After releasing a long string of singles in 2019 — “365,” “Never Really Over,” “Small Talk, “Harleys In Hawaii” — as well as “Never Worn White” and “Daisies” more recently this year, Katy Perry has finally officially announced her fifth album. Smile. It’s the follow-up to 2017’s Witness, and it’ll be out in August.
Smile will include the best of Perry’s recent crop of singles, the banger “Never Really Over,” and her most recent one, “Daisies,” along with “Harleys In Hawaii.” The rest of the tracklist is all new — some of those track titles seem to be hinted at in Perry’s new merch store.
Today, Perry is sharing the record’s title track, “Smile.” It’s a bouncy throwback that contains a sample of Naughty By Nature’s 1999 track “Jamboree.” “Yeah, I’m thankful/ Scratch that, baby, I’m grateful/ Gotta say it’s really been a while/ But now I got back that smile,” Perry sings in the chorus.
“I wrote the title track from the album when I was coming through one of the darkest periods of my life and had lost my smile,” Perry writes in an Instagram post. “This whole album is my journey towards the light — with stories of resilience, hope, and love.”
Listen to “Smile” below.
Smile is out 8/14. Pre-order it here.
