Katy Perry, Small Talk | Track Review 🎵

13x Grammy nominee Katy Perry returns with a brief and pleasant, yet relatively forgettable single, “Small Talk,” co-written by Charlie Puth.

“And I just can’t believe / We went from strangers to lovers to strangers in a lifetime…” Okay… Katy Perry has been slowly, but surely trying to rebound from a career misstep.  That career misstep was her 2017 album, Witness, which just simply didn’t work.  With Witness, Perry couldn’t secure a surefire hit like previous albums, with so-so singles and even more suspect non-singles on the album itself.  The good news is that Perry made a step forward with her first solo single of 2019, “Never Really Over”, even though it failed to gain much traction.  She’s back with an even shorter single, “Small Talk,” which doesn’t even reach three minutes in duration.

“Small Talk” was notably co-written by Charlie Puth, who also serves as one the producers (another co-writer, Johan Carlsson, also produces).  From a production standpoint, “Small Talk” sounds pleasant with its electronic-pop cues, but never blows you away.  Perhaps this is because the sound is so light, where a bit more punch wouldn’t have hurt the cause.  Vocally, Katy Perry also sounds ‘pleasant’ without being hard-hitting.  That isn’t to say she doesn’t bring energy, but like the production to some extent, there’s that lack of a ‘wow’ factor.

Honestly, the aforementioned pre-chorus lyrics sum up the song.  Katy Perry and her ex-lover started off as strangers, became well acquainted as lovers, and now are complete strangers again. Basically, she knows everything about him (“Isn’t it wild that I know your weakness? / And everybody at the party thinks / That you’re the best thing since sliced bread”), he knows about her (“Isn’t it weird that you’ve seen me naked?”), but “Now there’s nothing left but small talk.”

Final Thoughts 

So, will “Small Talk” reestablish Katy Perry as a contender in the ever-changing pop market? No.  Perhaps that sounds harsh, but “Small Talk” simply doesn’t pack enough punch to be a hit that truly catches on.  Compare it to Perry’s best hits (“Hot N Cold,” “Firework,” and “Roar”), and it honestly just isn’t nearly as potent.

Katy Perry • Small Talk [Single] • Capitol • Release: 8.9.19

Photo Credit: Capitol