At the risk of sending the sold-out house into sugar shock, Katy Perry last night transformed Madison Square Garden into Candyland.
She set the stage with a cotton- candy cloud, bouquets of lollipops and candy-cane accents.
Yeah, she’s sweet — and at this show, it was hard not to like the brunette California babe who, in song and patter, blended her innocent girl-next-door image with intense sexual sizzle.
The one-night stand at the World’s Most Famous Arena was a pop-art confection of campy, stylish stagecraft that served as a perfect backdrop to the substance of her vocals.
To her credit, Perry remains one of the few pop princesses on the concert circuit who actually sings every song.
In the 19-tune set, Perry layered emotion into each number, whether it was in a nod to old-school R&B in a cabaret retooling of “I Kissed a Girl” or whipping “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.),” one of last summer’s hottest songs, into effervescent pop.
The show was a musical extravaganza in which Perry modeled an array of bright, colorful outfits that were often pinup-girl retro.
Her vintage style included a baby-doll party dress with spinning pinwheels; a flouncey mini; a cat-woman get up; and a feathered peacock outfit.
Perry also showcased her zaniest side with an over-the-top lighted bathing suit for the tune “Fireworks.”
As wild as her different looks were — and as theatrical as the two- hour production was — Perry never forgot that it was about the music.
She started the show with “Teenage Dream,’’ and continued with the up-tempo “Ur So Gay’’ and encored with, as you’d expect, “California Gurls.”
In between those benchmark tunes, she squeezed in all of her hits, as well as cover tunes, including a meld of The Strangeloves’ “I Want Candy” with Kelis’ “Milkshake.”
Perry’s version of “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” was also a terrific homage to Whitney Houston’s original.
Her between-song banter was New York-centric and funny, the music made you move, and the audience, a 50-50/boy-girl mix that spanned generations, seemed as playful as Perry.