Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection

Background

In August 2010, Perry released her third studio album Teenage Dream. While recording the record in 2009 and 2010, she collaborated with producers including Dr. Luke and Max Martin. Following its release, Teenage Dream became an worldwide commercial success; it debuted at number one on both the U.S. Billboard 200 and the UK Albums Chart, and charted highly in several international territories. The project was met with generally mixed reviews from music critics, receiving an average score of 52, based on 19 reviews on Metacritic, indicating "generally mixed or average reviews". After its singles "California Gurls", "Teenage Dream", "Firework", "E.T.", and "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)" each reached the top of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, Teenage Dream became the second album in history to produce five number-one singles on the chart after Michael Jackson's Bad.

In October 2011, producer Tricky Stewart confirmed that he was working with Perry to refine leftover material from Teenage Dream recording sessions for "something special she has going on". Perry officially announced Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection in February 2012, describing it as the "complete story" of the original album. She added that the expanded album would contain three newly recorded songs and four additional remixes to supplement the standard edition of the original album. "It was an incredible honor to tie [Jackson's] Billboard Hot 100 record, but I'm moving forward and had a few things left to get off my chest," she said.

New material

Tricky Stewart stated that he and Perry "always knew that the records [they] created were special [and] at the time it was more contractual obligation [that they did not make the album]". He elaborated that they were originally excluded from the project to balance the original record with tracks from other producers, in addition to Perry not needing more songs at the time. The expanded album begins with the twelve tracks included on the standard version of Teenage Dream. The newly recorded material for the reissue begins with an acoustic rendition of "The One That Got Away" as the thirteenth track. "Part of Me" is a power pop song that lyrically acts as an "emotional breakup anthem". It was speculated that its concept was inspired by Perry's relationship with her ex-husband Russell Brand.

"Wide Awake" is a mid-tempo pop ballad that sees inspiration from electronic and dance-pop; it lyrically discusses the end of a relationship, and was also reportedly influenced by Perry's experience with Brand. "Dressin' Up" is an uptempo, dance-rock and techno song that sees the inclusion of "over-sexualized" lyrical content. The seventeenth track is a remix of "E.T." with new verses provided by Kanye West, while the eighteenth song is a remix of "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)" featuring Missy Elliott. The nineteenth and final track "Tommie Sunshine's Megasix Smash-Up" incorporates elements of Perry's earlier singles "California Gurls", "Teenage Dream", "Firework", "E.T.", "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)", and "The One That Got Away".

Singles and promotion

"Part of Me" was serviced as the lead single from Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection on February 13, 2012. It was met with generally favorable reviews from music critics, and became the twentieth song in the history of Billboard to debut at number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, and was also certified double-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for exceeding sales of two million copies. The track also peaked at number one in New Zealand, and performed moderately in other international territories. "Wide Awake" was released as the second and final single from The Complete Confection on May 22, 2012. It peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100, and charted moderately worldwide. The track was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Pop Solo Performance at the 2013 ceremony, but lost to "Set Fire to the Rain" by Adele.

Perry performed "Part of Me" at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards on February 12, 2012, and sang "Wide Awake" at the 2012 Billboard Music Awards on May 20. The Complete Confection was also promoted through the feature film Katy Perry: Part of Me (2012), which followed Perry during her California Dreams Tour. A golden ticket to attend the premiere of the film was placed inside one American copy and one Canadian copy of the record.

Critical reception

Melissa Maerz of Entertainment Weekly opined that the newly recorded material "runs stale", but stated that the disc contained "some delectable musical snacks" including "Dressin' Up" and the acoustic version of "The One That Got Away". Writing for PopMatters, Jesse Fox felt that the record is "obviously not perfect", but suggested that its enjoyable nature helped Perry "[pull] it off like a bright, flamboyant, short-lived, explosive, nearly abrasive, gasps-inspiring firework." A writer for Blogcritics appreciated The Complete Confection's musical diversity, and thought that the lyrical content made the album a "journey in love, life and everything in between."

Commercial performance

In the United States, Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection boosted sales of the original Teenage Dream, which consequently re-entered the top-ten of the Billboard 200 at number seven with first-week sales of 33,000 copies. This resulted in a 190%-increase from the previous tracking week, in which the original record stood at number 31. A similar situation occurred on the UK Albums Chart, where The Complete Confection helped Teenage Dream rise from number 34 to number six after the former was released. The Complete Confection peaked at number two on the Official New Zealand Music Chart, aided by the combined sales of the two versions.

Elsewhere, The Complete Confection performed moderately as an independently charting release. In Europe, the record respectively peaked at numbers 14 and 29 on the Belgian Flanders and Wallonia charts, both managed by Ultratop. It also reached number four on the French Albums Chart and number 18 on The Official Finnish Charts. The project was less successful on the Dutch MegaCharts and the Swedish Sverigetopplistan, where it respectively peaked at numbers 44 and 48. In Oceania, it peaked at number five on the Australian ARIA Charts. According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), the album has sold over 1 million copies worldwide as of 2013.

Track listing

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection.

Personnel

Credits adapted from AllMusic.