Earlier this week Katy Perry brought her technicolor Lifetimes Tour to Ottawa’s Canadian Tire Centre, transforming the usually stark arena into a sparkling pop dreamscape. Packed with nostalgia, new material, and theatrical flair, the show offered everything fans have come to expect. A mainly female audience from the greater Ottawa area was out in full force and there was not an empty seat to be seen. Maybe this is proof that the capital city can attract and sell out big pop shows that normally would skip right over Ottawa in favor of Montreal and Toronto.
Opening the evening was Rebecca Black, whose viral hit “Friday” debuted all the way back in 2011. Now grown up and fully in command of her voice and stage presence, Black delivered a sultry, confident set that leaned into electropop and left the audience genuinely impressed. While stylistically more subdued than Perry, her performance was still full of charm and fun, a sign of an artist coming into her own.
Perry’s show started with a colorful video montage followed by her ascension into a metal cage where she hung by wires and the energy shot through the roof. Flanked by dancers and surrounded by bold visuals and oversized props, she powered through a hit-heavy set including Chained to the Rhythm, Hot n Cold, California Gurls, and Teenage Dream. She got a great reaction from the audience when telling the story of needing to find a new family at age 17 and turning to the gap community for support before she sang I Kissed a Girl. The production was pure Perry: part circus, part fashion show, part emotional confessional.
One of the night’s most striking features? The crowd itself. Despite Perry’s nearly two-decade-long career, the audience skewed surprisingly young. Tweens and teens arrived, sometimes with their moms, in full glittery regalia—face gems, LED headbands, and home-sewn candy-colored costumes were everywhere, proving that Perry continues to inspire new generations of fans. The energy was loud, joyful, and unabashedly sparkly. Fans were also speculating about whether former prime minister Justin Trudeau, Perry’s rumored new beau, might attend the show. Though he was a no-show in Ottawa, media outlets later confirmed he was seen at her Montreal performance the next night, attending with his daughter and singing along.
She closed the show with emotional renditions of Lifetimes, Daisies, and the ever-explosive Firework, wrapping up an unforgettable night that balanced campy spectacle with real vocal and emotional depth.
Katy Perry’s Ottawa stop was more than a concert—it was a sparkling celebration of pop, performance, and enduring star power.
