Katy Perry has promised fans that her next album Prism will be darker and more mature than her previous pop endeavors, and being the marketing maestro that she is, she’s doing the reveal in stages via social media leading up to the album’s release on October 22. The latest reveal was in the form of the cover art for the first single from the album titled “Roar.” (seen above)
Katy announced the cover art had been released via Twitter earlier today:
!! ATTENTION UK !! EXCLUSIVELY for u guys, be the 1ST ones to see the #ROAR artwork NOW by pre-ordering single HERE: http://t.co/5zXmquC2fW
— Katy Perry (@katyperry) August 8, 2013
In the photo, Katy can be seem wearing a dark blue Japanese silk Sukajan jacket with a full-grown tiger’s head on the back — roaring obviously. Colorful tiger stripes serve as the border and the word “ROAR” is spelled out in Stargate-inspired faux 3D glyphs, including a two-headed tiger topping off the letter “O.”
I’m as excited as the next Katy Kat to hear what a more mature and darker Katy Perry sounds like, but I have to confess that this colorful artwork doesn’t exactly scream either of those things. Actually, it seems like what a nine-year-old girl might imagine to be darker and more mature. (MTV likened it to “the work of school-supply queen Lisa Frank,” adding “Slap this thing on a Trapper Keeper and we’d be having some serious sixth-grade flashbacks.”)
Far be it for me to be any sort of Katy Perry curmudgeon — I’m actually quite the opposite — I just don’t know that this (the first official artwork associated with Prism) is bringing across the darker, more mature vibe. (Like, say, the burning wig video.) But hey, if we get a whole album of fantastic Katy Perry pop songs that sort of feel like the soundtrack to a live action Lisa Frank movie about heartbreak, then you can chalk this fan up as officially not disappointed! 😉
