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Witness is the fourth mainstream studio album by Katy Perry. The album was released worldwide on June 9, 2017 with pre-orders beginning May 19. Physical copies of the album were made redeemable along with the purchase of tickets to "Witness: The Tour". The album was described by Perry to be about different types of "liberation" from political liberation to sexual. Perry has said, "If you want to feel powerful then listen to this record." The album was heavily promoted by a four day Youtube livestream hosted by Perry dubbed "Katy Perry Live: Witness World Wide".

Background[]

In March 2015 Katy Perry recorded the album during the Prismatic tour Prior to the official title release, the album was largely referred to as "KP4" by fans and media alike. Katy Perry's manager, Steve Jensen, originally announced the studio album would be released in 2016, but it was later confirmed for a 2017 release date.

Katy Perry revealed she was “in the research and development stage” of a piece with the New York Times in February 2016. Stating that the music she's working on isn't following current trends saying, "Right now I’m taking a little time. I don’t want to jump on any trends. I just need to evolve.”[1] After she embarked on the "Prismatic World Tour" and performed at the Super Bowl Halftime Show of 2015, Perry decided it was time for a break. She went back to her hometown of Santa Barbra, California where she said she gathered herself. "The energy is just totally different — it’s not thirsty or desperate or clingy," Perry says during her Entertainment Weekly exclusive. "It’s a really beautiful kind of Zen-like feeling place. I just went there to gather myself and I started making a record in June of last year."

In May 2016, Katy Perry's official Twitter account was hacked with the hacker threatening to leak tracks from the album. Ultimately the demo of the song "Witness" was uploaded to a Soundcloud account made by the hacker, under the name "Witness 1.3". The hacker also uploaded a video of a snippet of the song "Rise", which fans thought was to be titled "Victory". The single "Rise" was released July 14, 2016, and was believed to be the first single off the new record, but it was announced by Katy Perry to be the official song for 2016 Summer Olympics.

On August 24, 2016, Katy spoke about the album during an interview with InStyle revealing that she's working with “a lot of unexpected writer and producers,” something that was “bringing out a lot of different things, sonically." She added, "Even when I was working with my go-to producers, I’d always push them to play me a beat that was reserved for Three 6 Mafia something like that, I know exactly how to write a lyric over that because my strengths are melody and lyrics. I’m putting myself in unexpected situations and that is breeding a lot of new colors.”[2]

Also in August, Swae Lee of the rap duo Rae Sremmurd mentioned to Complex that Perry had recorded a song he wrote for her. “I wrote this track and [Katy] laid it and it’s pretty dope” he revealed. “She got a lot of style. She about to come with it!”[3] The song Sremmurd wrote for her didn't make it onto the final track list. Perry confirmed on October 20, 2016 through her Twitter account she was making music again with producers Max Martin and Shellback.[4] Almost two months later on December 17, 2016, Perry shared two brief videos on her Instagram account which showed her in the studio with small snippets of the new music.[5][6] In one of them she mouth's "Don’t be scared to di…" along with vocals playing in the background. Perry teased the song again on her Instagram story February 10, 2017.[7] This song would later be called "Tsunami". Rough snippets of the songs "Power", "Déjà Vu", "Bon Appétit", "Pendulum", and "Normalize" were shared in the same fashion, with the last one being unused.

Perry says she wrote about 40 songs for the album, worked on 20 of them, and then and that "trimmed" down the selection to 15 songs (not including the 2 bonus tracks on the deluxe version). She felt those 15 embody the message she wants to share, and that they represented different parts of her. "It’s really quite brave,” Perry says of the album. "Sonically, it’s fun and dance-ey and dark and light. It’s all of these things. It definitely is a change." She added "I left my 20s and I’ve gone to my 30s, I’ve embraced. I’ve surrendered. I’ve healed some of my issues with my family, with my relationships. Today I’m sober but I don’t know about tomorrow! One day at a time, right? It’s all kind of beautiful. I built up Katy Perry and she was so fun. And I still am Katy Perry and I love her so much but, at the core, I’m Katheryn Hudson and I think that’s being revealed as I embrace who I really am."

