Katy Perry is trying to make lemonade out of lemons.
In response to the cool reaction to her album 143 – from complaints about tepid songwriting to wider doubts about the direction of this phase of her career – she has not stepped back.
Instead, she has launched a full-scale world tour that reminds fans of her pedigree and places the new songs from 143 in a sharper live setting.
Judging by the early reception, the approach is working. The Lifetimes Tour has already sold more than half a million tickets and generated more than $60 million at the box office, with more dates to come next year.
Her race-day concert at Etihad Park on Sunday in Abu Dhabi offered a clear view of that intent. The set design was intriguing as it was built around more than 30 separate LED screens of different heights and angles. They created a fragmentary view that suits the show’s dystopian theme, with Perry descending onto the stage as a humanoid figure.
Across the night, she shifts between those impulses, moving from the armour-like look of Wonder Woman and Robocop to simple summer clothing that made the character feel more human again.
She began with Chained to the Rhythm, moving with clipped, mechanical gestures that fit the character. Her voice stayed direct and forceful, which worked in the open air. She followed with Teary Eyes, a deep cut from her 2020 album Smile, before lifting the mood with Dark Horse in a fresh, rock-leaning take that played better outdoors than the original trap hip-hop production.
By the time the second phase of the show began, Perry was confident enough to revisit the maligned single Woman’s World from 143. Within this staging, it felt looser, and it passed quickly before she moved into two of her biggest hits, California Gurls and Teenage Dream, two songs that remain as bright as ever.
Following that sugar rush of hits, the show moved into what Perry labels Level 3 and Level 3.5, tying into the game-like storyline that follows her on a quest to find herself. It also became the place where she brought out several overlooked tracks from 143.
Nirvana had more electro-pop drive than it ever managed on the album, as the staging gave it a pulse the recording never quite found. Crush, a song that can feel flat on the record with its repetitive hook, worked better simply because it sat inside a bigger routine.
I’m His, He’s Mine also earned its spot, an underrated moment from 143 built on spacey production with a more restrained vocal from Perry. Does this stretch make it worth revisiting the album? Not entirely. But it shows that the dance-pop template that weighed 143 down can sit differently on a large stage, especially with the show’s wider production behind it.
The hits returned for a strong finish with Roar – perhaps the best expression of her maximalist pop aesthetic and a song that, if artists admit it or not, helped set the tone for acts such as Charli XCX and Ava Max.
She closed with the all-conquering Firework, its skycraping chorus fitting her booming voice, rounding off a night that showed a bruised Perry still moving forward with fans who stay with her whether she is “hot or cold”.
Perry closed this year’s after-race concert series at Etihad Park, which began on Thursday with Benson Boone, continued on Friday with Post Malone and Elyanna, and reached a high point with Metallica’s roaring set on Saturday, before Sunday’s sci-fi pop show closed the weekend.
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Asia Cup 2018 final
Who: India v Bangladesh
When: Friday, 3.30pm, Dubai International Stadium
Watch: Live on OSN Cricket HD
Silent Hill f
Publisher: Konami
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Rating: 4.5/5
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl, 48V hybrid
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 325bhp
Torque: 450Nm
Price: Dh289,000
If you go
The flights
There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.
The trip
Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.
The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.
The five new places of worship
Church of South Indian Parish
St Andrew's Church Mussaffah branch
St Andrew's Church Al Ain branch
St John's Baptist Church, Ruwais
Church of the Virgin Mary and St Paul the Apostle, Ruwais
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
The%C2%A0specs%20
%3Cp%3E%0D%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E6-cylinder%2C%204.8-litre%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E5-speed%20automatic%20and%20manual%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E280%20brake%20horsepower%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E451Nm%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Efrom%20Dh153%2C00%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Enow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
First Person
Richard Flanagan
Chatto & Windus
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
The specs
Engine: 4-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: nine-speed
Power: 542bhp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: Dh848,000
On sale: now
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Company profile
Name: Fruitful Day
Founders: Marie-Christine Luijckx, Lyla Dalal AlRawi, Lindsey Fournie
Based: Dubai, UAE
Founded: 2015
Number of employees: 30
Sector: F&B
Funding so far: Dh3 million
Future funding plans: None at present
Future markets: Saudi Arabia, potentially Kuwait and other GCC countries
Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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