Katy Perry – “143” coming to slay/ "The LIFETIMES Tour"

[wjr15]

It’s impossible to point out one reason for why the public turned on Katy during the Witness era because it was a list of multiple things and when combined together, it was the perfect recipe for disaster:

- Dramatic image change with a new haircut
- Dramatic change in the sound of her music, going from radio friendly pop hits to more experimental pop
- Going all in on the 'purposeful pop' narrative then releasing Bon Appetit and Swish Swish as singles (both bops but not 'purposeful')
- Katy displaying erratic behavior during multiple public appearances and that horrible SNL performance (partial blame can be given to Migos for this)
- We know that Katy struggled with her mental health during this era and many of the above reasons could be traced back to this
- There's also the recent revelations that industry insiders were planning for the downfall of Katy in 2017

When you combine just even some of these reasons, the writing was on the wall. Katy didn’t deserve the amount of hate she got in 2017 but in hindsight, I can see why the public turned on her.

But I definitely believe that Katy has worked hard to get back in the good graces of the public eye over the past few years. She returned to her signature look, her residency received critical acclaim, motherhood seems to have grounded her, and nostalgia for Katy seems to be hitting lately. She’s in a great place right now to release new music.

[balletgirlmom]

Katy is looking great, and I bet her new music gets her back on track.

[itsaboutart]

It’s moments like this that make a pop music/chart watcher so much fun.

The stakes are so high for Katy. Huge huge success and this big lull. And I feel like I’m waiting with bated breath to see if this will work. I’m not invested in Katy either way but it’s fascinating. It’s hard to be a pop star. Must be nerve wracking for her.

Kylie Minogue has really shown though recently that anyone can have a comeback

[👑 Eloquent ™]

It's definitely interesting, because Katy has a lot riding on this release particularly with two duds (performance wise) behind her. It's really her last shot at relevancy before she ages out of the youth-obsessed commercial industry. It's really gonna take not only good material, but the perfect series of events and the stars aligning in sorts for her to strike big again because she's not only got to course-correct her material, but her image. She's never been an album's artist and people really look to her for the big melodic hits, so as long as she delivers there I think she has a shot, but she's in a tight spot, as she can't afford to do something too different, but she can't come with a middling familiar either. I'm not sure I trust her ear when she spoke about her "biggest song yet", as this is the same woman who thought Witness was going to smash, but I am perched and excited to see what she has in store as personally I loved songs from her last effort and the legendary "Never Really Over" proves she is still capable of that good ole BOP! Show em who tf you are Katy!

[Choco]

May 1, 2024 18:34:02 GMT -5 wjr15 said:

- Dramatic change in the sound of her music, going from radio friendly pop hits to more experimental pop
- Going all in on the 'purposeful pop' narrative then releasing Bon Appetit and Swish Swish as singles (both bops but not 'purposeful')

Honestly, and I don't even disagree with all your very good points, but the issue I had was that she kept saying this was some sort of evolution and then it was just the same sound, the same goofy ass image (that felt a little disconnected from some of the behaviour she displayed that era). Like even on the "Never Really Over" video she kept doing goofy things like that shot when she's against the glass doing a silly face and it just never feels like her image is maturing with her. "Harleys in Hawaii" felt like an evolution of sorts but they somehow went with "Small Talk"? And then never pushed anything else? Smile was never going to be a full return to pop majesty, but it certainly lacked the planning that made her get like 8 hits from Teenage Dream.

[Deleted]

I’m surprised she’s never tried venturing into something a bit more in the vein of Somebody That I Used To Know given how much everyone thought Kimbra was Katy at the time. Obviously her voice would be great for something more alt like that, while still in a pop lane that isn’t veering way out of her comfort zone at the end of the day. Or even a Wide Awake spiritual successor could be great from her.

[dbhmr]

May 1, 2024 18:34:02 GMT -5 wjr15 said:

It’s impossible to point out one reason for why the public turned on Katy during the Witness era because it was a list of multiple things and when combined together, it was the perfect recipe for disaster:

- Dramatic image change with a new haircut
- Dramatic change in the sound of her music, going from radio friendly pop hits to more experimental pop
- Going all in on the 'purposeful pop' narrative then releasing Bon Appetit and Swish Swish as singles (both bops but not 'purposeful')
- Katy displaying erratic behavior during multiple public appearances and that horrible SNL performance (partial blame can be given to Migos for this)
- We know that Katy struggled with her mental health during this era and many of the above reasons could be traced back to this
- There's also the recent revelations that industry insiders were planning for the downfall of Katy in 2017

When you combine just even some of these reasons, the writing was on the wall. Katy didn’t deserve the amount of hate she got in 2017 but in hindsight, I can see why the public turned on her.

