Katy Perry puts the fun in pop

IF YOU find the songs in Katy Perry’s third studio album, “Teenage Dream”—which debuted at No. 1 on Billboard 200 recently—familiar, it’s because they’re inspired by the provocative playfulness of the music of the ’80s (Madonna) and the theme-propelled melodic riffs of the ’90s (The Cardigans, Alanis Morissette).The giggly, eye-rolling indiscretions the singer describes in “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)” provide a saccharine rush that comes from her lyrical candor. The grooves she churns out are without a doubt radio-friendly, but Perry manages to unleash her lyrical provocation without sounding churlish and acerbic.

As the No. 1 hit single, “California Gurls” (her collaboration with Snoop Dogg), demonstrates, she puts the fun in pop. Her mainstream appeal stems mainly from music that’s more about sustainable beats than the cohesiveness of her album’s thematic concept.

She renders the title track, “Teenage Dream,” another No. 1 tune, with a persistent vocal and rhythmic wallop that keeps you grooving, even as the song winds down to its final bar. And, in the winkingly naughty “Peacock,” she challenges the object of her affection (or derision) with lyrics that will make you snicker—or blush!