Witness
by Katy Perry
  • Record Label: Capitol
  • Release Date: Jun 9, 2017
User Score
7.3

Generally favorable reviews- based on 3037 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2,112 out of 3037
  2. Mixed: 289 out of 3037
  3. Negative: 636 out of 3037
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  1. daebu_char
    Sep 30, 2020
    6
    This is, hands down, the worst album Katy Perry has put out so far (which, however, doesn't mean it's trash because Katy Perry at her worst is still better than some of her peers at their best). I could go into a lot of things and write a 10-page long essay on why the entire era surrounding the album was a failure, but frankly--I don't have the time, nor do I have the audience. This reviewThis is, hands down, the worst album Katy Perry has put out so far (which, however, doesn't mean it's trash because Katy Perry at her worst is still better than some of her peers at their best). I could go into a lot of things and write a 10-page long essay on why the entire era surrounding the album was a failure, but frankly--I don't have the time, nor do I have the audience. This review will most likely get lost in the sea of other reviews so I'll keep it short and to the point.

    The music is overproduced and generic. Lyrically, Katy is repeating herself A LOT on the 15 songs that comprise this record, and vocally, she's had far more impressive moments (e.g. Firework, Roar). Thematically, there's everything you'd expect from a modern Pop album: empowering anthems, slutty songs, melodramatic songs, a song on which Katy drags her archenemy. There's one exception to the standard Pop fare, *one* politically charged song most likely ghostwritten by Hilary Clinton about how we're all zombies chained to the rhythm. Yes, Katy Perry, a super privileged pop star & multimillionaire suddenly had a political awakening, as well as a feminist one which she had expressed by getting a short pixie cut hence the album cover. The eyeball in her mouth is another story though *wink, wink.*

    I should also mention that there's this trend now where many people call this album "underrated" and think the public was "not ready" for Katy trying something "new" and "provocative." That's not the case, because this album was anything BUT new and provocative at the time of its release--it actually was just extremely generic and calculated. Katy basically went from singing catchy songs about love that had her signature zany songwriting style to singing music any other industry puppet could've released. All you need to do is to check the liner notes to see what went wrong. Every song on this album has at least five hit songwriters with as many as four people (or more) handling the production. It's as if Katy contacted every single "it" girl and "it" boy in the industry to create a foolproof collection of guaranteed number #1 hit records. Well the result was the exact opposite. The only songs that I thought showed potential and sounded unique were Roulette, Power, and Tsunami but even these three tracks pale in comparison to the highs of Katy's previous material.

