“Katy Perry’s new album Smile launches at No. 5 with 50,000 equivalent album units earned. Of that sum, album sales total 35,000 (aided by merchandise/album bundles sold via Perry’s official webstore) ...

Did Katy release Smile as a way to complete some contractual agreement with her label? It seems like a premature era for an act on the decline. Or did she truly believe new music would salvage her ...