In response to if there will be any songs about other artists on the record, Perry stated to Entertainment Weekly, "This record is not about anyone else! This record is about me being seen and heard so that I can see and hear everyone else! It’s not even about me! It’s about everything that I see out there that I digest. I think there’s a healing in it for me and vulnerability. If people want to connect and be healed and feel vulnerable and feel empowered and strong, God bless and here it is."[8]

Development[]

In Janaury 2016 the witness era began On March 17, 2015 Katy Perry recorded the album The start of the Witness era began on February 6, 2017, with an Instagram post of Katy Perry sporting new bleached-blond hair, wearing a pink pants-suit against a gradient blue background, captioned "New life who dis". This was followed by an official announcement from the Recording Academy that Katy Perry will be performing at the 2017 Grammy Awards. The following day billboards were placed around the United States revealing February 10 to be the official release date of the lead single. After the single release, Katy Perry released limited edition merchandise to commemorate the single's launch. The same month, Spotify had announced that it would run a campaign to promote the album up to its release the following the summer.

Katymetgala

Perry at Met Gala with "Witness" written on veil.

During late April, Perry sent fans a recipe via her newsletter for the "World's Best Cherry Pie". She encouraged fans to bake cherry pies and those who did would receive a "surprise". The "surprise" was a black menu entitled "Témoin", which means "Witness" in French, alluding to the then untitled album. On April 26th, Perry announced the second single from the album, "Bon Appétit" featuring Migos, would be released later that week. On the release day for the single, Perry parked a truck that contained the words "World's Best Cherry Pie" and "Project Witness" labeled on it, in Times Square of New York City. Much like with the previous single, limited edition merchandise to commemorate the single's launch was released through her official online store.

On May 1, 2017, Perry attended and performed at the Met Gala in which she was also co-chair. She wore a custom-made look designed by John Galliano for Maison Margiela in honor of the Met Gala’s theme, “Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between". On the red veil she adorned, the words "Witness" were stitched onto along with a symbol of an eye. This was again alluding to the album title which was still unknown at the time. YouTube announced during their Brandcast Event, in which Perry performed, that it would broadcast a live listen-along special for the album titled Katy Perry Live Special, which later was officially titled "Katy Perry Live: Witness World Wide". The live stream took place on the eve of the album release on June 8 at 11 PM Eastern Time and lasted four days. The special was meant for the audience is to be are taken "inside of her world" where Perry will "break it all down".

Witnesseyepromo

Witness "eye" promotional image.

On the afternoon of May 13 an advertisement began showing in Times Square of Perry's eye with the date "May 15". The same ad was also included in American Airlines Center's official Instagram story. A snippet of the song "Witness" was shared on Perry's twitter account with the same eye blinking. The next day, she confirmed the album would be titled Witness and would be released through Capitol Records on June 9, 2017. She also announced that the concert tour supporting the album—"Witness: The Tour"—will run in North America from September 2017 to February 2018. Tickets purchased would include a copy of the album. Dates around the world were announced later.

The next single, "Swish Swish", featuring Nicki Minaj was released on May 19, 2017. It was produced by Duke Dumont. who had also worked with Perry prior to the song "Every Day Is a Holiday". On May 20, 2017, she performed "Swish Swish" live for the first time along with "Bon Appétit" on the Saturday Night Live's season 42 finale. On May 22 an official album trailer was released through Perry's official social media.[9] The album was first played exclusively to select groups of fans in Berlin, Paris, and Los Angeles. She officially revealed the track list on June 2, 2017.[10] The album was accidentally sold early on June 5, 2017, by some retailers in the United Kingdom causing some snippets of the album, booklet images, and lyrics to leak online.

Album trailer[]

Katy_Perry_Witness

Katy Perry Witness

Album trailer

Artwork[]

The album cover was unveiled May 18, 2017, and features an image of Perry covering her eyes with her mouth holding an eyeball. During her interview on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Perry explained the meaning behind the eye. "My education, my consciousness comes from my voice and that's how I see. That's how I witness you and that's how you witness me. That's why the eye is in the mouth." During the Elvis Duran Morning Show she further explained that the eye in the mouth represents the wisdom you get as you get older, the perspective change, and the broader consciousness. She believes the broadening of her mind comes from her voice so the eye represents the "consciousness", which is usually depicted on the forehead to symbolize 'the third eye', but in Perry's case it is in her throat and mouth.[11]

Critical Reception[]

Witness was met with mixed reception from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 53, based on 20 reviews, which indicates "mixed or average reviews".

Hannah J. Davies of The Guardian gave the album a rating of 4 out of 5 stars, writing that the singer "still has a flair for tunes that quickly seep into the collective consciousness" and praised "Swish Swish" as "a house-fuelled banger with undeniable groove," though felt that "Perry's heartfelt ballads feel tacked on in the face of all this weirdness." Leonie Cooper from NME gave it the same rating and complimented the same track, arguing that while the album lacked subtlety, this is justified when "[delivering] important messages about female autonomy to a young audience". USA Today's Maeve McDermott commended the album for being "sonically coherent" and noted it as a personal record, rather than the politically charged one that the marketing campaign for it had suggested.

