Katy Perry Bounces Back From Dark Times On Her Upcoming Album’s Buoyant Title Track, ‘Smile’

Katy Perry has been building up to something with her singles over the past year, and now we officially know what: Perry has announced that her next album is called Smile, and it’s coming out on August 14. She shared the title track today, and it’s an upbeat tune from a place of optimism. Perry sings of finding happiness again on the song, singing on the hook, “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 revealed the album art yesterday, which features her wearing a clown nose and a disappointed expression, with the album title taking up the bottom two fifths of the frame. She also tweeted of the song “Smile,” “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. This whole album is my journey towards the light – with stories of resilience, hope, and love.”

A demo version of the song featuring Diddy leaked in May, although the rapper does not appear on the officially released version of the single.

The Smile tracklist has not yet been shared, but pre-order links note the album will run for 37 minutes across 12 tracks. Along with the title track, the previously released singles “Never Really Over,” “Daisies,” and “Harleys In Hawaii” are included. Meanwhile, Perry’s other singles from the past year, “Small Talk” and “Never Worn White,” do not appear to be on the album.

Listen to “Smile” above.

Smile is out 8/14 via Capitol Records. Pre-order it here.