The Katy Perry/Zedd collaborations continue! Presumably the first single from her fifth album, “Never Really Over” is a startlingly different track than the previous Zedd-produced “365;” with warmer, sunnier synths and a higher BPM in the chorus, the song feels like a gentrified Maggie Rogers tune (that is by no means a bad thing!). Much like 2010’s Teenage Dream, “Never Really Over” is highly influenced by disco, taking the rhythmic and anthemic qualities of the genre and giving them a hefty 2019 revamp. The end result is one of Perry’s best singles in recent years, allowing her to maintain her status as a pop genius.
Described by the singer as “a song about how all of our relationships — from first love, through failed love, to great love — all become part of you,” “Never Really Over” works spectacularly as a lesson in the everlasting nature of love. The first verse finds Perry contemplating if she should “fall down the rabbit hole” of revisiting an old flame, while she uses verse two to figure out how to “rewire [her] brain” to exorcise herself from the past; she launches into a dizzying chorus about the cyclical nature of relationships from there, unable to fully get over the people she has loved. As she nears the end of the song, the singer comes to accept the inevitability of her actions, genuflecting to the emotions she will most likely experience for the rest of her life. Recapturing the magic of her early output, Perry begins her new era with a extraordinary bang.
Rating: 5/5