Singer and stunt queen Katy Perry loves a good, chaotic album rollout. (It was just three summers ago that she livestreamed her existential malaise for Witness!) Now she’s pregnant, happy, still blonde, and generally Bloom-ing. For her fifth album, Perry has entered the big top: The rollout for this album, titled Smile, will rely on more clown and circus imagery than one would think wise in a post-Joker world. The red lips, the literal clown nose — send in the clown memes! “Step right up! Step right up! KP5 is called #SMILE,†Perry tweeted Thursday morning. “Listen to the song at midnight local time Friday, July 10 and pre-order the album at http://katy.to/smile.â€
Smile’s alternate album art commits to the bit enough to outfit Perry with a literal pie. Will she cosplay other clownery, like answering a 3 a.m. booty call or walk around in public without a mask?
You’re on notice: Pop girl Katy Perry’s clown is coming back to bite.