Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on September 2012

Katy Perry, if you don’t know (I didn’t), is a likable, phenomenally successful pop princess, although whether this is a testament to her undeniable, candy-colored talent or to the purchasing power of her largely preteen female fan base is not clear. This docu-concert/inflated origin story, from the same folks who gave us the equally superficial infomercial Justin Bieber: Never Say Never, is gleefully full of artifice. But one scene in Sao Paolo, in which she goes on with the show despite the end of her marriage to Russell Brand, sneaks in some reality. Thought: She’s 28. Where does she go from here?