    To end the review on a more positive note, I'd say "Witness" is probably the most cohesive album in Katy Perry's discography in the sense that there are no clearly defined highs and lows like on her past releases. Rather, the same underwhelming mediocre sound is maintained throughout the entire record which might have actually ended up working in its favor. My overall rating is a solid 6/10.    … Expand
  2. leostarboy
    Sep 9, 2020
    5
    Perry takes a step back, she seems to be experimenting but something definitely went wrong. Perhaps the cliché and hideous production of the middle of the album or perhaps the unnecessary childish essence that is characteristic of her. On the other hand, songs like "Chained to the Rhythm" make us forget those bad (quite a few) moments on the album.
  3. Brzuchaczyk
    Sep 1, 2020
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. For me it is a album for 14 years old girl, not for a 30 years ol woman. Swish Swish and Bon Appetit are at least catchy, Changed to the Rhythm is apparently meaningful - not for me. The rest of the songs are just fillers for me - every of her album is full of fillers, but Witness doesn't have any major bop song. Album's best ones are jsut today's average.… Expand
  4. reviewer2410
    Aug 31, 2020
    5
    The production and themes throughout the album for cohesive which is very good but then the vocals are just so lazy and unconvincing and the lyrics are plain cringe-worthy especially on the “bangers”. Not her worst album, but far from her best.
  5. Coolguymike
    Aug 29, 2020
    4
    Katy loses her identity with this album with a huge step down from Prism. While this album does have some good singles, Chained to the Rhythm and Swish Swish, it deviates from the bubbly pop Katy Perry is known for.
  6. MarceloPaz
    Aug 28, 2020
    6
    some of her songs are great to hear, but every album released until that parace is the same, I exalt the musical construction, I'm ashamed of the lyrics.
  7. RTAir
    May 3, 2020
    6
    It's a solid pop album with a surprisingly cohesive sound, and while the songwriting leaves a lot to be desired, the melodies and hooks more than make up for it. It feels like it might have had a concept (the ever cited purposeful pop) that somehow got lost in the making, saving up room for harmless streaming-friendly tunes for Teen Party playlists. However, the album definitely showsIt's a solid pop album with a surprisingly cohesive sound, and while the songwriting leaves a lot to be desired, the melodies and hooks more than make up for it. It feels like it might have had a concept (the ever cited purposeful pop) that somehow got lost in the making, saving up room for harmless streaming-friendly tunes for Teen Party playlists. However, the album definitely shows glimpses of greatness here and there, and when it's good, it's really good.… Expand
  8. Psicobruh
    Mar 28, 2020
    6
    There are good songs like "Chained to The Rhythm", "Swish Swish" and "Roulette", but some of them are good after seen them on Witness: The Tour - Tsunami, Hey Hey Hey, etc. I'm sad because a great song like Roulette could be the perfect single to win an Grammy but is not released. The same thing happened with "Legendary Lovers" from PRISM. Sorry, Katy, I'm a katycat but this wasn't a great album.
  9. Josewandersonts
    Aug 23, 2019
    4
    O álbum consegue sobressair com algumas músicas, mas soa tão forçado em alguns quesitos.
  10. Dsros96
    Aug 3, 2019
    5
    This album has terrible songs (Power), bad songs (Swish Swish) and good songs (Roulette). Only 5 songs can be called good. The bad-terrible songs are way overproduced.
  11. dallre
    Jul 18, 2019
    6
    She took a risk, and you can not take it back from her.

    Lyrically it is far from her best work in my opinion. Some metaphore are as if she tried too hard. "Figure out the Rubik's Cube" "You suck my hope up in a vacuum" "You're 'bout as cute as An old coupon expired" for exemple. The production of the songs, taken individually, are excuisite. I'd give 10/10 for the album if it was    She took a risk, and you can not take it back from her.

    Lyrically it is far from her best work in my opinion. Some metaphore are as if she tried too hard.
    "Figure out the Rubik's Cube"
    "You suck my hope up in a vacuum"
    "You're 'bout as cute as An old coupon expired" for exemple.

    The production of the songs, taken individually, are excuisite. I'd give 10/10 for the album if it was all about the productions. Swish Swish has one of the best production i've ever heard. She set a mood and a tone, wich fit perfectly with her visual. Good job for that.

    Finally an other negative point, was the album's songs order. It didn't made it for me. It's very good from the beggining to the mid adlbum. After miss you more, its too much ups and down in an uncontroled way. CTTR (up), Tsunami (down), Bon Appetit (up), Bigger Than me, Save As Draft (down), Pendulum (up), Into me you see (down).
    I love the idea of a slow and calm song at the end of an album, it's a technique that always worked (its very much effective in Taylor Swift's Reputation), but when it follows that kind of emotional roller coaster, I think it's pretty uneffective.

    I give it a 6/10    … Expand
  12. prestonhung
    Apr 1, 2019
    6
    'Witness' is a fun collection of pop music but is somewhat flawed due to a lack of quality songwriting and production in some tracks.
    Strongest Tracks: "Witness", "Roulette", "Swish Swish", "Deja Vu", "Power", "Miss You More", "Tsunami"
    Weakest Tracks: "Hey Hey Hey", "Save As Draft"
  13. Legaspi
    Jan 19, 2019
    6
    You have to listen Witness twice if you want to really appreciate some songs. Despite being a experimental production-songwriting mess, the record ends up bringing to us a few decent songs, that (obviously) you can't dance to but they still are enjoyable.

