Everyday when I log on to ATRL it's almost guaranteed that that I will see a thread with a title that goes something like "Why is Katy Perry so successful" "Why this and why that" Some threads go so far as to call her clips childish and he music basic.
Those things could not be further from the truth and in this thread I'll provide evidence of how deep her clips go and mass appealing her music is.
Her secret is
Mass appeal.
I'll only delve into this era because if I do any others it'll take forever.
ROAR
The roar film clip appeals to the younger generation however it also appeals to older people that are aware of pop culture history.
Roar is directly inspired by an old film and comic book called Sheena. Katy Perry re-creates scenes from the movie and the single cover art is similar.
So while the imagery appeals to the younger people that may not have "sheena" knowledge the older more versed on pop culture population also understand it's historical references and she does it quite well, so those of us that understood it. Loved it. Again,
Mass appeal across generations.
UNCONDITIONALLY
Unconditionally is a very different kind of love song. Un-conditionally was apparently inspired by her trip to Madagascar, she was able to witness people who had a type of love that was unaffected by the trends around the world. A pure and unconditional love. In the clip we see different types of unconditional love. A mothers love. Love between race and gender and even the mutual respect two warriors share. Love should be pure is Katy's message with this and I love it.
In the clip we see people from all walks of life. Which again is further evidence of that mass appeal.
DARK HORSE
Dark Horse again, is visually appealing to the younger generation but also has deeper meaning. Katy is sailing on the Nile river on an Egyptian boat in Egyptian clothing etc etc - She is playing Egyptian. If you listen to the lyrics they mention a
GREEK god.
"Make me your Aphrodite Make me your one and only"
There were greek settlements in Egypt. In fact because of trading, there was a greek "harbour" and settlement on the Nile called Naucratis (Naucratis's sister town (next door) was the harbour) So this greek city Naucratis in Egypt on the harbour (where Katy is sailing) was also home to the one of the largest Aphrodite shrines. (Does the lyric make sense now?)
So again, we have a Katy Perry song that not only appeals to the younger generation without the above knowledge but to the people that do.
BIRTHDAY
In terms of Mass Appeal, this clip perfectly illustrates the diversity Katy's fan base.
This diversity is why Katy is so successful. It's not because her label control her. It's not because she pays for radio air play time or any other excuse of the day. It's because she appeals to a lot of people.
So yeah, next time you're thinking about saying Katy's clips are basic and her lyrics don't make sense perhaps think again, just because you don't understand something or Katy doesn't explain it doesn't mean that it's not deep and means something.
Most importantly, her work is good. Her music, speaks for itself and can stand alone.