Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	47/100[48]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[49]
The A.V. Club	D−[50]
Blender	[51]
The Guardian	[52]
NOW	[53]
Rolling Stone	[54]
PopMatters	[55]
Slant Magazine	[56]
Spin	3/10[57]
Uncut	[58]

 

I've listened to the entire OOTB album: there are a few loose songs, but overall it's a pretty confident pop record.

At the time of its release, it was one of the lowest rated mainstream albums by a pop singer.

Is this album really that bad and why did it deserve such low ratings?

Edited April 24, 20233 yr by Fastlane

It's definitely not 48-on-MC level bad.

 

Not a perfect record by any means but the singles were great and tracks like If You Can Afford Me, Lost and I'm Still Breathing were very good too. I would even say this album shows the most personality among her discography.

it’s not a perfect record, but it’s really good! it’s her second best effort after teenage dream imo

Critics were much tougher than nowadays. Right now you can release trash and they'll give you at least a 70, back then pop music was harshly punished.

it's one of her very few listenable albums imo 

I like it but i can see why critics didnt.

 

Self Inflicted, Im Still Breathing and Thinking of You alone push this album above a mere 48 tho

The D- 

the album deserve to be a pop staple album, it aged like fine wine.

Still listen to it occasionally. Compare to The Fame, Good girl gone bad which aged like milk.

59 minutes ago, AxelFox said:

 I would even say this album shows the most personality among her discography.

This

 

I think it was harshly judged because of some camp lyrics for the most part but it’s such a great album and has so much personality, which makes the album feel like an authentic cohesive project from start to finish. Compared to albums like Smile which felt extremely bland and faceless which got 10 points higher. 
 

Thinking of You, Waking Up in Vegas, If You Can Afford Me, Fingerprints, Self Inflicted are all in the upper part of her discography. 

It's my second favorite, right after PRISM. 

 

34 minutes ago, Bonicap said:

Critics were much tougher than nowadays. Right now you can release trash and they'll give you at least a 70, back then pop music was harshly punished.

Basically this. 

 

It's common knowledge now. 

 

Plus

 

Hot and Cold

I Kissed a Girl

Thinking of You

 

Kinda clearly are gems

 

 

 

Teenage Dream was way worse. Peacock alone is one of the worst songs ever recorded. 

I miss this era so much. I saw her live during this tour and even met her afterwards, because she wasn't as popular back then. For me, OOTB will always be her best album and even though I've enjoyed some of her material since then, I really miss the pop/rock sound. 

1 hour ago, Bonicap said:

Critics were much tougher than nowadays. Right now you can release trash and they'll give you at least a 70, back then pop music was harshly punished.

Excuses, most pop girls weren’t getting panned like Katy is

 

Metacritic:

COADF - 80

TFM - 78

GGGB - 72

L.A.M.B - 71

Loose - 71

Circus - 64

OOTB - 48

 

Her albums just aren’t good outside the singles 

1 hour ago, CaptainMusic said:

Excuses, most pop girls weren’t getting panned like Katy is

 

Metacritic:

COADF - 80

TFM - 78

GGGB - 72

L.A.M.B - 71

Loose - 71

Circus - 64

OOTB - 48

 

Her albums just aren’t good outside the singles 

 

Cherry picking albums that have good reviews to benefit your narrative...  

I mean you picked albums from artists that were not even in the same period of time to OOTB when those artists have albums CLOSER to OOTBs release date. None of the pop girls pre 2010s had good reviews with the exception of a select few which scored in the 70s. Most pop girls were averaging high 50s or low 60s.. why you lying? 

 

LAMB The Sweet Escape - 58

COADF Hard Candy - 65

The Dutchess - 58

Cant Be Tamed - 48

Bionic - 56

IASF - 62

The End - 60

E=MC2 - 64

 

 

 

13 minutes ago, Homebrand said:

 

Cherry picking albums that have good reviews to benefit your narrative...  

I mean you picked albums from artists that were not even in the same period of time to OOTB when those artists have albums CLOSER to OOTBs release date. None of the pop girls pre 2010s had good reviews with the exception of a select few which scored in the 70s. Most pop girls were averaging high 50s or low 60s.. why you lying? 

 

LAMB The Sweet Escape - 58

COADF Hard Candy - 65

The Dutchess - 58

Cant Be Tamed - 48

Bionic - 56

IASF - 62

The End - 60

E=MC2 - 64

 

 

 

gather ha

26 minutes ago, Homebrand said:

 

Cherry picking albums that have good reviews to benefit your narrative...  

I mean you picked albums from artists that were not even in the same period of time to OOTB when those artists have albums CLOSER to OOTBs release date. None of the pop girls pre 2010s had good reviews with the exception of a select few which scored in the 70s. Most pop girls were averaging high 50s or low 60s.. why you lying? 

 

LAMB The Sweet Escape - 58

COADF Hard Candy - 65

The Dutchess - 58

Cant Be Tamed - 48

Bionic - 56

IASF - 62

The End - 60

E=MC2 - 64

 

 

 

Literally ALL of these albums are mediocre outside of some singles and didn’t deserve a high score, and yet none of them except CBT still got below 50 like OOTB did  

 

Thanks for proving my point 

Edited April 24, 20233 yr by CaptainMusic

Yes

3 solid gems, not every album has that. 

yes

51 minutes ago, Homebrand said:

 

Cherry picking albums that have good reviews to benefit your narrative...  

I mean you picked albums from artists that were not even in the same period of time to OOTB when those artists have albums CLOSER to OOTBs release date. None of the pop girls pre 2010s had good reviews with the exception of a select few which scored in the 70s. Most pop girls were averaging high 50s or low 60s.. why you lying? 

 

LAMB The Sweet Escape - 58

COADF Hard Candy - 65

The Dutchess - 58

Cant Be Tamed - 48

Bionic - 56

IASF - 62

The End - 60

E=MC2 - 64

 

 

 

These albums are all bad tbf but yeah most of them would score high-60s bare minimum if they were released today

I don’t think it’s that bad

No, it's her best album, a solid 7.

 

Hot N Cold alone justifies this album to be 80+.

 

But I mean, she was new and nobody knew who she was, she had a silly, fun image, and pop music back then just didn't get the love it normally deserved. The scores are a reflection of the time, not the album.

28 minutes ago, CaptainMusic said:

Literally ALL of these albums are mediocre outside of some singles and didn’t deserve a high score, and yet none of them except CBT still got below 50 like OOTB did  

 

Thanks for proving my point 

I was comparing albums from the same timeframe which made more sense than your biased comparison, and albums from pop girls weren’t really getting THAT much higher scores like you were making it out to be. Stop being daft