    Highlights: Chained to the Rhythm; Miss You More; Power; Swish Swish; Witness
  14. StavoSwift13
    Oct 18, 2018
    4
    En esencia su peor trabajo. Sí bien los anteriores pueden llenarse la boca con ser "exitosos" con ritmos sumamente pegadizos, buena producción y medianamente buenos liricamente, este solo quiso jugársela a lo "oscuro y maduro". El problema con Katy era que cuando gustaba en sus anteriores trabajos era fuerte, luchadora de una causa, con voz adulta y segura, pero en otras infantil, boba,En esencia su peor trabajo. Sí bien los anteriores pueden llenarse la boca con ser "exitosos" con ritmos sumamente pegadizos, buena producción y medianamente buenos liricamente, este solo quiso jugársela a lo "oscuro y maduro". El problema con Katy era que cuando gustaba en sus anteriores trabajos era fuerte, luchadora de una causa, con voz adulta y segura, pero en otras infantil, boba, inmadura y con mensajes sexuales tontos y comerciales. Con Witness paso todo eso pero en 1 sólo disco. Quiso ser madura, dar voz al movimiento feminista, hablar sobre su dolor y más, pero involucró ritmos tontos, que buscaban ser infantiles pero a la vez no lo querían y una producción confusa y sin rumbo, aunado a la sensación que en un afán de querer hacer algo diferente quiso hacer en parte lo mismo y termino no haciendo nada arruinando todo. Sin contar el tema de política y de contradecirse en que ella no busca pelearse o dar importancia a comentarios sobre ella. E inevitablemente el peor error del disco: Migos y Swish Swish, que es hasta cansado y repetitivo hablar sobre estos dos desaciertos. Solo 2 baladas de este álbum se salvan y después de tanto escucharlas se vuelven aburridas, cutres y planas. Una era que sí bien marco un cambio en ella no fue cómo se esperaba quedado un 30% bueno y 70% malo. 4.5 para Katy Perry… Expand
  15. thienluan
    Oct 9, 2018
    6
    The most mature album by Katy Perry to date as she sings about politics, self-loving and feminism, the subject that most artists don't want to mention in their efforts. However, she's playing the game safe a little bit as she still collaborates with Max Martin, the one that made her debut album. We can also see a few new producers here, but only Jack Garratt really stands out with theThe most mature album by Katy Perry to date as she sings about politics, self-loving and feminism, the subject that most artists don't want to mention in their efforts. However, she's playing the game safe a little bit as she still collaborates with Max Martin, the one that made her debut album. We can also see a few new producers here, but only Jack Garratt really stands out with the track 'Power'. The 'Chained To The Rhythm' collaboration with Skip Marley was a good start for the album, but 'Bon Appetit' featuring Migos and the 'Swish Swish' duet with Nicki Minaj weren't good follow-ups as they talk about more personally themes like sex and vengeance (her long-going feud with Taylor Swift).… Expand
  16. deanjacobson_
    Sep 28, 2018
    5
    An average album; that's all to be said. There was nothing ultimately special about this album. Personally, I felt as if it was an experiment with a new style of vocals that completely failed. Compared to the success of her previous albums, it was a massive letdown. Some good songs were found including strong single Chained to the Rhythm, Hey Hey Hey and Witness. However, all great artistsAn average album; that's all to be said. There was nothing ultimately special about this album. Personally, I felt as if it was an experiment with a new style of vocals that completely failed. Compared to the success of her previous albums, it was a massive letdown. Some good songs were found including strong single Chained to the Rhythm, Hey Hey Hey and Witness. However, all great artists make mistakes and now that Perry has adventured with this failure, she has the potential to reclaim her position of one of the best pop artists.… Expand
  17. notAvillan
    Jul 14, 2018
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. It's mediocre. Chained To The Rhythm, Power, and Witness are all high points of this record with how bold, catchy, and personal songs all these three songs are. Swish Swish was alright (I do like the groove and the Nicki feature), Bon Appetite is rather a guilty pleasure, and Tsunami was pretty neat, but then the album takes a nose dive. Hey Hey Hey has cringy lyrics and tries so hard to have an alt pop and dream pop kind of sound but fails. Mind Maze while being unique and different, the autotune is a major turnoff. The rest of the album is forgettable, yes even the ballads, and tries way to hard to be woke.… Expand
  18. iamkakaindecent
    May 30, 2018
    4
    This is the worst album of 2017, it's awful, bad, how dare she throw it ???? Still not understanding.
  19. u137288reddit
    May 17, 2018
    6
    Witness has a lot of really fun tracks, but also a good amount of filler. Ending and beginning of the album are the best parts.
  20. bodakyellow
    Apr 29, 2018
    5
    Despite some marvelous efforts along the way, Witness as an overall album is quite forgettable, because of the many opportunities to become timeless that it doesn't take. Favourite tracks: Witness, Swish Swish, Bon Appetit, Save As Draft
  21. ManuelContreras
    Apr 7, 2018
    6
    Un album un poco flojo, podria ser el peor de su carrera, aunque no significa que sea malo
  22. MilesW1998
    Feb 26, 2018
    4
    Witness is a down-trodden, weak pop record that stands as a major blemish in Katy's discography. It tries to be empowering and woke, but ends up failing for Katy, as she sacrifices personalty with generic lyrics and production.

