Katy Perry’s lead single California Gurls from her upcoming second album premiered this week via her official website with the statement “Summer starts now!”. California Gurls, produced by Dr. Luke, features rapper Snoop Dogg and sounds like a summer anthem which could rival the success of Katy’s 2008 huge hit I Kissed A Girl.

The problem with California Gurls as a lead single and also a comeback single is that the chorus has no stand out lyric to catch onto. Having listened to the song quite a number of times, it’s hard to remember any of the lyrics from the chorus. The only thing that keeps me returning for another listen is the addictive melody present throughout the track.

The production on the track sounds a bit raw and unfinished. On first listen, it sounded like it was an unfinished demo. The vocals are swallowed by the music for most of the song and it’s hard to understand why it was intentionally produced that way. California Gurls also sounds very similar to Dr. Luke’s recent hit with Ke$ha, TiK ToK, to the extent where the chorus of each song could be interchanged between their respective tracks and fit perfectly with the only alteration being the pitch.

Regardless, California Gurls is a strong enough lead single to become a hit despite its similarities to TiK ToK and it’s a solid effort from Katy showing some progression from the sound of her debut album One of The Boys. Even Snoop Dogg’s rap doesn’t sound out of place or forced although the misspelling of “girls” in the title could have been avoided but it’s hardly surprising as it seems to be a Dr. Luke reoccurring trend.

You can listen to California Gurls on Katy Perry’s official website now.