But I definitely believe that Katy has worked hard to get back in the good graces of the public eye over the past few years. She returned to her signature look, her residency received critical acclaim, motherhood seems to have grounded her, and nostalgia for Katy seems to be hitting lately. She’s in a great place right now to release new music.

I don't think none of this is true--except the "industry insiders planning her downfall," as if money-hungry label execs would suddenly want to tarnish a cash cow who was still playing their game--but I still think people are quick to dismiss the more obvious answers:
-The music wasn't as strong
-She didn't have a dedicated fanbase
-Her brand was hits, so the second that goes away or shows signs of cracking, it hurts

[Choco]

Yeah the industry planning her downfall doesn't excuse the massive drop in streams, sales, etc... radio might blacklist but where were the fans. I never bought that.

[SPRΞΞ]

she just needs one good song that's promoted properly. That's it.

[Dylan :)]

I stand by that the era rollout was just a mess. I feel hype was huge for her in 2016, but then Rise kind of came and went. Maybe it's use at the DNC, and subsequent removal from the Olympics, killed any chance of it being a success. However, I feel hype was still huge in early 2017, especially with her Instagram story with Witness playing. Remember when she had those disco balls around the wall for Chained To The Rhythm's release? CTTR had one of her biggest debuts on the Hot 100. The aesthetic was pastel, she had blonde hair now, all was going great. Then this happened...



Next thing, she shaves her head (obviously not like Britney) and the imagery of the era changes. What was feeling more retro disco with the nice colours became kind of.. weird, is the word I'm going to use. Bon Appetit was released at the right time, and tbh I feel was a great song looking back. However, WHAT was that cover art? It was awful, and people hated it. Then there were the rumours that Ariana was the feature on it, and hype was huge again, only for it to be Migos. The video was great and attention grabbing, but love for the song dissapeared I feel once Ariana was confirmed not to be the feature. Then a month later she releases one of her worst songs ever, Swish Swish. It takes two months for that music video to come out and it is incredibly cringey and weird, and now she was no longer fun and cool and Katy Perry. She was this awkward has-been. SNL happened, which was awful, and the album dropped with a horrific cover art 5 months after CTTR was released and no active single at the time. She then did that deep look into her life with the live video recordings and studio sessions, where she said she was tired of people Katy Perry and wanted to be Katheryn Hudson or something. Nothing was pushed again to pop from the album, although in January Hey Hey Hey became a single in Italy. An awful, awful song, with an even worse video. And then all of a sudden, all hype was gone and Katy Perry was a washed up pop star.

Now, imagine if she hadn't done the Britney shade. She kept to the aesthetic of the album instead of switching it up right when hype was at its highest. They had continued to push CTTR as hard as they could on radio, she didn't cut her hair (again, the hair wasn't the problem, it was the dramatic change mid era). Then Bon Appetit had a better cover and a better feature (or no feature!). Swish Swish was relegated to an unreleased demo, and they focused on Feels instead. The album had a better cover art, without the weird livestream of her life accompanying its release. And then she finished off the era with Roulette and/or Witness. Hype was still there in 2019 when she released Never Really Over, it did well considering what it followed (top 15 on the Hot 100, top 10 on pop radio), but any good will she had was dead as a doornail after Small Talk came out, leaving Harleys In Hawaii to flop into oblivion with no push on release. She seems to have rebuilt the good will, gone back to her old aesthetic, and nostalgia for Teenage Dream is at an all time high. A lot is riding on the quality of her next single, the quality of the video (which should be like Harleys In Hawaii and When I'm Gone in terms of maturity) and how she manages her interviews. She does not do goofy well anymore, even if she did during Last Friday Night (mid-era and surrounded by smashes)

[SPRΞΞ]

Rise is amazing. I've been going back to it a lot lately, and I just love the atmosphere. And all i think about it when the video snippet premiered and wowed everyone and they thought it was her next #1. Then the full video came out and it was all goofy and shit.

She needs to make all her videos like Unconditionally.

[juanmiesk]

How is the Rise video "goofy and shit"? Genuinely asking, lol. I want her to completely drop the goofy act (Swish Swish and Hey Hey Hey are unwatchable, the NRO tidbits that Choco mentioned didn't go well with the rest of the video at all), but I think the Rise mv is pretty nice. Just not on Unconditionally levels.

