Present two nights (May 29 and 30) at the AccorHotels Arena in Paris as part of her "Witness: The Tour" tour, Katy Perry has demonstrated that after a very average5th album, she can still be recognized as one of the best show girl in the world of pop today.
First part of Tove Styrke, postponement of Itscanek
The dancing rhythm of Tove Styrke
Swedish singer and model Tove Styrke made the French audience dance to prepare them for an evening that promised to be memorable. For those who don't know her, Tove Styrke reached third place on Idol 2009 in Sweden. However, it was really with her third studio album entitled Kiddo that she had an international success. Indeed, Tove Styrke participated in emerging pop star Alma's EP on the track Good Vibes and she opened for Lorde's last American tour.
Taking advantage of the release of her sublime fourth studio album Sway, the singer performed the catchy hits Say My Name, Changed My Mind, Mistakes and liability, a danceable cover of Lorde's song. In addition, Tove Styrke sang his old songs such as Borderline with reggae and electro touches. Definitely, Tove Styrke gave the necessary energy on stage to properly welcome the incredible Katy Perry.
Katy Perry's show: postponement of Grégory Alleaume
A mind-blowing show
After the first part provided by Tove Styrke which allowed to heat the room, 30 minutes of intermission are announced. It is at this moment that a giant eye (that of Katy Perry) scrutinizes the AccorHotels Arena from the inside, with all those who came to attend a world tour qualified for months as quite spectacular. Calibrated to the millimeter, this concert begins with the eponymous title of the latest album of the singer from California who asks the spectators to kindly be her witnesses. At that time and apart from the entry at the top of Katy Perry, we fear a remake of Madonna's Blonde Ambition Tour version 1990s.
The rather dark video introduction shows us a Katy Perry short and blond hair, with eyes that would have received a shower of mascara, an identical replica of the Queen of Pop. Fortunately, none of that will happen. Let's remember that Katy Perry is aimed at an audience that is both young and also family, as evidenced by the many parents who came to the concert with their very young children. After Witness begins Roulette, one of the other songs on the album serving as a pretext for the tour. During this show of more than 2 hours, Katy Perry ensures 100% her role of entertainer with few faults, except her voice, which for half of the concert sounds quite false.
This is quite confusing for an artist of her caliber who is used to marathon tours. As proof, "Witness: The Tour" has a total of 115 concerts between September 2017 and August 2018, passing through 6 continents. A real feat. What emerges in particular from this performance is above all the means that have probably been put in place so that fans of the singer are truly witnesses of an extraordinary concert. No scenery and no animation seems to have been made at a discount. Visually, Katy Perry can be proud of what she offers to the thousands of people who come to applaud her on stage every night for 1 year. But isn't this demonstration of special effects and sumptuous sets there to mask the recent artistic setbacks encountered by the singer?
An emblematic repertoire despite everything
In total, only 7 songs from the singer's latest album will end up on the setlist. To tell the truth, it seems almost too much, and the room is much less enthusiastic to hear these new compositions, except for the singles "Bon Appétit" and "Chained to the Rhythm" and clearly prefers the hits that have marked the whole world like "California Gurls", "Teenage Dream" or "I Kissed a Girl". During some frenzied medleys, Katy Perry makes the room of more than 18,000 people stand who sing her songs at the top of their lungs. The highlight of the show comes in the second part of the show when the titles "E.T" and Bon Appétit" through a setting reminiscent of Gotham City. Katy Perry and her dancers are then dressed in outfits very similar to Catwoman's. It is also during this medley that "Bon Appétit" is remixed with the legendary "What Have You Done for me Lately" by Janet Jackson, dark pop atmosphere of the 1980s for inveterate nostalgic who have taste. Through more than 20 songs, little room for respite, but some lengths are felt, and almost furnish a show already rich in emotions.
When the singer revisits her Super Bowl halftime show by raising the famous shark on the left (who did anything), the moment is a little heavy and drags on. When we remember that the initial dancer had been dismissed without notice following his performance, we say that the wink is average. It is the same when she decides to show a spectator on stage for a giant and disproportionate basketball game. Same when the singer launches into implausible monologues, where we feel more pity than compassion for the one who will come to present herself next to her shark as "Katy Perry with a new haircut", bewildered not to be acclaimed, and will be repeated her formula as if to beg for applause.
After these avoidable downtime, Katy Perry finally holds her show thanks to one thing, the quality of her repertoire, which allowed her to line up dozens of world hits in just a decade. The black spot on his painting remains the album Witness. For the tour that accompanies her, the singer made a point of honor to demonstrate that she had not lost her modjo on stage. Let's hope that the successor that will serve as the 6thstudio album keeps its promises and is in line with its first successes. Spectacular tours galore could not be enough to save a possible legend still in the future.
