Nearly a decade after her iconic appearance in The Sims 3, complete with a recording of “Last Friday Night†in Simlish, Katy Perry is continuing her evolution into video-game songstress with a new musical partnership in a beloved franchise. The collaboration, titled P25 Music, is part of Pokémon’s yearlong anniversary festivities celebrating 25 years of Pikachu, Charmander, Snorlax, Cubone, et al. (Pocket Monsters launched in Japan in 1996 and headed to North America two years later, rebranded as Pokémon.)
While celebrity statements on brand partnerships tend to sound stilted and hollow in press releases, we totally believe Katy when she says, “Pokémon has been a constant in my life from playing the original video games on my Game Boy, to trading Pokémon TCG cards at lunch, to the adventures of catching Pokémon on the street with Pokémon GO. I’ve even visited the Pokémon Café in Japan while on tour!†The woman loves Japanese culture (sometimes a little too much) and video games (she released a circus-themed browser game alongside her 2020 album, Smile.)
Perry is the headliner of the event, a partnership between the Pokémon Company and Universal Music Group, with “surprise global activations throughout the year with even more of the hottest names in music from up-and-coming artists to global superstars†on the way. Pokémon and Universal haven’t explained what, exactly, “surprise global activations†means in this context, but it’s probably going to include a few timed events in Pokémon GO. If it’s just another Pikachu with a dumb hat, I will riot.