Katy Perry

Katy Perry is one of my favourite artists and fortunately, I have seen her perform live countless times over the years. I often attend 2 – 3 concerts each tour, sitting or standing in a different section of the arena each time. From her Prismatic World Tour to Witness The Tour, Katy puts on a show like no other. Her production is innovative, bold, and electrifying. Her costumes are playful and detailed, and each moment on stage is a colourful explosion of joy and charisma.

What I love most about Katy Perry are the kinds of fans she attracts, which translates to the kind of crowds you experience at a Katy Perry show. Mostly, it’s the girls and the gays, ready to dance the night away and strutting (OK no, running) their way to the front of the mosh pit in costumes inspired by Katy’s previous music videos and performances.

However, it’s also a place for young girls admiring the singer, joining their parents for a night that can only be described as a spectacle. For many, it’s their first concert, and you can witness the awe in their eyes as they see a female popstar being elevated into the sky as the perform inspirational, joyful songs, such as ‘Firework’.

That song has existed for 10 years and it still makes me cry, every single time.

With each release of a brand-new album, Katy’s setlists evolve, providing audiences with the perfect balance between emotion and escapism. This creates a sense of intimacy, as you experience the rise and fall of the setlist – quieter, acoustic moments that slowly lead back into energetic anthems.

The sense of intimacy is also reflected in the stage layout Katy creates. On top of the general mosh pit, Katy always creates an additional, smaller mosh pit, usually with a maximum capacity of 100 – 200 fans, that allows fans to be even closer to her. On The Prismatic World Tour, this mosh pit existed within the triangular stage and on Witness: The Tour, this was a section on the left of the arena, surrounded a more intimate stage. For each tour I have attended, I have managed to score tickets for these intimate mosh pits and without a doubt, they’re the best mosh pit experiences I’ve had.

Some of the happiest moments of my life have unfolded at Katy Perry concerts and for that I am grateful. It is also the reason why I am desperate to see her live again, in a world that is hopefully post-pandemic by then. Until then, you can most definitely catch me re-watching all of my Katy Perry concert videos and playing her new album, ‘Smile’, on repeat.