Katy Perry’s PRISM was one of the most anticipated albums of 2013. Last year, I did a track-by-track review of the album, which is no longer available online, due to my removing it from the site where it was posted. However, for purposes of the Underrated Underground, I’m going to use the passage of time to my advantage and give you more of a historical perspective of how the various singles from PRISM have performed.

So, wait… Katy Perry? One of the most successful pop stars of all time and the #1 selling digital songs artist of all time? Underrated? Yes. PRISM is far better than the critics decreed it to be and Katy continues, even with her monumental success, to be under-appreciated and under-respected. But that’s a topic for a whole series of articles. Today, I want to focus on PRISM.

You can trust me when I say the PRISM lives up to the hype it received and it actually was even better than I could have imagined. Many other critics, however, consider it significantly inferior to her second album, “Teenage Dream.” There are a number of reasons for this, and part of that has to do the debut single and the song that launched PRISM, “Roar.”

Today, we’ll be focusing on just how hearing Katy “Roar” actually turned out.

Many critics were underwhelmed with "Roar.” Some went as far to term it a "boring" girl empowerment song. IF you sit there and analyze it, there is a bit more to "Roar" than that.

Pretty much everything you need to know about “Roar” is in the opening lines of the song. The lines "I used to bite my tongue and hold my breath/scared to rock the boat and make a mess" could refer to her early music career when she was trying really hard to stay within the lines of Christian music. But as so many people that grow up in highly strict environments often tell themselves: "So I sat quietly, agreed politely."

What follows is the strongest part of the song, "I guess I forgot I had a choice/I let you push me past the breaking point." This is obviously when Katy realized that she had to break the mold to truly create the music that she really wanted to.  "I stood for nothing/So I fell for everything" is probably the strongest line in the lyrics. During the past several years, it’s been clear that Katy has been searching for an identity. Since “One of the Boys,” Katy has been all over the place with her experiments in fashion, trying to find a way to define herself. As she said in many early interviews regarding both "Roar" and PRISM, only now through the process of writing this record does she feel that she has truly been finding herself. This song is a perfect reflection of that, as she is always sure to point out.

That verse being as strong as it is, the song does become a bit generic after that. "You pushed me down/But I got up/Already brushing off the dust" is a bit too cliché. "You hear that voice, hear that sound/Like thunder gonna shake the ground" is fine, though. The rest of that bridge is okay: "You held me down, but I got up/Get ready ‘cause I’ve had enough/I see it all, I see it now" is still rather clichéd as pop music lyrics go. It’s after this that the song falls apart for a lot of people.

The chorus is the part where most critics have a field day. It flat-out references the Rocky films with things like "eye of the tiger" and "I am a champion," and while "you're gonna hear me roar" is really cute, it has grown tired and stale for a lot of people already. The second verse is a bit disappointing, too, and not a good follow-up to the strength of the first verse. Its very cutesy imagery of "floating like a butterfly" and being able to "sting like a bee, I've earned my stripes" takes away a good deal of momentum from the extremely relatable lyrics from the opening verse. "I went from zero to my own hero," though, is a very quotable line. But after that, the song doesn’t offer anything else.

Katy was going for a powerful lead-off single to kick off PRISM. It was indeed powerful, and did have the popular success she’d hoped for – and more, in fact. However, it didn't pack the punch that many music critics were expecting that it would. To be fair, after Teenage Dream, the expectations were a bit unrealistic, being one of the most commercially successful album cycles of all time. It seems that what Katy wanted was a fun little self-empowerment anthem, to step up and be the very best you that you can be. Unfortunately, many critics see it as a silly girl-power anthem made only for her adoring Katy Cats. But from talking to people about the song and combing the internet for reactions, “Roar” is generally liked by a lot of people. It’s the fact that it was played to death that killed it for a lot of people.

Being the Katy Cat that I am, I love “Roar” to depth. It got me pumped for PRISM, and the album did not disappoint me. Then again, I quickly figured out her purpose in writing the song, and most critics missed the boat on it. Katy takes being a pop star very seriously, and while she doesn’t necessarily write songs only for the charts, she's well aware of what her core audience (the Katy Cats) want and expect from her. There is a good message in “Roar” right in that first verse while the overall tone of the song is extremely upbeat, and the core message very positive and uplifting.

Commercially, “Roar” did fantastically. “Roar” actually was the hit that finally dethroned the so-called Song of the Year “Blurred Lines,” which I was more than happy to see go from that top spot. However, “Roar” didn’t remain at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US for long due to Miley Cyrus’s smash hit "Wrecking Ball" coming out of nowhere – a status which it actually did sort of deserve, honestly. “Roar” has been one Katy’s best-selling singles of all-time and continued to blow away the charts in many other countries, as well as the Billboard genre-based charts into 2014. The dance remixes of “Roar” have also fared extremely well.

