The girl that kissed a girl and liked it is back. The California native, Katy Perry, debuted her fourth studio album, “Prism,” which was released Oct. 18. 

Highly inspired by Swedish dance music rather than pop this time around, Perry’s new album offers incredibly catchy beats and a respectable message of being powerful and confident within oneself. 

Remembering her third studio album released in 2010, “Teenage Dream” in which literally every song on the album was basically a hit single, “Prism” looks to be similar because every track on her new album is extremely addictive. 

The most popular and well known song on Perry’s new album, “Roar,” starts it off and really sets the whole tone for the album. 

As one of the top 10 singles on iTunes since August when it was pre-released, it is no wonder “Prism” starts with this track. 

Breaking away from her previous image of being a young woman intoxicated by being in love in her last album, “Roar” changes her image of love-struck girl to becoming an independent and strong woman.

With lyrics like, “Now I’m floating like a butterfly / Stinging like a bee I earned my stripes / I went from zero, to my own hero / You held me down, but I got up / Already brushing off the dust,” the song really speaks to anyone that has ever felt so defeated, but managed to be strong and find the power to regain their confidence and I think that is an important message to get out in the world. 

Perhaps one of my favorite tracks on this album is the second track, “Legendary Lovers.” 

With trance-like music that sounds like a Bollywood dream, the romantic anthem uses beautiful lyrics to describe a one-of-a-kind love between two people: “Take me down to the river / Underneath the blood orange sun / Say my name like a scripture / Keep my heart beating like a drum.” 

“Legendary Lovers” is one of the hidden treasures on the album that I hope will gain popularity as the album gets more and more played over time.

The next song, “Birthday,” sounds similar to her previous album’s song, “Last Friday Night,” using the same funky jazz sounds mixed in with a bit of pop. 

While being a fun song to dance to, it quickly becomes a bit creepy and odd when Perry oddly whispers half way through the song and at the end “happy birthday.” 

The track “Dark Horse” on the album became another hit single when Perry pre-released it for promotional reasons on Sept. 17. 

The song features the vocals of rapper, Juicy J, who is the only featured artist that appears on the album. The song really has a great beat to it that gets hard to get out of your head and it is definitely one of the highlights of “Prism.” 

Another favorite is the track titled, “Ghost.” It speaks about a love that is lost that really feels more like a death than a break up. 

Anyone who has ever gone through a bad heartbreak will relate to this song: “There’s just an echo where your heart used to be / Now I see it clearly / And there’s just a pillow where your head used to sleep / My vision’s 20/20 / I see through you now.” 

Much like the first track “Roar” and another song, “Love Me,” on the album, Perry talks about having a broken heart but getting through it in the end and coming out a better person.

Compared to her other albums, “Prism” is filled with more slow paced songs that are a bit more serious than previous albums’ songs such as “California Girls.” 

Tracks in this album such “Double Rainbow” and “By The Grace of God” really seem to represent Perry’s true intentions for this more “grown up” album. 

“Spiritual,” one of the last tracks, has some of the best instrumentals on the whole album. 

The use of modern electronic sounds go well with Perry’s lyrics: “I have prayed for a power like you / To see deep down in my soul / Oh, you make me bloom like a flower at desert road.” The song sounds almost dreamlike and takes the listener to a different state of mind. 

Overall, “Prism” seems as if it will be extremely successful. Not only is Perry creating a new image for herself while still maintaining who she is currently, but it is probably one of her most diverse albums to date.

After listening to the album on a loop for the past week, the songs never get old and I discover something new I like about it after every listen. 

It’s safe to say that this album will most likely have numerous hit singles emerge from it in the next few months. 

“Prism” is definitely an album not to miss this year.