Witness the Katy Perry tour

The pop star is now on the Asian leg of her Witness tour and you all know what you are in for whenever she comes around, an extraordinary sound and sight overload.

Calling all Katycats. The lead Kitty, Katy Perry, is once more coming to Manila. AEG Presents and Ovation Productions are bringing her over to perform on April 2 at the Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena. Pop star Perry is now on the Asian leg of her Witness tour and you all know what you are in for whenever she comes around, an extraordinary sound and sight overload. You all know how imaginative Katy is with regards to her music and she really outdid herself with this tour.

Of course, Katy is bringing along her performing Katycats.  But there will also be flamingoes, alien insects, tigers, salt pepper baths and trips to her spectacular rendition of inner and outer space with planets, suns, constellations, etc. etc. And not to forget, her Left Shark is also set to perform. Having those things, plus more around her, is how Katy works. So everybody who will be watching can count on a great time.

Released in the fall of last year, Witness, the album is loaded.  There are 15 strong cuts that showcase a daring Katy as she dives into new music types. Witness is a collection of effects-laden electropop tunes with hints of R&B, hip-hop, New Wave and house music. Take note that these are the songs that provided the inspiration for her eye-popping Witness show.

Best tracks and certainly the most commercial are Swish Swish featuring Nicki Minaj, Déjà vu and Chained To The Rhythm. Hooks are plentiful among these three cuts. Save As Draft, a ballad with a pronounced beat, and Miss You, where Katy’s singing is at its most emotional, also have strong single potentials. I like it when Katy goes into these soft, slow tunes as these bring out her expressive singing. The other cuts are Witness, Hey Hey Hey, Roulette, Power, Mind Maze, Miss You More, Bon Appetit featuring Migos, Bigger Than Me, Pendulum and Into Me You See. 

But Witness is not all that this concert is about. The audience will also be treated to a massive sing-along session of Katy Perry hits. She is set to perform I Kissed a Girl, California Gurls, Teen-age Dream, Hot N Cold, The One That Got Away, Thinking Of You, Firework, Roar and others.

Still on Katy, the bubbly singer has recently added television judge to her list of credentials. Katy, plus the famed singer and songwriter Lionel Richie and country music idol Luke Bryan are the judges of the American Idol (AI) reboot that is now airing on the Sony Channel on Mondays and Tuesdays at 6 p.m. with an encore telecast on the same evening at 9:45.

AI is the talent search show that had this big goodbye finale two years ago amid dwindling ratings and strong competition from that other talent show The Voice. The ratings may have been down but many were still sad to see AI go off the air. After all, The Voice may be always fun to watch with hilarious banter and great singing from the coaches. But we still have to hear of a winner of The Voice reaching stardom, let alone have a hit song.

On the other hand, AI has discovered bonafide stars like Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Fantasia Barino, Ruben Studdard, David Cook, Philip Philipps and others. Why even non-winners at AI can be very successful like Chris Daughtry with his Daughtry band, Jennifer Hudson, Adam Lambert, Clay Aiken, Kellie Pickler, Katharine McPhee and many more. It is a fact. American Idol can make stars.

The initial telecast of the reboot proved to be most entertaining with all types of contestants coming in for their big life-changing opportunity. Having Ryan Seacrest once more as host brought in sweet memories of the early AI. The choice of Richie, Bryan and Perry as judges may be formulaic. Their mix resembles the first batch of Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell but they jibe very well. I say that it looks like this AI version will be around for the long haul. 

I thought I was going to miss last season’s judge Jennifer Lopez. She was so caring and beautiful. But no, Perry is turning out to be a sweet pixie presence who knows what she is talking about and also one who genuinely cares for the contestants.