Katy Perry Missed Opportunity Singles

[wjr15]

I know there was a thread done for this many years ago, but I thought I’d make a new one with a poll that included the poorly managed ‘Smile’ era.

Since Katy’s first two eras were handled well, I’m only including ‘Prism’, ‘Witness’, and ‘Smile’ songs in the poll. What are some Katy songs that should’ve been given the full single treatment but were kept as album cuts?

[trustypepper]

Aside from the obvious LL and WOA, I think Roulette and Pendulum deserved a shot from Witness.

[ClevelandRox]

Teenage Dream refused to ever end and we STILL never got Peacock.

[.indulgecountry]

Harleys, Lovers, and Walking on Air are the big 3 for sure.

[irice22]

I still can't believe people think "Legendary Lovers" could have smashed. Is everyone else hearing a different song?

[kimberly]

"Witness" should have been the follow-up to "CTTR".

"Legendary Lovers" and "Walking on Air" both could have been #1 hits for her.

"Harleys in Hawaii" should have been pushed after "NRO", in summer 2019.

"Cry About It Later" should have been pushed instead of "Daisies."

[Mylo13 💜]

Mar 17, 2021 10:57:40 GMT -5 .indulgecountry said:

Harleys, Lovers, and Walking on Air are the big 3 for sure.

^^^ I think these three are the clear three that could've done *something*. The latter two would've probably hit given her popularity at the time and Harley's was obviously a better pick than Small Talk haha. 

[bat1990]

For "Other" I meant it for "Hummingbird Heartbeat"

Mar 18, 2021 2:42:48 GMT -5 irice22 said:

I still can't believe people think "Legendary Lovers" could have smashed. Is everyone else hearing a different song?

There is a collection of people on this board who think LL is the second coming and I just don't hear it. I'm glad "Walking On Air" is beating it in this poll.

[SoMuchToSay]

1. Walking on Air - based solely on how well it did as a non-single like Dark Horse

2. Legendary Lovers - still baffled they went w/ generic singles like Birthday, Unconditionally and TIHWD over this and WOA.

3. Peacock / Hummingbird Heartbeat - had they kept going these could have still done well, either could have been a single too at any point had they decided to.

4. Roulette - only would have done good as the lead single. The brainwashed pop theme from CTTR did all the damage.

5. Not the End of the World - Had this been on Witness as the lead single it would have fit perfectly in that music era alongside stuff like Black Widow which did well.

[Ky]

The power of the goddess Sabina Ddumba <3

[toomuchboy]

1. Roulette
2. Harleys in Hawaii
3. International Smile

Those are the biggest ones, imo. Cry About It Later is probably one, too, going by how much love it receives from fans although I never cared for it. Not sure how anything from Witness would've done, since I blame Swish Swish doing as bad as it did on her not promoting it (Nicki Minaj did more promotion than she did). If Katy had been fully present, Roulette would've been the best bet.

[franklin]

Cry About It Later is still that bitch.

[kcdawg13]

Harleys definitely should've gotten a big push, I don't think it woulda been a huge comeback for her but a radio push and some big performance spots could've given it more legs to stand on. She literally just threw out one of her best songs and didn't do anything with it. Smh.

[Au$tin]

"Legendary Lovers" is the one out of this list that I could see having been the biggest hit if they were released. I think had it come in place of "This Is How We Do," it would have performed similarly to "Unconditionally" at the very least.

I still think y'all are crazy about "Walking on Air." That has "minor European hit that doesn't anything anywhere else" written all over.

"Ghost"? lol, no. #flop

Can't speak on the Witness tracks listed here. That entire era was doomed no matter what they selected.

"Harleys in Hawaii" absolutely should have been sent to radio immediately upon release to capitalize on Katy just having a top ten pop hit with "Never Really Over." Not that I really expect anything from Katy Perry to do swimmingly post-2017, but "Harleys" definitely could have performed similarly to "Never." And had "Harleys" been immediately followed up with "Daisies," leading us into "Cry About It Later" when the album finally dropped, she would have had 4 decently sized hits in a row. No question about it. None of them would have been massive, but that's not what 2019/2020/2021 Katy Perry is searching for.