As a hardcore Katy Cat, I find myself having to just love this song for what it is despite its obvious shortcomings. It’s not as strong as some other songs on PRISM. “Roar” may be on par with a lot of her other #1 hits, which, besides perhaps “Firework” are not really musical works of art; they’re just catchy enough that you can't get them out of your head. Most of her #1 hits also are upbeat enough to be important parts of one's daily soundtrack, and “Roar” definitely fits that bit. “Roar” is probably a 7.5 for me on pure content alone. But as it’s served as a get-me-out-of-bed and get-me-going tune, it’s been too personally motivational for me to rate any lower than at least an 8.

I gave it an 8.5 back in November for the sheer fact that it was a fantastic tone setter for what is very much Katy’s best album so far. I don’t see myself changing that rating now. I know a lot of people will disagree with it, but there are just as many that will probably beg me to change it to a 9 or a 10. But I’m sorry – Roar’s a nice anthem, but it’s no “Firework.”

by Richard Rowell, Staff Writer

Miley Cyrus has become one of the biggest names in music today. Unfortunately, she hasn’t been successful due to her musical talents. She’s become most famous – infamous in some circles – for her antics. Of course, her past as Hannah Montana helped her star rise, but she has gotten away from that persona perhaps as far as you possibly can.

BANGERZ was a bit of a mixed bag as an album. It had the smash #1 hit “Wrecking Ball,” a song that I actually believe deserved its fame. But despite my less-than-impressed feelings about “We Can’t Stop” and a few other tracks on the album that I feel quite skip-worthy, there are some songs here that I personally really like.

That’s right, Miley has underrated tracks. I’m no Smiley (what Miley calls her fans), but I’ve always believed that Miley does actually have some good amount of talent in her. She displays it on a few tracks from BANGERZ.

So here are the Top 5 Underrated Tracks from BANGERZ!

5) Drive

When I first heard this song, as the song started and I heard the background track, I was convinced I wouldn’t like this song. However, Miley's singing on this track is fantastic. Were it not so over-produced, as are many tracks on this record, I’d like this one a lot more. The lyrics are solid, and with real instruments, this could have probably been a big hit. This song is definitely one of the better tracks on BANGERZ and all that's held it back is a few choices in production – for example, the somewhat annoying backing tracks.

4) Adore You

The opening track on BANGERZ, "Adore You" is a very sweet love song. Compared to the rest of the album, it does seem a bit out of place. Miley is at her best in this one. It was selected as the third, and final, single from BANGERZ. It received fairly positive critical reception, as I feel it deserved. The music video, which featured night vision shots of scenes resembling a leaked sex tape, probably didn’t help its cause however. It peaked around #24 on the Hot 100. It’s a shame that this song didn’t do better, and the controversial music video probably hurt this one. The controversy worked for “Wrecking Ball” – but the same trick didn’t work twice. 

3) F.U. (feat. French Montana)

“F.U.” is definitely one of the more unique songs on the record. This is very likely the first time that I’ve ever heard “LOL” used in song lyrics. But it’s not done in an incredibly stupid way. Honestly, by the track title alone, I expected "F.U." would be a lame track, but it turned out to be really clever. Her collaboration with French Montana, who I wasn't familiar with before this track, works well here. It's a different style for Miley, and again, the over-production irks me a bit. However, I can forgive that, due to its cleverness. While it has its share of corny lines like "go give yourself the flu," overall, it's a great song.

2) Maybe You're Right

“Maybe You’re Right” is a culmination of great beat, great lyrics, and great performance - what every pop song should aspire to be. This is a track in which the production actually complements the song rather than distracts from its true potential. I suggested in my track-by-track review of BANGERZ last year that "Maybe You're Right" could be a solid follow-up single to "Wrecking Ball," which sadly it did’t – although Miley didn’t help her cause with “Adore You.”

This song is a bit reminiscent of Miley's older work in the best possible way. It's honest and relatable, unlike a lot of the rest of the record where Miley is so desperate to make herself a “bad girl” and attempting to be stupidly controversial just for the sake of controversy. This is one of the best songs on the record and one not to overlook.

And the #1 underrated track on the record is:

1) Someone Else

Fittingly, “Someone Else” closes out the non-deluxe version of BANGERZ, and she goes out with a proverbial BANG in my opinion. I apologize for the horrible pun, but this one works. Miley was going for a dance-inspired tune with this one, and the production is really good. It's actually a very enjoyable listen and a pretty heart-breaking track. 

