Following a breathless medley of hits at the MTV Video Music Awards last week, Katy Perry clutched her gold-plated Moon Person to accept the Video Vanguard trophy. “There are so many things that have to align to have a long and successful career as an artist.

The sense of fun that propelled Perry to international stardom has been replaced by a weariness (or perhaps wariness) of the industry she once dominated

With her seventh studio album 143, out today, Katy Perry recently told fans she “set out to create a bold, exuberant, celebratory dance-pop album.”