Hundreds of pilgrims have completed their Camino this Thursday in front of the Cathedral of Santiago. However, tens of thousands have embarked on a somewhat different pilgrimage to the top of Monte do Gozo, exchanging scallop shells and walking sticks for glitter, shorts, and Hawaiian shirts. They too were seeking a revelation. A more strident, more extravagant, and much less solemn one. One that, with the Apostle's permission, could only be named Katy Perry.
Because if there is one thing the Californian performer has done for almost two decades, it is to turn excess into her particular hallmark. Whether emerging from a giant cake, flying over stadiums on the back of a mechanical butterfly, or more recently, traveling to space, the so-called "Queen of Camp" has understood before anyone else that the key to staying on top is to continue surprising. And that is precisely what she has done tonight at the O son do Camiño festival, where she has presented "a completely new show" in front of the 45,000 people who have gathered to see her for the first time in Galicia.
After closing her last world tour, The Lifetimes Tour, and just a few days after performing at the opening ceremony of the World Cup, she has returned with a frenetic staging where technology and her particular obsession with the cosmos once again take center stage.
Dressed in a long white shirt with the slogan 'I am not a robot' and a glitter tie with the flag of the United States, the singer has won over the audience from the moment she burst onto the stage on a surfboard to the sound of California Gurls. Around her, an extravagant set design: a giant smartphone, a huge white laptop, and other objects of impossible dimensions with which Perry has played throughout the night as if she were exploring, attraction after attraction, a delirious theme park.
There were also nods to her personal life. From a fictitious call with her daughter Daisy, who interrupted the show to ask for hot dogs for dinner, to a knowing reference to her new relationship with former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, with whom she was recently seen at the Tribeca Festival in New York.
As expected, the performance was filled with her greatest hits. Teenage Dream, Last Friday Night, Dark Horse, or I Kissed a Girl sounded as powerful as ever, confirming that much of her repertoire has survived the test of time and has even found a second life among viral videos and TikTok trends. But the night was not just about nostalgia. In one of the most anticipated moments of the concert, Perry introduced Watch It Burn, the single that will be released on June 25th, exploring a darker and more fiery side, setting aside, at least for a few minutes, the carefree sparkle that has characterized her persona for years.
In another of the most celebrated scenes of the night, several astronauts burst onto the stage to the sound of 2001: A Space Odyssey carrying a Spanish flag that the singer picked up and planted on the stage. Shortly after, she repeated the gesture with the flag of Galicia, prompting one of the biggest ovations of the concert, before transitioning into E.T.
But the ultimate delirium was yet to come. Just when it seemed she had shown all her cards, the singer climbed inside a giant inflatable water bottle and made her way through a large part of the venue supported by thousands of hands. From inside, she waved, sang, and smiled as she slowly moved over the audience, offering one of those impossible images that, however, only seem to make sense in Katy Perry's universe.
This is how she kicked off a new edition of O Son do Camiño in grand style, confirming that she remains one of the most unpredictable and recognizable artists in the global pop scene. The festival will continue on Friday with another of its big bets, the return of Linkin Park, tasked with taking over at Monte do Gozo, which, after the visit of the "Queen of Camp," will hardly ever seem like a completely normal place again.