Gone are the days of sugary pop and party music.

In August, Katy Perry released a 30-second video of her burning her famous blue wig. She later explained it as a metaphor of her doing away with her old self. She has buried the “Teenage Dream” persona and has moved into a new direction for her latest album, “Prism,” released Tuesday.

Perry has repeatedly said in interviews that “Prism” would be more of a self-reflection as an artist and a documentation of her metamorphosis into the woman she has now become. No longer reeling from her messy 2011 divorce with British comedian Russell Brand and branching out into philanthropic efforts with UNICEF, Perry has grown up right before our eyes.

“Roar,” the album’s first single, is currently in heavy rotation, and it knocked Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” out of the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 in September. And if that wasn’t enough, it has already given Perry her biggest digital song sales week, breaking her previous record held by “Firework.” The song is not only empowering and inspirational, but also autobiographical, as Perry admitted to writing the song after undergoing therapy.

The second single off the album is the beautiful “Unconditionally,” where she sings about loving someone to no end. The inspiration behind this track came from a recent trip to Madagascar with her current boyfriend John Mayer. But with such a deep album, there is a good chance Perry is also singing about loving herself unconditionally.

Perry further explained the backbone of this track in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, saying, “It’s just a simple message about loving someone and accepting them and kind of driving at you don’t have to be so self-conscious.”

“Legendary Lovers” should be the third single. It’s mellow and laced with percussion throughout, not unlike a heartbeat. She uses her trademark breathy voice in the chorus, and the song seems animalistic and experimental, with elements from rock, electronica and synth pop.

But then “Walking on Air” reminded me of the ’90s hit “Rhythm is a Dancer” by Snap. While it’s a party song that could have easily been on her earlier albums, “Walking on Air” still sounds different from her traditional work. The techno genre works well with her vocal range. And that’s what makes “Prism” so exciting: She is unafraid to try new things with her musical style.

This album also provided an opportunity for Perry to get deeply emotional about her relationship with Brand.

In “Ghost,” Perry recounts her painful divorce. She sings, “You sent a text, it’s like the wind changed your mind,” and “There’s just a pillow where your head used to sleep.” The lyrics are so honest and blatant, it is almost as if Perry took them straight from a page in her diary. And perhaps she did, which is what makes her such a real artist. She has built a deep intimacy with her audience: There are unedited scenes in her 2012 documentary “Part of Me” of her weeping over Brand moments before she has to get on stage for her next performance.

Another memorable song off the album is “By the Grace of God,” which is a tribute to her younger years as a Christian recording artist, before she rose to her current level of fame. This song, like “Ghost,” is autobiographical. In it, Perry also sings of a time in her life after the divorce, where she struggled to find herself. She said in an interview that she contemplated suicide after her heart was broken, but in the song she sings about looking in the bathroom mirror, staying strong and deciding to stay alive.

Although there are a few songs about Brand on the album, Perry’s emphasis on how much she has grown during the past year is evident. She rediscovered herself with this album. It has moments of joy and pain, and promises to take the listener on the same spiritual journey Perry took.

She sings it best in her single, “I am a champion, and you’re gonna hear me roar.” I’m excited to see what this new outlook will produce in her.

Published on October 21, 2013 at 11:15 pm

Contact Elaina: ekcrocke@syr.edu