Most pop stars who roll through the Toyota Center have personalities that have a hook. Lady Gaga is wacky. Kanye has a big ego. Rihanna doesn't give a damn what you think about her. Timberlake is the coolest man alive. One Direction are dreamy. Whether or not these things are actually true is irrelevant; those are the roles that they play. Those are the personas they want us to know.
And who is Katy Perry? Sure we know about her personal life and that she likes cats, but what trope is she? What box do we easily put her into?
Maybe there isn't one.
Maybe that lack of an emotional hook is what keeps the audience at an excited distance. Perry comes off as someone who is extremely easy to like, but not necessarily someone you would claim as your favorite.
Or maybe it was just an example of a Houston crowd being a Houston crowd. Sometimes it doesn't matter how well-crafted a blockbuster is; a subpar crowd can bring a great flick down to its level.
But hey, there is some good news. There's a place that would just eat this show up, the mixture of solid pop jams and stage spectacle. When the time is right, Katy Perry will feel right at home in Vegas, even if she doesn't play "Waking Up in Vegas" anymore.
So, How Was the Opener? Lest it sound like I'm picking on Becky G, rather than focus on the fact that her set wasn't very good, let us focus on the fact that she's young and, God willing, she'll get better. Ever been to a workout class where the instructor played a generic dance music CD the entire time, one where none of the songs stood out but it was OK background noise? That's basically Becky G, except the CD is probably more charismatic. This is a tour that had Capital Cities, Kacey Musgraves and Tegan and Sara as openers at different points, so really, what did we do so wrong to get this?
Ferras also opened, and one he got past the first few songs he was quite enjoyable. His songs sound like something a '80s pop diva would tear in to, and if he ever wanted to start doing Whitney Houston covers I'd be totally on board.
Personal Bias: In the great pop wars of 2014, I'm Team Swift, but I do have a soft spot in my heart for "Teenage Dream" as long as 5 Seconds of Summer isn't performing it.
The Crowd: Lots of people embracing the opportunity to wear weird outfits and wigs.
Overheard In the Crowd: "That's so basic, Emily." Real glad that word is taking off now that ratchet has seemed to stall out.
Random Notebook Cell-phone Dump: This is a thing that happened:
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