Katy Perry’s newest era brings controversy

Katy Perry is perhaps one of the biggest artists of the last 20 years, but her recent music left “KatyCats” with something to be desired. Her recent album announcement has brought controversy and questions about Perry’s success and popularity.

Perry announced her newest album, “143,” on July 12. Since her recent album announcement and the release of “WOMAN’S WORLD” on July 11, her new era has been riddled with controversy. Perry, known for famous songs such as “Firework” and “Teenage Dream,” has struggled to stay relevant in the ever-changing music industry.

One explanation for Perry’s failing era could be the lack of promotion of her upcoming album. A lack of marketing is a consistent problem for Perry. In 2017, her album, “Witness,” only sold 600,000 copies compared to her 2013 album, “Prism,” which sold 4,230,000 copies.

Perry announced “143” over two months before its Sept. 20 release. Since the announcement, there has not been much buzz around its release. Perry uploads occasional posts about the album to her Instagram, but the posts do not receive much positive attention.

Fans are upset with Perry’s lead single, “WOMAN’S WORLD,” for its poorly written lyrics and the production team behind the song. The self-proclaimed “feminist anthem” included four men on the production team: Dr. Luke, Rocco Did it Again!, Vaughn Oliver and Aaron Joseph. However, it was not only the team of men that had people in an uproar.

In 2014, Kesha filed a lawsuit against Dr. Luke for multiple claims of sexual assault. Artists, such as Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga, supported Kesha throughout the lawsuit, and the two announced they settled the suit in 2023. 

On Sept. 4, Perry went on Alex Cooper’s podcast, “Call Her Daddy,” where she referenced working with Dr. Luke. Throughout the podcast episode, she gushed about her husband (Orlando Bloom), discussed how people should not owe anything to a man and talked about her upbringing. However, she also defended her work with Dr. Luke, even while discussing her girl-power anthem. 

“The truth is I wrote these songs from my experience of my whole life going through this metamorphosis,” said Perry on the podcast. “And he was one of the people to help facilitate all that—one of the writers, one of the producers.” 

Another reason for Perry’s lack of success could allude to her lack of diversity in sound. Since she became a musician, Perry was known for her bubblegum pop and dance sound. However, many fans believe her sound has remained the same as when she first began making music in 2008.

Perry’s second single, “LIFETIMES,” was released Aug. 8 and gained more traction. Yet, listeners still critiqued the song for its repetitive nature. “Lifetimes” struggled to get streams, and both singles performed lower than her previous successes, such as “Roar” and “Dark Horse.”

Perry’s singles are not performing well on the charts either. “Lifetimes” peaked at No. 198 on the Spotify 200 chart the day of its release. “Woman’s World” peaked at No. 190 on July 18.

With the release of “Woman’s World,” some say Perry attempted to replicate the “Barbie” summer of 2023. Songs such as “Dance the Night” by Dua Lipa and “Pink” by Lizzo brought back the bubbly vibes of 2013 while modernizing the sound. “Woman’s World” instead brings the sound from a passed time. 

Cat Zhang, a writer for ”The Cut,” commented on Perry’s single, further proving the song was poorly received. She wrote, “Most of all, she’s a 2010s relic, a faded pop star frantically attempting to clamber back to relevance, only to be thwarted by her inability to tell up from down.”

It seems Perry will not return to her prime days of albums such as “Teenage Dream,” “One of the Boys” and “Prism.” When her albums once garnered millions of streams, Perry’s current era seems it will not be one for the books. 

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