\nKaty Perry performs at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. on her “The Lifetimes” tour. Aug. 14, 2025.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
While not especially compelling, the story was family-friendly, well-suited for the millennial moms and their hordes of children, who comprised much of the cheering crowd.<\/p>\n
\u201cI haven\u2019t been on a world tour in eight years, and these kids are eight years old \u2014 you have no idea who I am,\u201d Perry deadpanned, before bringing four fans (three little girls and a 27-year-old man in a cow costume) on stage to shake egg-shakers to \u201cThe One that Got Away.\u201d Perry treated them all with warmth and humor, urging them to follow their dreams to be a teacher, cosmetologist or, in cow guy\u2019s instance, to continue his hard work as a professional accountant.<\/p>\n
The star spent most of her two-hour show traversing the arena-spanning stage ramps, which formed an enormous infinity symbol (iconography from \u201c143\u201d). Her torrent of hits \u2014 nine No. 1 singles is still rarified air \u2014 and new tracks were met with acrobatic stunts; \u201cNirvana\u201d was performed in full flight, flipping and soaring around the arena on cables, shades of P!nk.<\/p>\n
For her 2008 breakthrough single \u201cI Kissed a Girl,\u201d she entered a cage-like metal sphere that lifted her and some male dancers above the crowd. She hung upside down as she belted and her glitter-covered fans shrieked along. And for \u201cRoar,\u201d she rode an oversized butterfly, now free from Mainframe\u2019s clutches after she\u2019d fired a flamethrower arm device at the screen a few minutes earlier, during \u201cRise.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was a night of high-saturation pop maximalism, of sugary sing-alongs (\u201cCalifornia Gurls,\u201d \u201cFirework,\u201d \u201cTeenage Dream\u201d), cotton-candy costumes \u2014 literally, she pulled some cotton off her boots to give to fans \u2014 and descents into Perry\u2019s goofy, ping-pong mind.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re trying to follow what I\u2019m saying during this show, just stop,\u201d Perry joked, not long before she fought a troop of creepy ghouls (her dancers) with a lightsaber during \u201cE.T.\u201d Why, exactly? Don\u2019t worry about it.<\/p>\n\n\nKaty Perry performs at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. on her “The Lifetimes” tour. Aug. 14, 2025.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Perry did find moments for humanity, dedicating her new ballad \u201cAll the Love\u201d to all the moms in attendance and her own five-year-old daughter, Daisy. She also rolled out a \u201cTeenage Dream\u201d deep cut \u201cPearl,\u201d which she noted was a song about \u201cdesperately trying to hold onto your power.\u201d<\/p>\n
That preface felt telling at this stage of Perry\u2019s career, as she clings to shreds of mainstream relevance, likely entering her greatest-hits era. But hey, she still knows how to build an engrossing, can\u2019t-look-away pop extravaganza, and no matter what dissenters say online, she\u2019s not going anywhere.<\/p>\n
During \u201cPart of Me,\u201d she yelled emphatically: \u201cThey can say what they want, I know who I am.\u201d<\/p>\n\n