Katy Perry expressed heartfelt graтιтude to her fans after they showered her with love during her electrifying performance at Rock in Rio.
The 39-year-old Swish Swish singer took to her Instagram on Saturday to celebrate the success of the concert — which also marked the debut of her new album 143.
In the accompanying clip, the pop superstar rocked a tiny green ʙικιɴι while beaming over the audience’s overwhelming response.
Standing on her H๏τel balcony in Brazil’s capital, she tossed pink roses into the night.
‘And that, my friends, is a wrap on Brazil,’ Perry said, her joy evident as the roses floated down. ‘We love you so much, we will always be there for you time after time, just like you have been there for me time after time.’
She concluded: ‘They sang so loud at the show yesterday, it was the loudest I’ve ever heard anyone sing my songs. I love you so much, for everything.’
The crowd had every reason to go wild, as the former American Idol judge delivered an unforgettable performance, complete with breathtaking aerial stunts on stage.
Perry launched her performance with an energetic mix of songs, starting with Woman’s World from her new album
She followed it up with crowd-pleasers like California Gurls and the timeless anthem Teenage Dream.
However, her long-awaited seventh studio album 143 did not get off to a good start with music critics on Thursday night, after it was released onto streaming platforms.
143 – which references the expression ‘I love you’, but is also what Perry considers to be her symbolic ‘angel number’ – is her first album in four years, following Smile in 2020.
One damning review from a top entertainment outlet declared that Perry ‘struggles to reclaim past glory on the flat 143.’
Much of the criticism even before the album was released was down to Perry’s decision to work with her old music producer Dr. Luke who settled his longstanding Sєxual harᴀssment lawsuit with Kesha last year – which he vehemently denied.
But even with the hitmaker onboard – he produces 10 out of the 11 songs – the reaction so far has been less than favorable.
Critic Steven J. Horowitz writes for Variety: ‘The album is flat, coasting on cascades of lyrical clichés and musical ideas that rarely crest. Across many of its 11 songs, Perry sounds disaffected and removed, as if she’d just punched in between ‘American Idol’ tapings.’
‘Little of the clever wit that emboldened some of her biggest hits peeks out on the album, a disappointing slide away from the savvy she once so effortlessly exuded.’
Horowitz adds that some of the songs sound ‘mechanical’ and that the song Crush sounds like a B-side by the Vengaboys.
He adds: ‘Like with her past few albums, the lyricism on ‘143’ is rife with clichés, as though it was generated through AI.’
Meanwhile, The Guardian gave it two out of five stars saying the album ‘isn’t the calamity expected – but it isn’t good, either.’
Earlier this month while appearing on Call Her Daddy, Katy defended her decision to work with Dr. Luke as she addressed the controversy for the first time.
‘I understand that it started a lot of conversations,’ she said of her choice. ‘And he was one of many collaborators that I collaborated with.’
The Wide Awake singer insisted Luke is simply someone who helps her ‘facilitate’ her music.
