Katy Perry returns to the spotlight with a new, 13-song album entitled “PRISM,” just released Tuesday.

After being the first female artist to ever have five No. 1 hits on one album (“Teenage Dream,” 2010), fans had high expectations for “PRISM.” But the question on many fans’ minds is if this album will be as satisfying as the last.

Well, the first thing to remember is that this album isn’t “Teenage Dream.” And, according to Perry, it isn’t supposed to be.

“Teenage Dream” featured a lot of fun, frivolous, catchy pop songs, such as “California Gurls” and “E.T.” Though “PRISM” does have some of these, it mostly includes songs with deeper messages and has a more vulnerable feel.

The album’s lead track, “Roar,” released early in August, falls under both the catchy and the uplifting categories. It reached No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100 within a month and continues to awe with both its lyrics and beat. “Roar” is reminiscent of “Firework,” with the same inspirational message.

“Legendary Lovers” produces an admirable sound, but its lyrics don’t lend themselves to deciphering what the song is really trying to say. The chorus is easily the best part of the song for its magnificent tune, but overall the song is just average for Perry.

“Birthday” is a song that is difficult to describe. The frivolous lyrics are a return to “One of the Boys,” her first album, and “Teenage Dream.” The song is definitely not the best that “PRISM” has to offer.  It simply serves as a fun reprieve from some of the more serious songs of the album.

“Walking On Air” has an impressively catchy tune that can almost make listeners forget how repetitive the song really is. Though it does get a bit tiresome after a while, the song is definitely not one of the album’s weaker songs and was one of the promotional singles released before “PRISM.”

As Perry’s favorite song on the album, “Unconditionally” was bound to be good.  It starts off slow and picks up the pace later as a heart-wrenching ballad. It tops many of the other songs on the album because it is obviously straight from the heart and has a beautiful sound. It became my favorite song on “PRISM,” although “Dark Horse,” “Ghost” and “By The Grace Of God” gave it some serious competition.

“Dark Horse,” from the moment it was first released, was obviously destined to be a great hit. With its unforgettable chorus and added rap by Juicy J, the song appeals to many audiences, and it’s not hard to understand why it became a hit. “Dark Horse” is the only song in the album with another singer complementing Perry’s vocals. It has a darker tone than other “PRISM” songs with similar sound, such as the empowering “Roar”.

“This Is How We Do” could be called another “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)” with the same silliness in the lyrics as last time. Perry mostly raps throughout the song. This would probably be the worst song on the album because of its absolute lack of depth, although the music behind the words makes it okay addition to “PRISM.”

A pop-rock and fun song dedicated to Perry’s producer and “muse” according to the CD insert, “International Smile” holds its own against the other songs of “PRISM,” but is nothing special in lyrics or tune.

“Ghost” continues along the lines of “Wide Awake” from “Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection” and combines catchy lyrics with amazing melody and a heartfelt theme that resonates even though it has been sung about many times before by Perry herself and other artists. This ballad is haunting and melancholy in nature, referring to the text that ended her marriage to comedian/actor Russell Brand. Throughout it, she equates him to a ghost and sings that, “…every gift and every letter / Every promise of forever / Now is out of sight / Like you were never alive” in the chorus.

“I don’t negotiate with insecurities,” Perry sings in the 10th track. “I’ll be the one defining / Who I’m gonna be.” The song, titled “Love Me,”  has the same encouraging and uplifting feel of “Roar,” but with a softer tune and more introspective lyrics. Though the song deals with Perry’s personal life, it helps replicate the message of “Firework” in “Teenage Dream” with Perry telling the story of her own self-empowerment instead of speaking directly to the listener as its 2010 counterpart did.

In “This Moment,” Perry expresses an urge to focus on now and not the past or the future. “All we have is this moment / Tomorrow’s unspoken / Yesterday is history / So why don’t you be here with me,” she coaxes. Though it has a romantic twist to it, the general message of enjoying the moment is applicable to everything and delivered through a smooth-sounding ballad encased in a beautiful tune.

“Double Rainbow” describes a powerful love that is as rare as a “double rainbow” and that is too precious to give up for anything. It’s another one of those songs that sound nice and are worth listening to, but in my opinion won’t stand the test of time compared to the hits like “California Gurls” or “Roar.”

“By The Grace Of God” seems to refer back to Perry’s days as gospel singer Katy Hudson. This final track starts out bleak in the first two verses, but shows how she worked through her emotional pain in the haunting chorus: “And decided to stay / Wasn’t gonna let love take me out that way.” This is the most vulnerable track on the album and falls into the same emotional category as “Wide Awake.”

Perry originally started out as a gospel singer under her real name, Katy Hudson and published one self-titled album in 2001. After signing onto Capitol Records with a new stage name in 2007, “One of the Boys,” released the next year, produced four chart-topping singles. “MTV Unplugged” came in 2009 as a live album featuring “One of the Boys” songs, and “Teenage Dream” followed in 2010, earning her five more  No. 1 singles. “Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection” re-released its predecessor adding seven additional songs, including “Wide Awake” and “Part of Me.” The latter later became another  No. 1 single for Perry.

Besides her nine Grammy nominations, she remains the only artist to have stayed in the top 10 for 69 consecutive weeks of the Hot 100.

Needless to say, Perry had a lot to live up to in her newest album.  And like the candy-coated pop star she is, Perry did not disappoint and put more feeling into “PRISM” than any other album to date. It may not seem to have as many all-out pop songs as “Teenage Dream,” but it is definitely worth a listen for its own merits. I give “PRISM” 3.5 out of 4 Grizzly paws.