    Best: Witness, Hey Hey Hey, Pendulum, Swish Swish, Roulette

    Worst: Bon Appetit, Chained To The Rhythm, Mind Maze, Into Me You See, Save As Draft
  23. Retle65
    Feb 18, 2018
    5
    Song by Song Review

    Witness: This is probably the most confusing song on this album. 4/10 Hey Hey Hey: Generic Female Empowerment Anthem 6/10 Roulette: Electric Fuel That Fuels My Anger Of This Album 8/10 Swish Swish: I hate taylor, but this is horrible 3/10 Deja Vu: Meh 6/10 Power: Slightly better than chained to the rhythm SIGHTLY 5/10 Mind Maze: Noise 6/10 Miss You    Song by Song Review

    Witness: This is probably the most confusing song on this album.
    4/10
    Hey Hey Hey: Generic Female Empowerment Anthem
    6/10
    Roulette: Electric Fuel That Fuels My Anger Of This Album
    8/10
    Swish Swish: I hate taylor, but this is horrible
    3/10
    Deja Vu: Meh
    6/10
    Power: Slightly better than chained to the rhythm SIGHTLY
    5/10
    Mind Maze: Noise
    6/10
    Miss You More: I miss the prism days
    3/10
    Chained To The Rhythm: -
    1/10
    Tsunami: This Song Has A Good Rhythm, but **** lyrics
    7/10
    Bon Appetit: Katy, no. Migos, rap proprely
    4/10
    Bigger Than Me: Decent Job
    5/10
    Save As Draft: Okay, good
    8/10
    Pendulum: I can't wait for this album to end
    3/10
    Into Me You See: Into Me You See that katy is running out of song lyrics
    4/10
    Act My Age: Why did I bought the deluxe version
    5/10
    Dance With The Devil: Kill me.
    3/10

