avamaxstan
Platinum Member
Joined: January 2019
Posts: 1,281
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Post by avamaxstan on Sept 20, 2024 12:44:17 GMT -5
I mean, it's not abysmal, it just feels so... undercooked. Almost like unfinished demos. The watered-down eurodance tracks go absolutely nowhere. I've always thought her vocals were better and more unique than she gets credit for, but they're completed absent here, all personality was processed and autotuned out. And songwriting has never been a strong area for her, but these are some of the most inane and cringey lyrics of her career - despite all her intellectual and spiritual commentary about the album in interviews.
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wavey.✨️
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Post by wavey.✨️ on Sept 20, 2024 13:07:06 GMT -5
Queen said I'm happy, here, damn! Lol.
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shakemaki
Charting
Joined: July 2024
Posts: 231
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Post by shakemaki on Sept 20, 2024 13:15:00 GMT -5
365 has been so stuck in my head lately. Why wasn’t this a smash again?
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popwizard
Charting
Joined: November 2017
Posts: 255
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Post by popwizard on Sept 20, 2024 13:22:16 GMT -5
I feel like people have overreacted. This is not a bad album. After the first listen, I thought that it was too vapid to touch it again. However, it has somehow grown on me already. Critics are giving it atrocious scores because they like using Katy Perry as a punching bag, and now they have the Dr. Luke controversy to justify their bias toward her. This album should be somewhere in the 60s on Metacritic. A solid 3/5 effort. I just don't see how 143 deserves to be among the worst albums of all time. Is it vapid and devoid of personality? Sure. But the same can be said about "Radical Optimism," which is the 70s on Metacritic. I see your point, because I also thought Radical Optimism came off as generic and more of the same. The difference, I think, is that Katy is a pop veteran, while Dua has stronger lyricism, and the production on Radical Optimism is better—more textured and layered with instrumentation. Basically, it has more depth, just enough for pop. If 143 were a debut album release by someone like Camila Cabello, it would likely receive a better reception.
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shakemaki
Charting
Joined: July 2024
Posts: 231
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Post by shakemaki on Sept 20, 2024 13:30:22 GMT -5
Radical Optimism is an extremely competently made dance pop album. Far more so than 143. The problem was it was following FN, which was exceptional with tons of individual song high points that RO doesn’t have. RO and 143 are very different situations here.
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kmbgs
7x Platinum Member
Joined: October 2008
Posts: 7,280
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Post by kmbgs on Sept 20, 2024 13:34:06 GMT -5
I feel like Gorgeous and Artificial are SO close to being top tier absolute smashes, but they fall a bit short.
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Envoirment
Diamond Member
Joined: December 2009
Posts: 13,666
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Post by Envoirment on Sept 20, 2024 13:50:23 GMT -5
Step down from Smile, which is her most underrated album tbh. I would say Smile is 2nd only to Teenage Dream and it always makes me sad it didn't smash as hard as it should've!
In saying that, 143 has a number of nice bops that I will no doubt be listening to frequently! It's a shame she lead the project with "Woman's World" which is my least favourite track on the album. "WONDER" would've made a nice lead single, introducing Katy with her child also contributing a little bit.
"CRUSH" is also a total bop and would've smashed in Europe had it been the lead. I can imagine with a great music video the song could've smashed.
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Post by holdmecloser255 on Sept 20, 2024 13:53:13 GMT -5
Radical Optimism is an extremely competently made dance pop album. Far more so than 143. The problem was it was following FN, which was exceptional with tons of individual song high points that RO doesn’t have. RO and 143 are very different situations here. For me personally, RO and 143 are on the same level in terms of replay value. I haven't touched RO in a long time, and there are very few good songs that I like on this album ("Houdini," "Happy for You," and "These Walls").
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SPRΞΞ
Diamond Member
Joined: July 2009
Posts: 22,019
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Post by SPRΞΞ on Sept 20, 2024 13:54:51 GMT -5
365 has been so stuck in my head lately. Why wasn’t this a smash again? Cuz people wanted Teenage Dream Katy Perry. The irony lol.
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Ty
Diamond Member
good vibes and R&B
Joined: March 2009
Posts: 13,061
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Post by Ty on Sept 20, 2024 13:55:47 GMT -5
Crush I’m His, His Mine Nirvana Lifetimes All the Love Wonder Gorgeous Gimme Gimme Woman's World Artificial Truth
I had such a hard time to pick the highlights from this album. I feel like all the songs are pleasant to listen to but no one stands out among others. The productions are generic and uninspired, but they aren't bad per se. It just feels like Luke outsourced this entire project to his summer interns, who solicited a bit of help from AI. The lyrics are across the board bad (I should've seen that coming when WW was first released), but is this perfectly acceptable feel-good music for a summer night drive or a home party? Yes. My favorite "Crush" is like a 86/100 whereas my least favorite "Truth" is a 78/100.
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Post by Love Plastic Love on Sept 20, 2024 13:56:49 GMT -5
I actually have some of the same criticisms for Radical Optimism compared to 143. However, RO, to me, is at least very tightly crafted in a way this isn't. But, also, I will probably get about the same listening time out of them lol.
