange. It features Perry dressed up as if she is a soldier in the army, which is a bit unexpected until you really listen to the lyrics of the song. “Dressin’ Up” is a sparkly dance hit made for pretty much every girl in the world, and the spunky lyrics scream out and prove that Perry still has it. Although “Wide Awake” is not as convincing, it is still good; and even though the tune is annoyingly repetitive at times, it remains fairly likable. Not being an example of Perry’s best work, it could’ve used some tweaking while still in the recording studio. Overall, the three brand new tracks on The Complete Confection confirm that Perry made a good decison releasing Teenage Dream a second time.
The album also features four remixed tracks: “E.T.” (featuring Kanye West), “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)” (featuring Missy Elliot), “The One That Got Away” (Acoustic version), and a Tommie Sunshine Megamix. Out of the four, “E.T.” is the best, without question. Better than the original, this remix is the most well-known out of the other three. Kanye and Katy’s auto-tuned vocals create an amazing hit, with an addicting, pop sci-fi sound. As for “Last Friday Night”, let’s just say it sounds like Alvin and the Chipmunks invaded Perry and Elliot’s Friday night blackout bash. “The One That Got Away” ‘s acoustic version is just as good as the original. It sounds like a country version of the song that deserved to be up with Perry’s five winning singles, and Perry’s voice is weepy and full of twice as much emotion as the original. And finally is the Tommie Sunshine Megamix. Featuring parts of “California Gurls”, “Teenage Dream”, “Firework”, “E.T.”, “Last Friday Night”, and “The One That Got Away”, this huge seven minute smash captures the six songs that created the epitome of Perry’s pop career to date, making it sure to be just as successful.
The rest of The Complete Confection speaks for itself, containing Perry’s five multiplatinum singles and seven other songs from the still red-hot album, Teenage Dream. Perry is currently hyping up the re-release, and she did so easily with her performance of “Part of Me” at Nickelodeon’s 25th Annual Kids’ Choice Awards on March 31. Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection is in its first stage of proving itself worthy of its re-release, and so far its sugar-coated sweetness is shining through.
