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Prism is the upcoming fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Katy Perry. It is scheduled to be released on October 22, 2013, by Capitol Records. Recording for the record began in 2012, following the reissue of her third studio album Teenage Dream (2010), subtitled The Complete Confection, and continued into the following year. Its lead single "Roar" was released on August 10, 2013, and has peaked atop the Billboard Hot 100.

Johnny Wujek, who designed costumes for Perry's California Dreams Tour, said in a July 2012 interview: "We heard this new song for her next album and I was like, 'oh my god I see the video', and she was like 'I see the video too', and we were totally on the same page."[1] Perry told Billboard in late 2012 that she wanted to take some time off before starting recording the album, stating:

I'm an adult and what I'm not going to do is hurry up to fail, to shoot myself in the foot. I need to live so I have something worth singing about. That's always been the case for me..... I know exactly the record I want to make next. I know the artwork, the coloring and the tone..... I even know what type of tour I'm doing next. I'll be very pleased if the vision I have in my head becomes a reality.[2]

Perry also mentioned that she did not want the album to be a "Teenage Dream 2.0", stating "That would be silly. It's not of any interest for me to try and outdo myself at every corner. Eventually you just like pop, explode". Furthermore, she stated: "I am doing little things here and there. I was just in the studio with another artist and it turned out all right. I'm going to start dusting off the wheels just a little: [I'm] going in with a couple of people in November [2012] and try out fun collaborations that maybe people wouldn't imagine".[2] The singer told L'Uomo Vogue that the record would contain "darker" elements than her previous material.[3] Diplo,[4] Emeli Sandé,[5] Sia Furler, Klas Åhlund, Greg Kurstin, Dr. Luke, Max Martin, Greg Wells, Juicy J, Sarah Hudson, Cirkut, Stacie Orrico, and Bonnie McKee have collaborated with her on the album.

In April 2013, she stated that the album is halfway complete and described it as a "schizophrenic" album, adding that: "When I tell the record company when I want to release the album, that's when the race starts. That's when I put pressure on myself". She added that Greg Wells "allows me to vomit words. Not that I can't find that with others but he just lets me. Max [Martin] and [Dr.] Luke push me the most. As a team we have certain strengths, with Max, it's melody choices, Luke is production and I'm topline and melody. Working with Bonnie McKee is like an emotional abuse session, Bonnie and I argue [like] we're in the ring fighting for the best lyric".[6]

In July 2013, McKee revealed that Perry and herself wrote four tracks together in Perry's hometown of Santa Barbara, California, and added that they are more "grown up".[7] The following month, McKee also stated: "Well, you know, we work with [producers] Dr. Luke and Max Martin, they're like melodic geniuses....." Perry had a very specific idea of what she wanted. "[Luke] and [Max] come back [to us] with the track and we kind of find the story within the track".[8]

In August 2013, at the 2013 MTV video music awards, Perry stated that the album will not be "Dark" as she previously stated, she explained that she was in a darker place in her her life at the time when she initially said that. She added that the reason the album is titled Prism is because after she did some self reflection and worked on herself, she finally "let the light in", which made her feel "very prismatic". She stated that she will "get to beam the colors" 's she experienced out from herself through these songs.[

On July 29, 2013, a big golden truck driving in Los Angeles revealed the album's title as Prism and that it would be released on October 22, 2013.[10] The truck made stops through varies cities in the US, however, on August 9, 2013, the truck was hit by a drunk driver in Pennsylvania.[11] After hearing the news, Perry tweeted that "She is a champion!. she will return".[12]

Prior to the release of "Roar", Perry released four teasers, all of which stated the single would be released August 12, 2013, though the single was released two days earlier than expected. The first teaser showed her burning the blue wig she wore in her 2010 "California Gurls" music video, revealing the song title and planned release date.[13] The second teaser showed her at a funeral for her trademark peppermint swirl outfit.[14] The third teaser showed a cat eating a feather toy and roaring afterwards.[15] The fourth teaser showed Perry walking into a recording studio.[16] The latter two teasers contain snippets of the song. On the day of its iTunes release, Perry promoted the song's release in New York City.[17][18]

On August 20, 2013, fans were given the opportunity to unlock song titles, lyrics, and snippets from Prism by tweeting #KATYNOW. After fans heard the two snippets, they chose which one they wanted to be released in full on September 17, 2013 before the album is released.[19] The two snippets were "Dark Horse", featuring rapper Juicy J, and "Walking on Air". At the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards on August 25, 2013, "Dark Horse" was declared the winner with Perry giving a brief description of each song afterwards. Perry stated that with "Walking on Air", she wanted to "really wanna bring that kind of authentic 90's deep house song styling back".[20] Perry stated that "Dark Horse" was written with friend Sarah Hudson and described the song as having an "urban kinda hip-hop flavor". She describes its lyrics as "a witch warning this man not to fall in love with me and if you do just know I'm gonna be your last".[21] Perry also tweeted that "Dark Horse ft Juicy J is just a PREVIEW of #PRISM when released on Sept 17, NOT the 2nd single".[22]

On September 5, 2013, a Prism listening party took place, where all the guests including several music critics listened to the album.[23]. Perry stated that not all of the tracks were mixed and that the album was due to be handed in to her label on September 9th, 2013.[24]. 12 songs were played as confirmed by Billboard magazine: "Roar", "Walking on Air", "Unconditionally", "Dark Horse", "Double Rainbow", "Legendary Lover", "Birthday", "This Is How We Do", "International Smile", "Ghost", "Love Me", and "By the Grace of God".[25].She revealed its album cover the following day on Good Morning America.[26]
Tour

On August 12, 2013, during an On Air with Ryan Seacrest interview, when asked if she will miss anything from the Teenage Dream era, she replied: "I'll probably be integrating it in a new way especially when I go on tour next year. It will just be kind of an evolved version of Teenage Dream. And when you see me on tour, you're always going to get the songs you want to hear..... I'm not deserting any of it".[27]
Singles

The first single from the album is titled "Roar". Perry stated that the song is "about speaking up for yourself because there was a time in my life I didn't stand for anything, so I fell for everything..... Sometimes you can feel burdened by people or a thing or a relationship and it causes you to go inside yourself versus say 'Hey! No, this isn't okay.' So it has been very therapeutic writing these songs. I'm getting myself stronger".[27] It is a midtempo, synth-driven power pop song. The song also contains elements of folk rock, arena rock, and glam rock. It debuted on August 10, 2013, and was released onto iTunes and YouTube two days later. She performed "Roar" for the first time at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards on August 25, 2013.[8] The same day, a 21-second preview of the official music video was released.[28] On September 4, 2013, Billboard announced the song reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100.[18] The song's official music video was released the following day.[

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