Idolator's Mike Wass gave Witness a score of 4 out of 5. He did not feel it had "introspection or maturity," though praised "Miss You More" as "the kind of brutally honest anthem that Katy isn't given enough credit for," and dubbed it "the album's emotional core." Wass concluded that "Witness might be overly ambitious and is definitely a couple of songs too long, but dance-pop experiments don't come much more enjoyable than this." Kevin O'Donnell of Entertainment Weekly gave it a B rating stating, "Perry is reflective, anxious, and fired up on Witness," highlighting "Déjà Vu" and "Swish Swish" as the best tracks.

Wren Graves from Consequence of Sound gave the album a rating of C. He listed "Swish Swish", "Power", and "Déjà Vu" as essential tracks, but felt that most of the other songs were more of a "filler," and that a lack of cohesiveness with Perry's output made Witness inferior to her previous material. Giving Witness 3 out of 5 stars, Christopher R. Weingarten wrote in Rolling Stone that it was comparable to the music of Halsey and Camila Cabello, and that the songs blended "into the rest of the radio." He also did not like how Perry's voice was "devoured in effects and reverb."

Sal Cinquemani gave the same score, praising the empowerment themes within "Hey Hey Hey" and "Power", though ultimately felt that the record "lacks both the big hooks that propelled Perry's past hits up the charts and the conceptual and sonic focus to give her pop real purpose." AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the album 2 out of 5 stars, saying it felt "relentless and a shade desperate" and called the record "a conceptual muddle." He added that Witness "erodes whatever adult contemporary progress Perry made with Prism." The Daily Telegraph journalist Neil McCormick gave Witness the same rating, and panned the usage of the term "purposeful pop" for the songs. He found Witness to be musically repetitive, explaining that within the multitude of people working on the record, Perry's "individual talent" was lost making "Witness [sound like] someone trying to cover too many bases."

Writing for The Independent, Andy Gill also rated the record 2 out of 5 stars. He criticized the production of the tracks, especially the ones by Max Martin, describing them as "identical to everyone else's." Mikael Wood from the Los Angeles Times shared a similar view in his analysis of the album. Wood was critical of the musical direction on Witness, the supposed "purposeful pop" being lost in the tracks and Perry's singing. He listed "Chained to the Rhythm" and "Swish Swish" as highlights. According to Jordan Sargent from Spin, the record "feels like it's making a bid for a level of artistic seriousness—a recognition of aesthetic vision—that Perry has never really been afforded." He felt that it indicated her "artillery of undeniable pop songs" had been "all but depleted." Variety writer Chris Willman did not feel album was "the kind of obvious smash to which all of America would plainly say: Baby, you're a firework," but asserted it "counts at least as a sparkler — the kind you hold in your hand for 45 seconds in the summer, if not the enduring."

Commercial Performance[]

In the United States, Witness debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with 180,000 album-equivalent units, which included 162,000 pure album sales. It became Perry's third album to top the country's chart after Teenage Dream (2010) and PRISM (2013) both debuted at number one. The record had the highest opening in the US for a female since Lady Gaga's Joanne in 2016 and became the second album by a female artist from 2017, after Halsey's Hopeless Fountain Kingdom, to open atop the chart. Witness dropped to number 13 on the Billboard 200 the following week, earning 28,000 album-equivalent units and selling 18,000 copies. According to Billboard, it was the country's eighth-highest performing album of the 2017 summer season, earning 431,000 album-equivalent units in the nation by September 2017. It has sold 311,000 copies there as of August 2020. Witness also became Perry's third album after Teenage Dream and Prism to open at number one on the Canadian Albums Chart, selling 23,000 units in its first week. The record subsequently descended to number four one week later. That November, it received a Platinum certification from Music Canada (MC). The album additionally entered at number one in Spain, and fell to number 13 in its second week.

In New Zealand, Witness entered the albums chart at number two. In Australia, it also debuted at number two on the ARIA Albums Chart with opening sales of 5,794 copies. Selling another 2,069 the following week, it reached a total of 7,863 copies sold within the nation. The record has since been certified Gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). In Japan, the album opened at number 22 on the Oricon Albums Chart, and moved up to number 19 the next week. In the United Kingdom, Witness debuted at number 6 on the UK Albums Chart, where it became Perry's third top 10 album, following Teenage Dream and Prism. According to the Official Charts Company, it opened with 16,153 album-equivalent units in the nation. As of January 2018, Witness has sold more than 840,000 copies worldwide.

