Katy Perry is well-known for her candy-colored hair and bright, sparkly outfits that match her bubblegum pop songs perfectly. But her latest video–for the single “Wide Awake”–takes a bit of a darker turn as she explores the question “What if I knew then what I know now?”
The video starts off where the video for “California Gurls” ended, with Perry on a pink cloud of cotton-candy and sporting violet hair. But it quickly delves into deeper territory, with visuals that look like something out of a Tim Burton film and Perry being led by a mysterious little girl who helps her battle foes through a Labyrinthian maze, including two bull-headed men and a Prince Charming-type guy who isn’t all that he seems to be.
One doesn’t have to look too hard to see the hidden meaning in the video or the song, as the past two years have been an extreme whirlwind for Perry. Not only has she rocketed from mere success to superstardom with her album Teenage Dream, she also got married and divorced from bad-boy British actor Russell Brand. Now, with “Wide Awake”, she seems to be saying she’s grown up a lot in a very short time. She’s also closing the book–literally–on the Teenage Dream era, as this is the last single that will be released from it.
The video has an Alice In Wonderland theme to it, complete with dramatic sets and the vivid colors Perry is famous for. In the end, it seems she comes to terms with the way her life has turned out and is ready to move on to the next chapter.
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