It is the start of 2017: Donald Trump is now president, and political tensions in the world are at an all-time high. Enter the return of Katy Perry, and the era of “purposeful pop.”
On Feb. 9, disco balls appeared overnight in major cities across the world, including on State St. in Chicago. Next to the disco balls there were pink #chainedtotherhythm signs with a smiley face and a pair of headphones. Dedicated KatyCats travelled far and wide to hear her new single, “Chained to the Rhythm.”
The song, which features up-and-coming rapper Skip Marley, is the first song Perry has released since 2016’s “Rise,” and is thought to be the first single from her upcoming album. “Prism” was the pop-sensation’s last full-length album, released in 2013, and “Chained to the Rhythm” is reminiscent of what made that album great and indicative of the vibe to come.
The single starts off with a fuzzy, distorted synth-beat and quickly moves into vocals from Perry herself. Though the single is the definition of upbeat, on second and third listen a darker tone comes through.
“So put your rose colored glasses on / And we’ll party on / Turn it up, it’s your favorite song / Dance, dance, dance to the distortion,” Perry sings over the ’80s-inspired beat and bass line. This sentiment is repeated, in addition to the imagery of living in a bubble and being in utopia.
Throughout the four-minute run-time of “Chained to the Rhythm,” Perry is urging her listeners to be present and to not become complacent in the current political climate. This theme comes as no surprise considering that Perry was an avid supporter of Hillary Clinton during her 2016 presidential campaign.
Despite the darker themes in the single, the tone shifts to a more hopeful one with Skip Marley’s feature: “It is my desire / Break down the walls, to connect, inspire / Up in your high place, liars / Time is ticking for the empire.”
The single was accompanied by a cryptic lyric video featuring a hamster in a tiny home, which backs up the lyrical content of the song. The music video for the single dropped on Feb. 21. The video featured a dystopian theme park called Oblivia, which parodied many issues we deal with on a day-to-day basis.
The first performance of the single was a doozy: the 59th annual Grammy awards. Standing behind a white picket fence, Perry, decked out in rose-colored glasses and a white pantsuit with a “Persist” arm-band, commanded the stage. As the performance went on, apocalyptic scenes were projected on to the mirrored pieces of the stage.
Marley made an appearance to perform his feature, and as the song reached its final moments the picket fence behind them separated and swirled around the two performers. The pieces of the stage eventually ended up behind Marley and Perry with the pre-amble of the Constitution projected behind them. If there were any questions about “Chained to the Rhythm” being a political message from Perry, they were answered in that moment.
No matter what Perry has planned for the rest of her new album and upcoming tour, there is no doubt that Perry is making a statement.