In March 2024, after Observer and Huffington Post journalist Daryl Deino claimed he and other journalists once 'trashed' artists like Perry and Christina Aguilera because it 'generated a lot of clicks', Witness resurged at Apple Music and iTunes charts around the world, becoming number #1 in many Latin American countries and in Europe, as well as climbing its way into the top #10 in the United States. Many non-single tracks, like "Roulette" and "Pendulum", also topped charts globally.

Singles[]

CTTR
  • "Chained to the Rhythm'" is the lead single from the album and was officially released February 10, 2017. The song was promoted by a global scavenger hunt for disco-balls which contained snippets of the song. The single broke a Spotify record for the first day streams for a female artist in the United States with 3,062,293 streams.[12] The song had a major debut on Pop radio, having a first-day audience impression of 27.735 million.[13]
BonAppetit
  • "Bon Appétit" serves as the album's second official single and features the rap group, Migos. The song was officially released April 28, 2017. The song was promoted with a week long campaign of fans submitting cherry pie pics to Perry based off the "World's Best Cherry Pie" recipe she provided. A solo version without Migos was serviced to radio as well. The song debuted at #76 on the Billboard Hot 100 and its official music video became Perry's fastest video to reach 100 Million views on YouTube.
Swish Swish
  • "Swish Swish" featuring Nicki Minaj is the album's third official single. The song was officially released on May 19, 2017, and replaced the former single for radio adds for unknown reasons. This is the first song released by Katy Perry which features a female artist. The song was performed live for the first time during the season finale of Saturday Night Live.
  • "Save As Draft" was released as the album's fourth single in the United States, specifically for Adult Pop/Contemporary Radio. The song impacted American hot adult contemporary radio on June 26, 2017, as the record's fourth single. It debuted at number 24 on the Adult Contemporary chart the week of July 15, 2017, as the greatest gainer of the week with 129 spins and 0.452 million in audience impressions across AC radio stations. The song also opened at number 36 on the Adult Top 40 chart the same week as the highest debut.

Track list[]

Standard edition

No. Title Length
1. "Witness" 4:10
2. "Hey Hey Hey" 3:34
3. "Roulette" 3:18
4. "Swish Swish" (feat. Nicki Minaj) 4:02
5. "Déjà Vu" 3:17
6. "Power" 3:46
7. "Mind Maze" 4:08
8. "Miss You More" 3:54
9. "Chained to the Rhythm" (feat. Skip Marley) 3:57
10. "Tsunami" 3:23
11. "Bon Appétit" (feat. Migos) 3:47
12. "Bigger Than Me" 4:00
13. "Save As Draft" 3:48
14. "Pendulum" 4:00
15. "Into Me You See" 4:24

Target exclusive/Physical International Deluxe edition/Japanese deluxe edition  [14][15][16]

No. Title Length
16. "Dance With The Devil" 3:49
17. "Act My Age" 3:41

Booklet[]

The Witness can only be found with the physical release of the album.

Photoshoot[]

Personnel[]

Adapted from the album liner notes.

