Almost a decade after his iconic appearance in The sims 3, complemented by a recording of “Last Friday Night” in Simlish, Katy Perry continues her evolution as a video game singer with a new musical partnership in a beloved franchise. The collaboration, titled P25 Music, is part of Pokémon’s birthday festivities that celebrate 25 years of Pikachu, Charmander, Snorlax, Cubone et al. (Pocket monsters launched in Japan in 1996 and headed to North America two years later, renamed Pokemon.)
While celebrity statements about brand partnerships tend to sound stilted and hollow in press releases, we totally believe Katy when she says, “Pokémon has been a constant in my life, since the original video games on my computer. Game Boy, to the exchange of Pokémon TCG cards at lunch, to the adventures of catching Pokémon in the street with Pokémon GO. I even visited the Pokémon Café in Japan on a tour! The woman enjoys Japanese culture (sometimes a little too much) and video games (she released a circus-themed browser game alongside her 2020 album, Smile.)
Perry is headlining the event, a partnership between Pokémon Company and Universal Music Group, with “surprising global activations throughout the year with even more of the hottest names in music, emerging artists to global superstars’ en route. Pokémon and Universal haven’t explained what exactly “surprise global activations” means in this context, but it will likely include a few timed events in Pokémon GO. If it’s just another Pikachu with a silly hat on, I’ll riot.
