Abu Dhabi F1: Katy Perry’s race-day performance shows she hasn’t lost her touch

Strong visuals and dependable run of hits remind Etihad Park audience of her pedigree

US singer-songwriter Katy Perry set the final Abu Dhabi GP after-race concert ablaze. EPA

Katy Perry is trying to make lemonade out of lemons.

In response to the cool reaction to her album 143 – from complaints about tepid songwriting to wider doubts about the direction of this phase of her career – she has not stepped back.

Instead she has launched a full-scale world tour that reminds fans of her pedigree and places the new songs from 143 in a sharper live setting.

Judging by the early reception, the approach is working. The Lifetimes Tour has already sold more than half a million tickets and generated over $60 million at the box office, with more dates to come next year.

Her race-day concert at Etihad Park in Abu Dhabi offered a clear view of that intent. The set design is intriguing and built around more than 30 separate LED screens of different heights and angles. They create a fragmentary view that suits the show’s dystopian theme, with Perry descending on to the stage as a humanoid figure.

Across the night she shifts between those impulses, moving from the armour-like look of Wonder Woman and Robocop to simple summer clothing that made the character feel more human again.

She began with Chained to the Rhythm, moving with clipped, mechanical gestures that fit the character. Her voice stayed direct and forceful, which worked in the open air. She followed with Teary Eyes, a deep cut from her 2020 album Smile, before lifting the mood with Dark Horse in a fresh, rock-leaning take that played better outdoors than the original trap hip-hop production.

By the time the second phase of the show began, Perry was confident enough to revisit the maligned single Woman’s World from 143. Within this staging it felt looser, and it passed quickly before she moved into two of her biggest hits, California Gurls and Teenage Dream, two songs that remain as bright as ever.

With more European dates booked for next summer, it remains to be seen whether The Lifetimes Tour will change the conversation around 143. For fans who travelled from Australia to Abu Dhabi, that question may not matter. They came to see Perry, and they embraced her whether she was “hot or cold”.

Perry closed this year’s after-race concert series at Etihad Park, which began on Thursday with Benson Boone, continued on Friday with Post Malone and Elyanna, and reached a high point with Metallica’s roaring set on Saturday, before Sunday’s sci-fi pop show closed the weekend.