The line "He left with my heart / They both walked through that door without me" really got me. What really sets this song apart for me from the rest of BANGERZ is how blatantly honest it is about what happens when the one you love betrays you: the pain causes you to turn into someone else. This was a perfect way to close out this album. It left me with hope that Miley might make more music like this. Perhaps that’s a bit much to ask, but this song exists, and I’m glad that it does.

BANGERZ is certainly not the shining magnum opus that Miley might have been going for, but it certainly brought her into a new stage of her career. Obviously, “Wrecking Ball” was a bigger hit than she could have ever imagined. “We Can’t Stop” was a huge hit as a promo single, and while I despise that song, you have to admit that it did what it was intended to do – be an insidious earworm. I was really thankful that Miley did grace this album with at least 6 decent tracks – these 5 and “Wrecking Ball” – which is not any sort of underrated. 

I wish only the best for you, Miley. Just stop trying to be controversial and just be Miley for a change. Or are those two the same thing?

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

by Richard Rowell, Staff Writer

Today, we celebrate the day of birth of one of the most amazing human beings to ever walk the face of God's green earth - an individual by the name of Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson. Born to Mary and Keith Hudson on October 25, 1984, little did they know that their little gift from heaven would grow up to be a devil-child. Um, I mean, the Queen of Pop. Who knew at that very beginning that her mamma's little Katy-Bird would grow up to become such a super-star and inspirational force in the lives of so many young people - including myself.

Well, I think her parents and a lot of others around her knew she was talented from a very young age. That much was obvious. But little Katy-Bird up and flew away and went on a long journey to stardom. It was a rough ride and it had some incredible highs during the Teenage Dream era. Some people will always say those were the best moments of Katy's career, but I disagree. Katy still has had a chance to dominate like no other artist has ever done. Unfortunately, PRISM has not had quite the commercial success that Katy had hoped. On the bright side, "Roar" and "Dark Horse" have sold phenomenally, while "Unconditionally" performed underwhelmingly and "Birthday" was a bomb. The Prismatic World Tour has also been a success, despite not having the variety that the California Dreams Tour offered. The pop scene has an absolute disaster for a while, more than it has ever been. But some huge out-of-nowhere successes such as Lorde's "Royals" and Meghan Trainor's "All About That Bass" have mitigated that disaster somewhat. Unfortunately, Katy is simply not doing as well commercially as she once did.

Now having turned 30 years old, it's clear that Katy is looking towards her post-music career already. She's very involved in her Kitty Collection with Claire's, her spokespersonship with Cover Girl, her sudden love for the NFL (because she's playing the Super Bowl in February 2015), and of course, her perfume empire. Katy has already dropped plenty of hints that her next album will be an acoustic, stripped-down affair - which I'm definitely looking forward to. Katy's already accomplished a lot. However, I'm not crazy that her current tour has become a sort of pre-packaged product and that she's been basically been a walking promotional machine. But while I'm not crazy about how she seems to be getting more away from the music right now, I understand that she's just setting herself up for the long run.

With all this woman has done for me, the inspiration from her lyrics, her smile and positivity, and everything else she's stood for, I will be a KATY CAT FOREVER!

Happy 30th birthday, Katy!

by Lyn Lomasi, Staff Writer

Another very important point is that just because one song or group of songs inside of a genre relay one type of message, doesn't mean they all do. It is one thing to discount a particular song for its message, yet quite another to take that out on the entire genre. Just as there are songs advocating violence across all genres, there are also songs about peace and love in all of those genres.

One should never discount an entire genre based on stereotypical notions alone. If you simply don't prefer the sound, that makes more sense than disliking music just because of the category it's placed under. Labels are extremely subjective and blanket applications rarely are true, due to variances.

For instance, the following selections are all from the same genre but are completely different, with entirely separate messages: (www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYG-jj0XkH0, www.youtube.com/watch?v=s716EpraBB4, www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNaeuNd0Ogo, www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQEhmT7AJ44). If one were to judge the entire genre on just one of those songs, that judgement would be inaccurate regardless of which one they chose.

I don’t expect everyone to enjoy every musical genre out there. We all have our own tastes. Mine happens to be varied, but that’s just me. However, it seems unfair to base a dislike on stereotyping, rather than actual taste.

Have you discriminated against music either knowingly or unknowingly? What are some of your favorite genres?

**Photo Credit/Copyright: Lyn Lomasi

*** I originally published this here: http://www.bubblews.com/news/1428152