Katy Perry, Hammersmith Apollo, London
Tuesday 22 March 2011
Latest in Reviews
Related stories
On Facebook
Arts & Ents blogs
Brighton Fringe 2012: laughing through the blood, sweat and tears
It has been an emotional journey. The three weeks of intense activity that make up England's larges...
Disclosure: We’d never even been to a club when we made our first single
For most of us, reaching eighteen years of age opens up a new world for exploration, spontaneity and...
Something For The Weekend in London: May 25 – May 27
With 20+ degree weather expected to last all weekend in the capital, we'd be silly not to make the m...
Throw a bit of California into a mixing bowl with Alice in Wonderland, add a splash of Vegas and the result is a show to satisfy the sweetest tooth.
"Awrite?" Katy Perry greets the audience, trying her husband, Russell Brand's, estuary slang out for size. "Let's eat some sweets until we get sick, huh?"
The stage looks delicious, like something fallen straight out of Oz crashing into Willy Wonka's factory on the way down. I'm trying to work out how they're getting the air in the Apollo to smell like cherry ChapStick when gingerbread men burst on to the stage and I wonder if I've fallen down the rabbit hole.
Bubbles, feathers, glitter, cupcakes; it was all designed to distract an audience who might have heard rumours of Perry's weak live performances, but such suspicions went straight out of the window as she opened with "Teenage Dream". Perry's vocals stand tall, no sugar-coating necessary on her powerful voice, the routine nothing short of superb.
With super-slick costume changes in "Hot N Cold", to the simply beautiful "Not Like the Movies", her distinct voice is a never-ending naughty treat, especially on a great set of acoustic covers including Rihanna and Lady Gaga.
She then takes time to interact with her screaming fans. The California girl is great with the London audience, probably something to do with her new obsession with all things English – and she pays a special tribute to her husband's home of Essex.
Even stray boyfriends hanging around the bar could be found bopping along by the time "Firework" and "California Gurls" were played. There's something very more-ish about the American pop princess; I leave the Apollo with an urge to find the nearest bakery. A slice of Perry pie, if I may.
- 1 10 best spy novels
- 2 Eurovision just doesn't get The Hump
- 3 We bought a zoo – and then they made a movie about it
- 4 It's not easy being Professor Green: The rapper, the heiress and a drama made in Chelsea...
- 5 The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (12A)
- 6 Where are our Eurovision heroes now?
- 7 River Phoenix: the final reel
- 8 More glitz on Cannes red carpet than on screen
- 9 The secret life of the red carpet
- 10 The Ten Best History Books
- 1 Mark Zuckerberg saved $111m by selling Facebook shares before stock slumped
- 2 Brazil rocked by abortion for 9-year-old rape victim
- 3 Fat? Really? Olympic hope laughs off official’s jibe – but others aren’t amused
- 4 Is Ridley Scott the most macho man in movies?
- 5 Postgraduate students are being used as 'slave labour'
- 6 'Hello mum, this is going to be hard for you to read ...'
- 7 African monkey meat that could be behind the next HIV
- 8 Exclusive dispatch: Assad blamed for massacre of the innocents
- 9 Coke reveals its secret: It may need to carry a cancer warning
- 10 French in uproar over oral sex anti-smoking posters
Experience the Heineken Hub
Get free wi-fi and exclusive i content while you enjoy a tasty pint of Heineken at participating pubs.
Can you imagine a career in teaching?
Be inspired to teach - let real teachers show you how rewarding the job can be.
Playing a game-changing role during the Games
Cisco is providing the solutions for London 2012's complex IT needs.
Enter the latest Independent competitions
Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.
Business videos from commercial thought leaders
Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.
Career Services
The secret life of the red carpet
Up and away – how '7 Up' went global



Comments