"Not the End of the World" would have been a cute final single after "Cry About It Later," but it's not necessary. Especially with "Dark Horse" in her singles catalog already.

I can't see any scenario where "Tucked" would do much. I'd see it performing similarly to "Smile."

Other(s) - I did select this one because "If You Can Afford Me" and "Hummingbird Heartbeat" exist. Not that I would have expected either single to be bigger than any of the other singles from their respective albums (well, "Afford" would have outperformed "Thinking of You" for sure and "Hummingbird" would probably match "The One That Got Away"), but they definitely would have faired well and continued her hit streak.

So, in conclusion, her biggest missed single opportunity in terms of hit size would be either "Hummingbird Heartbeat" or "Legendary Lovers." But if we're talking in terms of how well the single would have helped her career/album, it's gotta be that 1-2 punch of "Harleys in Hawaii"/"Cry About It Later." Generally, Katy's team has been pretty good about picking singles. Her first three albums were selected rather well up until "This Is How We Do." It's been a shit storm since then. The only single choices post-"Birthday" that I've agreed with were "Chained to the Rhythm," "Never Really Over," and "Daisies."

[Lost In Musical Reverie]

Unpopular opinion: while I do really enjoy "Legendary Lovers", I'm glad it was ultimately not chosen as a single. I have a feeling whatever premise she would have planned for the music video would have aged horribly in retrospect, and the song itself bears more Bhaṅgṛā influences than Selena's "Come & Get It", so I can imagine she would find herself surrounded by controversy throughout the rollout.

Then again, "This Is How We Do" also got backlash for cultural appropriation, so if it was bound to happen as a wake-up call to her, best to be with a good song.

"Walking On Air", on the other hand, is the definition of a missed opportunity. Fantastic song, she always nailed it live, and I wouldn't be surprised if it helped to bring a mini house revival to the mainstream.

[twilightskies]

Out of all of these, Harleys in Hawaii had the biggest potential to be a hit. Had it been released during the TD or Prism eras, it would've been a #1 hit or Top 5 minimum.

[#brayden]

"Walking On Air" is so much fun. I didn't care for it much at the time but I enjoy it a lot now. I'd say it was probably the biggest missed opportunity of her career. It would have been a great final single instead of "This Is How We Do." I liked "Legendary Lovers" at the time but in retrospect I'm not sure how well it would have done as a single. It's not that captivating.

"This Is How We Do" is the only single choice from Prism that I don't agree with. The others were all solid. I hate "Roar" but clearly people liked it.

Otherwise... probably "Hummingbird Heartbeat" and "Harleys In Hawaii." I think the latter could have possibly done something if it followed "Never Really Over." Certainly more than "Small Talk" did. The former probably would have been a hit given her momentum at the time. I'd have rather it been released than either of the two re-release singles, but it's hard to argue with how they handled the Teenage Dream era since it all went so well.

[Anticonformity]

Ghost (My fave Katy song ever)
Legendary Lovers
Not The End Of The World
Act My Age
Cry About It Later

[Hefty Hanna]

I love 'Ghost' but I understand why it wasn't a single.

[samo🦕]

walking on air
witness
roulette
pendulum
cry about it later
(also harleys in hawaii but i couldn't vote for it)

[Choco]

Walking on air
Legendary lovers
Harleys in Hawaii.

The rest I get.

[Positive Tension]

"Walking On Air"

"Harleys in Hawaii" is getting a lot of love, but that one never clicked with me, so I can see why it wasn't released.

[Ｓｏｕｎｄｃｌ🕤ｃｋ]

we know now

[Ginger Spice]

Still pissed about "Walking on Air" never getting a full single release.

[born]

I still think “Walking On Air” would’ve been a massive underperformer with perhaps some UK success.

“Harleys In Hawaii” deserved to be huge. After that, “Legendary Lovers” (and “Not The End Of The World” if it was released like 3 years earlier).

EDIT: “Witness” and “Ghost” are both among my favorites but I don’t think they could ever be big. Maybe some AC success for the latter.

[Choco]

Ghost is the definition of an album track. It's really good, but that album already had five singles plus two much better choices on LL and WOA.