  • Nelson Beato – gospel studio choir (track 14)
  • Jeff Bhasker – producer, keyboards and drums programming (track 14)
  • Cory Bice – assistant engineer (tracks: 1, 2, 3, 9, 11); engineer (track 17)
  • Edie Lehmann Boddicker – vocal contracting, gospel choir conducting, gospel studio choir (track 14)
  • Alexandra Brown – gospel studio choir (track 14)
  • Denise Carite – gospel studio choir (track 14)
  • Charlean Carmon – gospel studio choir (track 14)
  • Carmen Carter – gospel studio choir (track 14)
  • Tom Coyne – mastering (track 9)
  • Mark Crew – production, keyboards, programming (track 17)
  • Aubry Delaine – additional engineering, Nicki Minaj vocal recording (track 4)
  • Francesco Donadello – engineer (track 15)
  • Monique Donnelly – gospel studio choir (track 14)
  • Duke Dumont – producer, synths, drums, programming (track 4)
  • Carmel Echols – gospel studio choir (track 14)
  • Luke Edgemon – gospel studio choir (track 14)
  • Anthony Evans – gospel studio choir (track 14)
  • Tinashe Fazakerley – electric guitar, bass, programming (track 17)
  • Iain Findlay – vocal assistant engineering (Nicki Minaj's vocals, track 4)
  • Rachael Findlen – engineer (tracks 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 14, 15, 16, 17); vocal production (tracks: 7, 8)
  • Nicole Franz – art direction
  • Sia Furler – background vocals (track 9)
  • Jack Garratt – production, all instruments (track 6)
  • James Alan Ghaleb – guitar (track 9)
  • Serban Ghenea – mixing
  • Jim Gilstrap – gospel studio choir (track 14)
  • Lauren Gluckman – A&R
  • John Hanes – mixing engineer
  • Sam Holland – engineer (track 1, 3, 9, 11, 17)
  • Oscar Holter – keys (track 11, 12); production, vocal production, programming (track 12)
  • Casey Hooper – guitars (track 10)
  • Stephen Hybicki – engineer (track 10)
  • Illangelo – additional production, additional drum programming (track 14)
  • Ilya – production, programming, arranging, drums, percussion, guitars, bass, keys (track 17)
  • Clydene Jackson – gospel studio choir (track 14)
  • Hayden James – production; guitar, bass, background vocals, synths (track 5)
  • Peter Karlsson – vocal editing (tracks 1, 2, 3, 9, 11, 14); additional vocal production (track 8); percussion (track 9)
  • Briana Lee – gospel studio choir (track 14)
  • Jeremy Lertola – assistant engineer (tracks: 1, 2, 3, 9, 11); engineer (track 17)
  • David Loucks – gospel studio choir (track 14)
  • Elof Loelv – production, engineer, programming, drums, bass, piano, synthesizers (track 14)
  • Ted Lovett – layout
  • Skip Marley – featured vocals, background vocals (track 9)
  • Max Martin – background vocals, programming, Prophet 6, solina (track 9), percussion; acoustic guitar (track 8); vocal production (tracks: 8, 13), executive producer
  • Migos – featured vocals (track 11)
  • Jamie McCrary – gospel studio choir (track 14)
  • Randy Merrill – mastering
  • Zeke Mishanec – assistant engineer (track 4)
  • Ryan Nasci – engineer (track 14)
  • Dustin O'Halloran – producer, all instruments, arrangement (track 15)
  • Pino Palldino – bass (track 14)
  • Noah Passovoy – additional keys, programming (track 4, 10); engineer (tracks: 4, 6, 10, 14, 16, 17), vocal production (tracks 5, 6, 10, 14, 16, 17); vocal editing (track 7, 12); additional production (tracks 4, 10); percussion (track 10)
  • Ali Payami – acoustic guitar (track 1); drums, bass, synths, piano (tracks: 1, 8, 9); additional vocal production, programming, keys, electric guitar, background vocals, production (track 8); percussion (tracks: 8, 9); hand claps (track 9)
  • Louis Price – gospel studio choir (track 14)
  • Katy Perry – background vocals (tracks: 3, 9), vocals, executive producer
  • Daryl McPherson – Migos vocal production
  • Joshua Moreau – bass (track 10)
  • Corin Roddick – production, vocal production (track 12)
  • David Rudnick – front and back cover art direction
  • Scooly – production (track 10)
  • Aretha Scruggs – gospel studio choir (track 14)
  • Tony Scruggs – gospel studio choir (track 14)
  • Shellback – production; background vocals (track 3); keys, programming (track 11)
  • PJ Sledge – keyboards (track 4)
  • Felix Snow – production, vocal manipulations, programming, guitar (track 16)
  • Thomas Stell – synths (track 5)
  • Carmen Twillie – gospel studio choir (track 14)
  • Oren Waters – gospel studio choir (track 14)
  • Will Wheaton – gospel studio choir (track 14)
  • Mike Will Made It – production (track 10)
  • Eyvonne Williams – gospel studio choir (track 14)
  • Brandon Winbush – gospel studio choir (track 14)
  • Jason Woods – gospel studio choir (track 14)

Outtakes[]

These songs are removed songs from Witness.

Releases[]

Digital release[]

The digital release of the album comes in with their explicit or clean lyrics and feature 15 tracks.

