Dunlevy: Justin Trudeau was all smiles at Katy Perry's Montreal concert

Montreal Gazette

31-07-2025

Music
It was quite the second date. Just 48 hours after they had dinner at Montreal restaurant Le Violon, Justin Trudeau attended Katy Perry's triumphant Lifetimes Tour stop at the Bell Centre Wednesday night. And he appeared to be thoroughly enjoying himself.
Sporting a black Standfield's 'Strong & Free' T-shirt, Canada's former prime minister stood next to his daughter, Ella-Grace, as he took in the razzle-dazzle show, bopping his head and tapping the railing in front of him from a special section of the stands near the stage.
Perry, for her part, gushed about Montreal — 'one of my favourite cities in all of Canada' — and the country Trudeau led for nearly a decade. Perhaps it was her way of flirting: She called our country 'super progressive,' adding that Canadians 'seem to be leading a change for humanity.'
The pop star was doing her part in that department, spreading messages of equality and women's empowerment throughout the evening.
'I like her songs and her style; she's not exotic but extravagant, with a lot of energy,' said Ana, 14, who was there with her mother but was too shy to give her real name.
Sara-Maude, 31, called Perry 'a female icon.' The Mirabel native said she felt nostalgic coming out to see her idol from her teen years.
'It brings up memories of our youth,' added her friend Lysanne, 33.
Encountered before the show, the pair was intrigued by Perry and Trudeau's potential romance.
' Justin Trudeau has taste,' Sara-Maude said.
The women looked forward to hearing favourite songs including I Kissed a Girl, Roar, Fireworks and Dark Horse. They got all of the above and more as Perry powered through a two-hour, hit-filled set featuring songs from throughout her career.
It was a high-concept show with two dozen screens of various sizes cluttered above the stage. They projected an animated, sci-fi fantasy narrative staggered throughout the night that placed Perry at the centre of a hero quest to save the butterflies — and humanity — from devastation and the forces of evil.
The concert was divided into five acts, each bearing a title matching a song from her 2024 album 143 (the number is contemporary shorthand for 'I love you'). During the first segment, Artificial, she emerged from beneath the infinity-symbol-shaped catwalk in the middle of the arena, floating into the air as she sang.
'Are you ready to dance tonight?' Perry asked the crowd, skipping about the stage in an outfit that could best be described as sexy cyborg. The song, Chained To the Rhythm off her 2017 album Witness, sparked a heartfelt singalong. She was backed by a four-piece band and a dynamic troupe of 10 male dancers, who were impressive from start to finish.
Two songs later, Dark Horse got an even bigger reaction. Perry wasn't stingy with the hits. While many artists save the best for last, early on she played a handful of tunes off her 2010 album Teenage Dream: the title track California Gurls and Last Friday Night, followed by her racy, career-launching 2008 earworm I Kissed a Girl, which she dedicated to the gay community. The song sparked more aerial acrobatics as Perry soared over the crowd, pulling off a stunning series of flips while her dancers dashed about below.
It was a world-class, state-of-the-art performance, proving that 17 years after she became a household name, Perry can still command a crowd. She was disarmingly charming, coy and fun to be around. Mid-set, she invited three people from the crowd up on stage, a 29-year-old woman, a 19-year-old guy — who blurted out that Firework was 'first song I ever downloaded' — and a 10-year-old girl, giving everyone big hugs and letting them all perform a song with her.
'You can film if you want to,' she encouraged her guests, prompting the two adults to pull out their cellphones. 'You Montreal people are so polite,' Perry teased.
The singer, who recently split with fiancé Orlando Bloom, playfully complained about having to play (by request) a pair of 'breakup ballads' — Not Like the Movies and The One That Got Away, both off Teenage Daydream.
She delivered her 2013 single Roar while riding a giant, airborne butterfly. By that time, Trudeau had been spotted in the crowd and a picture shared online, allowing this critic to catch him grooving along to the music.
Justin Trudeau spotted at Katy Perry's Lifetimes Tour in Montreal, Canada. pic.twitter.com/hvIOIUVadC
— Pop Base (@PopBase) July 31, 2025
Perry capped off the evening with the rousing anthem Firework amid a barrage of confetti.
'That was incredible,' raved Lana Grégoire afterward, standing outside the Bell Centre. 'I like her personality, her energy. Her songs are about loving yourself and being strong, especially as a woman, and following your dreams.'
Her friend Sasha Pustovit was equally impressed.
'The best show of my life,' Pustovit said. 'She's inspiring.'
This story was originally published July 31, 2025 at 6:40 AM.