And just because I think its weird, both RO and 143 are being accused of using AI/ChatGPT at points. Are they actually using AI, or is there something about the music itself that just feels like AI?
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Post by holdmecloser255 on Sept 20, 2024 13:56:52 GMT -5
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SoMuchToSay
3x Platinum Member
Joined: August 2010
Posts: 3,508
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Post by SoMuchToSay on Sept 20, 2024 14:05:23 GMT -5
I’ve had this on repeat all day, and my first thought is that if this had dropped right after Prism, it would’ve been MASSIVE. But in 2024, the pop landscape has shifted, and this kind of safe pop doesn’t hit the same anymore. As many have pointed out, the lyrics across several tracks feel weak, which is ironic given that each song has around 7 to 10 writers involved. It's missing that Bonnie McKee touch.
Setting all that aside, the decision to work with Dr. Luke really tainted the entire project. The fact that she collaborated with him on 10 out of 11 tracks feels like one of the biggest missteps in modern pop history (could she not have just done 3–4 instead?). Katy deserves the criticism for this—a majority of true pop fans and the LGBTQ+ community, who were once her core supporters, turned on this album immediately. It's beyond frustrating as a longtime fan, watching her self-sabotage the comeback with such a stupid, tone-deaf move by refusing to listen to reason. I guess she just hoped nobody would care? Instead of a Teenage Dream revival, it turned into a PR nightmare. It was a huge gamble that backfired. Her label and management share some of the blame too for allowing it to happen.
Not to beat a dead horse, but I feel like the project would have been well-received and praised universally by pop fans had she not worked with him. Because at the end of the day, it’s actually not that bad of a project. Personally, I’d rank it higher than Witness and Smile.
Rankings: Wonder: 9.5/10 - The most authentic Katy Perry song and would be a 10/10 if it weren’t for the intro/outro. Gorgeous: 9/10 - This probably should have been the lead single. Lifetimes: 9/10 All The Love: 8/10 Artificial: 8/10 Nirvana: 7/10 Truth: 6/10 Crush: 6/10 Gimme Gimme: 5/10 Woman’s World: 4/10 I’m His, He’s Mine: 3/10
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Post by holdmecloser255 on Sept 20, 2024 14:27:31 GMT -5
After revising her discography again today, 143 is probably my least favorite KP album after Smile.
OTTB > TD > Prism > Witness > 143 > Smile
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Choco
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james dean daydream
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Post by Choco on Sept 20, 2024 15:19:40 GMT -5
What's sad about this is it just takes me back to when she dropped Never Really Over. Truly a fresh moment, an amazing song that signaled a creative rebirth after Witness stinked the place up... and while there were flashes of that on Smile (Harleys, Cry About it Later) I just couldn't find that here. I truly do think Katy can do pop gems like no one else but the creative side was just DOA here.
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wavey.✨️
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Post by wavey.✨️ on Sept 20, 2024 15:44:26 GMT -5
Okay, so it's not Daisy on Wonder
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Eloqueen™
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Joined: September 2007
Posts: 21,768
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Post by Eloqueen™ on Sept 20, 2024 15:53:14 GMT -5
If only she had this mentality during Witness when she was trying to do more serious, purposeful pop, not knowing the world actually always and only wanted her music for exactly this: to use as an outlet from the mess of life. I listened to the album a few more times and as for some saying people are being "exaggerative" with their reviews, I don't think so. Sure if you strip away all context and just focus on the bare bones most of the songs aren't "atrocious", but that's not the way expectation and reviews work. We don't look at Taylor Swift selling 500k as PHENOMENAL, though it would be for most other artists, because it's simply not for her. Now I'm not saying we're expecting Katy to deliver a masterpiece, but we certainly expect a certain level of charisma, personability, story-telling, competency with her albums none of which 143 has. Not only is the bulk of the material medicore, but emotionless, soulless, dated, vapid, and it all blends together. It's missing all those quintessential Katy elements that make her albums unique to her. Even Smile had the heart and soul of "What Makes A Woman" and "Only Love", the fantastic, current hooks of "Never Really Over" and "Harleys In Hawaii", and the story-telling of "Smile" and "Daises". And to think she's been working on the album this long is baffling to me. I am grateful for "Gorgeous" and "Im His, He's Mine". Now if we had gotten another 10 songs on their level, 😁! Now off to stream Nelly Furtado's new album! I know she's got some good ones!
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Dylan :)
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smth 'bout youu
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Post by Dylan :) on Sept 20, 2024 15:59:57 GMT -5
#8 on US Apple Music
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PerPlexied
Platinum Member
Joined: November 2003
Posts: 1,508
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Post by PerPlexied on Sept 20, 2024 16:24:27 GMT -5
This just feels so... flat. Also, and this is a personal thing, but I can't stand multiple tracks with features in a row. I'm listening to the album for you, ma'am. Lastly, Gorgeous felt like it went on for 15 minutes, I'm not getting the hype.
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