Worldwide[]

Witness
LABEL Capitol
RELEASED June 9, 2017
FORMAT Digital
Cover photo by
David Rudnick


Design by
Ted Lovett

     Made in Worldwide

NoBarcode
TRACK LIST LENGTH
1. Witness 4:10
2. Hey Hey Hey 3:35
3. Roulette 3:19
4. Swish Swish (feat. Nicki Minaj) 4:02
5. Déjà Vu 3:18
6. Power 3:46
7. Mind Maze 4:08
8. Miss You More 3:54
9. Chained to the Rhythm (feat. Skip Marley) 3:58
10. Tsunami 3:23
11. Bon Appétit (feat. Migos) 3:47
12. Bigger Than Me 4:01
13. Save As Draft 3:49
14. Pendulum 4:00
15. Into Me You See 4:24

The 17 track deluxe version of the album was released digitally in Japan on September 13, 2017 through iTunes, Amazon and other streaming services.[17][18]

Japan[]

Witness
LABEL Capitol
RELEASED September 13, 2017
FORMAT Digital
Cover photo by
David Rudnick


Design by
Ted Lovett

     Made in Worldwide

NoBarcode
TRACK LIST LENGTH
1. Witness 4:10
2. Hey Hey Hey 3:35
3. Roulette 3:19
4. Swish Swish (feat. Nicki Minaj) 4:02
5. Déjà Vu 3:18
6. Power 3:46
7. Mind Maze 4:08
8. Miss You More 3:54
9. Chained to the Rhythm (feat. Skip Marley) 3:58
10. Tsunami 3:23
11. Bon Appétit (feat. Migos) 3:47
12. Bigger Than Me 4:01
13. Save As Draft 3:49
14. Pendulum 4:00
15. Into Me You See 4:24
16. Dance With The Devil 3:49
17. Act My Age 3:41

Physical release[]

The physical release of the album is available in both standard and deluxe versions. The deluxe version of the album is physical only, except in Japan.

Worldwide[]

Using U.S. release details.

Standard[]
Witness-CD-Standard
LABEL Capitol
RELEASED June 9, 2017
FORMAT Jewel case
Cover photo by
David Rudnick


Design by
Ted Lovett

     Made in U.S.

US-Witness Barcode
TRACK LIST LENGTH
1. Witness 4:10
2. Hey Hey Hey 3:35
3. Roulette 3:19
4. Swish Swish (feat. Nicki Minaj) 4:02
5. Déjà Vu 3:18
6. Power 3:46
7. Mind Maze 4:08
8. Miss You More 3:54
9. Chained to the Rhythm (feat. Skip Marley) 3:58
10. Tsunami 3:23
11. Bon Appétit (feat. Migos) 3:47
12. Bigger Than Me 4:01
13. Save As Draft 3:49
14. Pendulum 4:00
15. Into Me You See 4:24
Deluxe[]

Using U.K. & Europe release details.

Witness-Dlx-EU
LABEL Capitol
RELEASED June 9, 2017
FORMAT Jewel case
Cover photo by
David Rudnick


Design by
Ted Lovett

     Made in U.K. & E.U.

UKDLX-Witness Barcode
TRACK LIST LENGTH
1. Witness 4:10
2. Hey Hey Hey 3:35
3. Roulette 3:19
4. Swish Swish (feat. Nicki Minaj) 4:02
5. Déjà Vu 3:18
6. Power 3:46
7. Mind Maze 4:08
8. Miss You More 3:54
9. Chained to the Rhythm (feat. Skip Marley) 3:58
10. Tsunami 3:23
11. Bon Appétit (feat. Migos) 3:47
12. Bigger Than Me 4:01
13. Save As Draft 3:49
14. Pendulum 4:00
15. Into Me You See 4:24
16. Dance With The Devil 3:49
17. Act My Age 3:41

United States[]

Target exclusive deluxe[]

The Target exclusive of the album is the U.S. equivalent of the deluxe album and features 2 bonus tracks, making a total of 17 tracks. A special promotional bundle was issued for sale prior to the album release through Target's official site; this bundle included a signed poster of "Chained to the Rhythm" and the Target exclusive deluxe album.

WitnessTargetExclusive
LABEL Capitol
RELEASED June 9, 2017
FORMAT Jewel case
Cover photo by
David Rudnick


Design by
Ted Lovett

     Made in U.S.

TRACK LIST LENGTH
1. Witness 4:10
2. Hey Hey Hey 3:35
3. Roulette 3:19
4. Swish Swish (feat. Nicki Minaj) 4:02
5. Déjà Vu 3:18
6. Power 3:46
7. Mind Maze 4:08
8. Miss You More 3:54
9. Chained to the Rhythm (feat. Skip Marley) 3:58
10. Tsunami 3:23
11. Bon Appétit (feat. Migos) 3:47
12. Bigger Than Me 4:01
13. Save As Draft 3:49
14. Pendulum 4:00
15. Into Me You See 4:24
16. Dance With The Devil 3:49
17. Act My Age 3:41
Urban Outfitters exclusive[]

The standard edition will be released as a vinyl with an alternate artwork exclusively through Urban Outfitters. The vinyl will have a limited run of 2,000 copies.[19]

WitnessAlternate
LABEL Capitol
RELEASED September 29, 2017
FORMAT Vinyl, black
Cover photo by
David Rudnick


Design by
Ted Lovett

     Made in U.S.

TRACK LIST LENGTH
1. Witness 4:10
2. Hey Hey Hey 3:35
3. Roulette 3:19
4. Swish Swish (feat. Nicki Minaj) 4:02
5. Déjà Vu 3:18
6. Power 3:46
7. Mind Maze 4:08
8. Miss You More 3:54
9. Chained to the Rhythm (feat. Skip Marley) 3:58
10. Tsunami 3:23
11. Bon Appétit (feat. Migos) 3:47
12. Bigger Than Me 4:01
13. Save As Draft 3:49
14. Pendulum 4:00
15. Into Me You See 4:24
Indie exclusive[]

The standard edition will be released as a red colored vinyl exclusively through independent record stores. The red vinyl is limited edition with only 1,500 copies to be sold.[20]

Witness
LABEL Capitol
RELEASED September 28, 2017
FORMAT Vinyl, red
Cover photo by
David Rudnick


Design by
Ted Lovett

     Made in U.S.

TRACK LIST LENGTH
1. Witness 4:10
2. Hey Hey Hey 3:35
3. Roulette 3:19
4. Swish Swish (feat. Nicki Minaj) 4:02
5. Déjà Vu 3:18
6. Power 3:46
7. Mind Maze 4:08
8. Miss You More 3:54
9. Chained to the Rhythm (feat. Skip Marley) 3:58
10. Tsunami 3:23
11. Bon Appétit (feat. Migos) 3:47
12. Bigger Than Me 4:01
13. Save As Draft 3:49
14. Pendulum 4:00
15. Into Me You See 4:24

Australia[]

The deluxe was released in Australia and when ordered through the site Sanity, for a limited tome you received a bonus sticker set. This edition also includes a sticker of Katy Perry's name on the front using the font from the "Chained to the Rhythm" single artwork.

Deluxe[]
WitnessAUS
LABEL Capitol
RELEASED June 9, 2017
FORMAT Jewel case
Cover photo by
David Rudnick


Design by
Ted Lovett

     Made in AUS

TRACK LIST LENGTH
1. Witness 4:10
2. Hey Hey Hey 3:35
3. Roulette 3:19
4. Swish Swish (feat. Nicki Minaj) 4:02
5. Déjà Vu 3:18
6. Power 3:46
7. Mind Maze 4:08
8. Miss You More 3:54
9. Chained to the Rhythm (feat. Skip Marley) 3:58
10. Tsunami 3:23
11. Bon Appétit (feat. Migos) 3:47
12. Bigger Than Me 4:01
13. Save As Draft 3:49
14. Pendulum 4:00
15. Into Me You See 4:24
16. Dance With The Devil 3:49
17. Act My Age 3:41

Worldwide []

Vinyl version released in all territories features the standard album on black vinyl, with gatefold sleeve. [21]

Witness-vinyl
LABEL Capitol
RELEASED September 8, 2017/September 29, 2017 (dates vary)
FORMAT Vinyl, black
Cover photo by
David Rudnick


Design by
Ted Lovett

     Made in U.K., Europe

EUVinyl-Witness Barcode
TRACK LIST LENGTH
1. Witness 4:10
2. Hey Hey Hey 3:35
3. Roulette 3:19
4. Swish Swish (feat. Nicki Minaj) 4:02
5. Déjà Vu 3:18
6. Power 3:46
7. Mind Maze 4:08
8. Miss You More 3:54
9. Chained to the Rhythm (feat. Skip Marley) 3:58
10. Tsunami 3:23
11. Bon Appétit (feat. Migos) 3:47
12. Bigger Than Me 4:01
13. Save As Draft 3:49
14. Pendulum 4:00
15. Into Me You See 4:24

Japan[]

Standard[]
Witness-Standard-JP
LABEL Capitol
RELEASED June 9, 2017
FORMAT Jewel case
Cover photo by
David Rudnick


Design by
Ted Lovett

     Made in Japan

JP-Witness Barcode
TRACK LIST LENGTH
1. Witness 4:10
2. Hey Hey Hey 3:35
3. Roulette 3:19
4. Swish Swish (feat. Nicki Minaj) 4:02
5. Déjà Vu 3:18
6. Power 3:46
7. Mind Maze 4:08
8. Miss You More 3:54
9. Chained to the Rhythm (feat. Skip Marley) 3:58
10. Tsunami 3:23
11. Bon Appétit (feat. Migos) 3:47
12. Bigger Than Me 4:01
13. Save As Draft 3:49
14. Pendulum 4:00
15. Into Me You See 4:24
16. Dance With The Devil 3:49
17. Act My Age 3:41
Limited edition[]

The limited edition Japanese version of the album comes with a bonus DVD disc featuring the music video to "Chained to the Rhythm" as well as both parts of "Making of "Chained to the Rhythm"

Witness-SE-JP
LABEL Capitol
RELEASED June 9, 2017
FORMAT Jewel case
Cover photo by
David Rudnick


Design by
Ted Lovett

     Made in Japan

JPSD-Witness Barcode
TRACK LIST (CD) LENGTH
1. Witness 4:10
2. Hey Hey Hey 3:35
3. Roulette 3:19
4. Swish Swish (feat. Nicki Minaj) 4:02
5. Déjà Vu 3:18
6. Power 3:46
7. Mind Maze 4:08
8. Miss You More 3:54
9. Chained to the Rhythm (feat. Skip Marley) 3:58
10. Tsunami 3:23
11. Bon Appétit (feat. Migos) 3:47
12. Bigger Than Me 4:01
13. Save As Draft 3:49
14. Pendulum 4:00
15. Into Me You See 4:24
16. Dance With The Devil 3:49
17. Act My Age 3:41
TRACK LIST (DVD) LENGTH
1. Chained to the Rhythm (Music video) 4:00
2. Chained to the Rhythm (Making of part 1) 5:50
3. Chained to the Rhythm (Making of part 2) 4:36

Taiwan[]

The Taiwan promotional bundle of the album features a blue key chain that says "Katy Perry" as well as a promotional card. A promotional poster featuring the album cover was also included in first pressings.

Standard[]
Witness-TW
LABEL Capitol
RELEASED June 9, 2017
FORMAT Jewel case with slipcase
Cover photo by
David Rudnick


Design by
Ted Lovett

     Made in Taiwan

TRACK LIST LENGTH
1. Witness 4:10
2. Hey Hey Hey 3:35
3. Roulette 3:19
4. Swish Swish (feat. Nicki Minaj) 4:02
5. Déjà Vu 3:18
6. Power 3:46
7. Mind Maze 4:08
8. Miss You More 3:54
9. Chained to the Rhythm (feat. Skip Marley) 3:58
10. Tsunami 3:23
11. Bon Appétit (feat. Migos) 3:47
12. Bigger Than Me 4:01
13. Save As Draft 3:49
14. Pendulum 4:00
15. Into Me You See 4:24

References[]

  1. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/12/arts/music/katy-perry-grammy-awards-party.html?_r=1
  2. http://www.instyle.com/news/katy-perry-new-album-shoe-line-elvis-duran-interview
  3. http://www.complex.com/music/2016/08/rae-sremmurd-profile-sremmlife-2-swaecation
  4. https://twitter.com/katyperry/status/788975702754275328?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
  5. https://twitter.com/FOTPKatyPerry/status/810019803440287745?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
  6. https://twitter.com/FOTPKatyPerry/status/810038917927989248?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
  7. https://twitter.com/FOTPKatyPerry/status/830257318986002432
  8. http://ew.com/music/2017/05/08/katy-perry-new-album/?xid=entertainment-weekly_socialflow_twitter
  9. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsPre9uV1Jk
  10. https://twitter.com/katyperry/status/870672164826959872
  11. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwDZHkxKskM
  12. http://ew.com/music/2017/02/11/katy-perry-chained-to-the-rhythm-spotify-streaming-record/
  13. http://www.idolator.com/7657319/katy-perry-chained-rhythm-photo-shoot-spotify-record
  14. http://www.target.com/p/katy-perry-witness-target-exclusive-/-/A-52525623
  15. http://shop.virginemi.com/katyperry/*/*/Witness-Exclusive-Deluxe-CD/5JG60000000
  16. http://nme-jp.com/news/38912/
  17. https://itunes.apple.com/jp/album/witness-deluxe/id1280954606
  18. https://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/B075HBHH3C/ref=dm_ws_sp_ps_dp
  19. https://www.urbanoutfitters.com/shop/katy-perry-witness-limited-2xlp
  20. http://www.bullmoose.com/p/25598489
  21. http://shop.virginemi.com/katyperry/*/*/Witness-LP/5JCX0000000
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