Katy Perry — MTV Unplugged

What I liked about this: the set, Katy Perry's outfit (kind of)... and, yeah, that's about it.

Everything that makes Perry tolerable in regular recordings has literally gone out the window on this live CD/DVD. It was shot and recorded live in a studio, filled with an adoring crowd of teenage Abercrombie-clad audience and Perry played a relatively stripped down set of songs.

Here, Perry attempts to channel her inner-crooner, with jazzy takes of hits like "I Kissed A Girl" and "Ur So Gay," but fails miserably and reverts to her pop-driven tempos halfway through. The combination of her cartoony voice and her even more ridiculous lyrics ("You're so sad, maybe you should buy a happy meal/You're so skinny, you should really Super Size the deal") simply don't go with the toned-down, jazzed-out sound. Only Richard Cheese can pull that off.

Musically, things weren't terrible. She's lucky she has a very competent band, half of whom didn't even look happy to be there — one player looked like he was going to fall asleep mid-song — but it was Perry's inability to deliver her own semi-decent songs live.

Listening to this Unplugged session was one thing; watching the DVD afterwards... Katy Perry, I just have one request in life: please never sing live ever again. Ever.

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