[SPRΞΞ]

when she's hanging from that parachute and wiggling around. It's not goofy like Swish Swish, but its got that hint of it like NRO.

[groovetheory]

May 3, 2024 15:15:47 GMT -5 juanmiesk said:

How is the Rise video "goofy and shit"? Genuinely asking, lol. I want her to completely drop the goofy act (Swish Swish and Hey Hey Hey are unwatchable, the NRO tidbits that Choco mentioned didn't go well with the rest of the video at all), but I think the Rise mv is pretty nice. Just not on Unconditionally levels.

Exactly, the video ruined Swish Swish big time, it is such a mess and not even funny.

She should go the HIH route; sexy and sensual.

[juanmiesk]

http://instagram.com/p/C6pivKUNWxQ

[pcg4]

The fact that even not attending she has one of the most talked about looks (even though it's AI)... lol

[beachboi69]

Her Met Gala look was absolutely the best one.

[wjr15]

May 7, 2024 1:12:54 GMT -5 beachboi69 said:

Her Met Gala look was absolutely the best one.

They’re fake A.I. images. Katy wasn’t at the Met Gala this year. Kinda hilarious though because she was trending on Twitter over those images and Katy seems to be playing along with it.

[YourFaveIsAFlop]

May 2, 2024 0:57:07 GMT -5 itsaboutart said:

Kylie Minogue has really shown though recently that anyone can have a comeback

You have to be gone before you can have a comeback, so not sure how Kylie is applicable here.

[Ｓｏｕｎｄｃｌ🕤ｃｋ]

[eyeofthestorm]

Such a shame because that would have been an absolutely gorgeous look for her.

[itsaboutart]

May 7, 2024 7:15:16 GMT -5 YourFaveIsAFlop said:

May 2, 2024 0:57:07 GMT -5 itsaboutart said:

Kylie Minogue has really shown though recently that anyone can have a comeback

You have to be gone before you can have a comeback, so not sure how Kylie is applicable here.

She hasn’t a top ten hit in the UK since 2010 before padam. If you don’t get the point I was making eek I worry about the lack of collisions of your neurons

[Dylan :)]

I really hope this is true

[Rose "Payola" Nylund]

Imagine if Katy has a legit comeback to the point where she fills in where Dua Lipa should be and 2024 into 2025 ends up being a new career peak for her. Wouldn't that be absolutely batshit crazy?

[Daenerys]

May 2, 2024 13:41:07 GMT -5 Choco said:

May 1, 2024 18:34:02 GMT -5 wjr15 said:

- Dramatic change in the sound of her music, going from radio friendly pop hits to more experimental pop
- Going all in on the 'purposeful pop' narrative then releasing Bon Appetit and Swish Swish as singles (both bops but not 'purposeful')

Honestly, and I don't even disagree with all your very good points, but the issue I had was that she kept saying this was some sort of evolution and then it was just the same sound, the same goofy ass image (that felt a little disconnected from some of the behaviour she displayed that era). Like even on the "Never Really Over" video she kept doing goofy things like that shot when she's against the glass doing a silly face and it just never feels like her image is maturing with her. "Harleys in Hawaii" felt like an evolution of sorts but they somehow went with "Small Talk"? And then never pushed anything else? Smile was never going to be a full return to pop majesty, but it certainly lacked the planning that made her get like 8 hits from Teenage Dream.

I think there is something here around Katy not having a signature sound as well. One of the Boys leaned very much into pop-electro-rock, Teenage Dream was sort of all over the map in terms of pop sounds, and then Prism was sort of the same, at a diminished level with only 2 big hits, and other sort of underperformances. A lot of people go on about Witness, but the cracks were there with Prism, it's just Dark Horse and Roar masked them.

Unconditionally, Birthday, and This Is How We Do's performances aren't that far removed from the typical Witness single line-up.

If she had a more signature sound, I think there would have been something to latch onto, as it is, Katy's brand is "hits", and when those aren't there the fan base sort of moves on. Christina moved around a lot in musical genres, but she had her voice as her defining factor. One could say the fall back for Katy was her looks, but she also didn't like using them and didn't feel comfortable being a sex symbol which is why we got the oddness that was the back half of the Prism era with Birthday and This Is How We Do. 

[Ｓｏｕｎｄｃｌ🕤ｃｋ]

[wjr15]

Tour this fall??

[AP]

May 8, 2024 23:02:12 GMT -5 wjr15 said:

Tour this fall??

She's talking about the US election lol

[Ｓｏｕｎｄｃｌ🕤ｃｋ]

[Caviar]

🔥