    Not that bad, not good at all

    FINAL RATING: 5/10

    Worse Than Prism.    … Expand
  24. gomespedro
    Dec 17, 2017
    4
    Toda vez que Katy Perry anuncia um novo álbum, eu fico em ânsia. 'O que ela aprontará dessa vez?', me pergunto; afinal, Katy Perry foi responsável por me introduzir ao pop contemporâneo com o excelente 'Teenage Dream', um álbum pop incrível e condizente com a artista revelada pelo também bom 'One Of The Boys'. 'Witness' foi decepcionante; não existe nenhuma linearidade no disco - pareceToda vez que Katy Perry anuncia um novo álbum, eu fico em ânsia. 'O que ela aprontará dessa vez?', me pergunto; afinal, Katy Perry foi responsável por me introduzir ao pop contemporâneo com o excelente 'Teenage Dream', um álbum pop incrível e condizente com a artista revelada pelo também bom 'One Of The Boys'. 'Witness' foi decepcionante; não existe nenhuma linearidade no disco - parece que Katy Perry, um pouco cansada, pegou várias músicas de diferentes teores e adicionou a um disco, criando um compilado, não um LP. O álbum é pobre em composição, em melodia, e falhou miseravelmente na missão de 'pop-activism' proposta pela cantora, que só transparece pelo debut single 'Chained To The Rythim' (que é a única música realmente boa do CD). A cada álbum que Katy Perry se propõe a lançar, mais eu sinto falta da Katy Perry de 2012, com composições pop genuínas e, embora desprezadas pela crítica tradicional, eram identificáveis, dançantes e boas de se ouvir. Tenho a impressão que Katy Perry está cada vez mais perdida em suas tentativas e não sei se sua intenção é recuperar a artista que foi há cinco anos. Não a julgo por tentar ser diferente daquilo que já foi um dia (Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift, todas se propuseram da mesma forma); eu só espero que, nessas investidas em encontrar a Katy Perry que tanto procura, Kate Hudson se encontre definitivamente.… Expand
  25. TheOnlyLuis
    Dec 4, 2017
    6
    Katy Perry, reina de las canciones sin sentido, y con poca capacidad para profundizar, éste álbum tiene la pinta de estar buscando dentro de ella misma al verdadero talento el cual nunca ha demostrado por si sola, siento decir que en busca de esa formula, recibió el fracaso con los brazos abiertos, el cual considero que es bueno, esto quizá ayude a formar verdaderas buenas canciones, enKaty Perry, reina de las canciones sin sentido, y con poca capacidad para profundizar, éste álbum tiene la pinta de estar buscando dentro de ella misma al verdadero talento el cual nunca ha demostrado por si sola, siento decir que en busca de esa formula, recibió el fracaso con los brazos abiertos, el cual considero que es bueno, esto quizá ayude a formar verdaderas buenas canciones, en este disco no hay consistencia, y difícilmente puedo decir que es coherente, más sin embargo la artista trata de dar desesperadamente un mensaje fuerte, que no llega a concebirse por los sonidos desarrollados en el álbum, veo progreso, pero poca capacidad, nada innovador.… Expand
  26. iDimitris
    Nov 17, 2017
    6
    This album is a let down, compared to Perry's previous works, especially her previous album, which was definitely her best work. There are some solid songs, however, like "Power", "Bigger Than Me" and "Roulette".
  27. workesha
    Oct 15, 2017
    6
    Gosto bastante da katy, e como um todo gostei do witness tambem. Um álbum coeso porém com músicas um tanto quanto esqueçíveis com exceção dos singles e de Roulette.
  28. Julia1d
    Aug 24, 2017
    6
    É um álbum até que bom, mas algumas letras deixam a desejar. Katy perdeu sua raiz dos seus trabalhos anteriores (Prism/2013). Não que esse álbum seja ruim, é apenas mediano para uma hitmaker.
  29. orengue
    Aug 14, 2017
    6
    Even though this album has good songs like Roulette and Chained to the Rhythm. I think she could do better next time. Favorite song: Witness, very awesome and beautiful song
  30. pkuc01
    Aug 12, 2017
    5
    Hmm... The sounds and music on this album are very interesting and well made but the thing is that most of the songs (upbeat ones) are too much generic and forgettable to be something you can put your ears on... Her vocals are hidden a little bit. I appreciate that she put a fresh sounds to this album what makes it a good thing all around the bad.

    Best songs: Swish Swish ft. Nicki    Hmm... The sounds and music on this album are very interesting and well made but the thing is that most of the songs (upbeat ones) are too much generic and forgettable to be something you can put your ears on... Her vocals are hidden a little bit. I appreciate that she put a fresh sounds to this album what makes it a good thing all around the bad.

    Best songs: Swish Swish ft. Nicki Minaj, Pendulum, Dance With The Devil (Target Version), Tsunami, Witness

    Worst songs: Bon Appètit ft. Migos, Hey Hey Hey, Déjà Vu

    5/10    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

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#1 Most Discussed Album of 2017
4
#4 Most Shared Album of 2017

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
53

Mixed or average reviews - based on 20 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 20
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 20
  3. Negative: 2 out of 20
  1. The Line of Best Fit
    Aug 13, 2020
    75
    While it's certainly missing any form of coherency, Witness does feel like you're growing with Perry - going on this journey that's helped her find new ground and a reinvigorated appreciation for all walks of the pop music spectrum.
    Read full review
  2. Prefix Magazine
    Jul 6, 2017
    70
    While she may have slipped down the pecking order, Witness proves she’s still a more interesting pop star than she’s often given credit for.
    Read full review
  3. Drowned In Sound
    Jun 28, 2017
    50
    It’s a real shame Witness has come out as a bit of a disjointed mess, as there’s a decent record somewhere in there, but it gets lost in the fog of endless guest productions and co-writes that miss the point entirely.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »