Katy Perry brought The Lifetimes Tour to Sheffield Utilita Arena on Friday nightKaty Perry brought The Lifetimes Tour to Sheffield Utilita Arena(Image: John Houseman)

As the lights dim across Sheffield’s Utilita Arena you become player one as you’re dropped into the middle of a video game depicting a dystopian world ruled by the villainous AI ‘Mainframe’.

This might not seem like the start of a typical Katy Perry gig but you quickly learn to embrace the weirdness and kookiness as she takes on the mantle of a popstar/sci-fi heroine as part of the narrative for her Lifetimes Tour. It’s a bold move as she returns to touring after eight years and although it is odd at times, it kind of works!

The first glimpse we get of Katy is when she bursts from the centre of her figure-of-eight stage for Artificial before launching into Chained To The Rhythm. Around her, half-dressed male dancers move like apocalyptic survivors snarling through the fog as part of the first act, which ends with Dark Horse.

“So you remember it?” She asks the crowd as it gets a raucous reception and the crowd seems to roar into life ahead of the second act which introduces some of her biggest and most famous hits. Nostalgia fills the room as she whistles through California Gurls, Teenage Dream, Hot n Cold and Last Friday Night (TGIF).

Katy Perry brought The Lifetimes Tour to Sheffield Utilita Arena(Image: John Houseman)

She even plays a snippet of Peacock, and is happy to poke fun at her songwriting history, asking the audience “who would even write that?” A glorious second act ends with Katy telling the audience to “shout out if you were in the club in 2008” before launching into I Kissed A Girl.

It’s at this point Katy hangs herself from a steel orb and ascends the arena before spinning frantically upside down. If she ever decides to hang up her microphone, a career in acrobatics could be a goer for her!

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The acrobats continue in third act Nirvana as she flies over the audience on a cable in Pink-esque fashion, at one point spinning 11 times in mid-air back towards the centre of the stage. I hope she doesn’t get motion sickness.

Choose Your Own Adventure is the next section and sees Katy’s dorky and playful side come out as she laps up the opportunity to chat to some of her most committed fans, the ‘Katy Cats’. She plays rock, paper, scissors with someone in the audience before inviting three loyal fans to perform with her during Unconditionally.

Katy Perry brought The Lifetimes Tour to Sheffield Utilita Arena(Image: John Houseman)

This was a really lovely touch and something those three fans will never forget, that’s for sure.

Now, back to the video game, virtual Katy Perry is now taking on the AI bad guy, cue ET, which sees Katy run round the stage with a red lightsaber fighting spider-like acolytes of the Mainframe.

Katy Perry brought The Lifetimes Tour to Sheffield Utilita Arena(Image: John Houseman)

One thing’s for sure, you really didn’t know what was coming next. A powerful rendition of Part of Me saw her run round the stage before knee sliding in front of her adoring fans.

Rise saw her obtain a rocket booster for her arm as she finally got the better of the Mainframe. With the villain defeated, it was time for a celebratory encore, and she used it to fly around the arena on a butterfly.

It was a great way to connect with every corner of the arena, and at some points she was literally swooping over people’s heads.

Roar brought the fire, Lifetimes brought the party, before the uplifting Firework brought her two-hour set to a pulsating and fitting end.

“No matter what the internet says, this is what’s real,” Katy tells the crowd, and it’s clear she wants to send out a message to the critics and society in general.

Katy Perry brought The Lifetimes Tour to Sheffield Utilita Arena(Image: John Houseman)

It’s a theatrical, beautifully bonkers but also heartfelt, meaningful and fantastically fun ride to be a part of and if you immerse yourself in the experience, you’ll have an amazing time.

At the end of the day, this was Katy’s world, and we’re lucky to be living in it.

SetlistAct 1: ARTIFICIAL

  • ARTIFICIAL
  • Chained to the Rhythm
  • Teary Eyes
  • Dark Horse

ACT 2: WOMAN’S WORLD

  • WOMAN’S WORLD
  • California Gurls
  • Teenage Dream
  • Hot n Cold
  • Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)
  • Peacock (Snippet)
  • I Kissed a Girl

ACT 3: NIRVANA

  • NIRVANA
  • CRUSH
  • I’M HIS, HE’S MINE
  • Wide Awake

ACT 3.5: CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE

  • Love Me
  • Unconditionally
  • ALL THE LOVE

ACT 4: MAINFRAMEACT 5: END GAME

  • Roar
  • Daisies
  • LIFETIMES
  • Firework

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