I was gonna say "Bon Appetit" remains a horrible single choice and it logically derailed the entire project but tbh I can't think of a better single choice on Witness either.
I think that’s a fair assessment to make, but IMO the album would’ve faired better had “Swish Swish” been the second single, without a doubt. Considering the subject matter and the feature, it could’ve performed well, compared to how it ended up doing post-“Bon Appetit”.
I must admit, even though I fell off the Katy Perry bandwagon pretty hard around 2020, I’m really looking forward to this. I’ve even revisited Smile and found a lot of appreciation for it, particularly when it comes to “Only Love”. That song could’ve killed on Hot AC.
"Only Love" was one of my favs!! Underrated! Along with "HIH" and "CP"!
I must admit, even though I fell off the Katy Perry bandwagon pretty hard around 2020, I’m really looking forward to this. I’ve even revisited Smile and found a lot of appreciation for it, particularly when it comes to “Only Love”. That song could’ve killed on Hot AC.
"Only Love" was one of my favs!! Underrated! Along with "HIH" and "CP"!
I remember being so excited when she performed it at the AMA’s, she should’ve done a lot more with it! Same with “Champagne Problems” and “Cry About It Later”. I’ll never understand why anyone on her team agreed to put out “Small Talk” when she had several songs that are vastly superior ready for release.
"Only Love" was one of my favs!! Underrated! Along with "HIH" and "CP"!
I remember being so excited when she performed it at the AMA’s, she should’ve done a lot more with it! Same with “Champagne Problems” and “Cry About It Later”. I’ll never understand why anyone on her team agreed to put out “Small Talk” when she had several songs that are vastly superior ready for release.
I could have sworn around the release of "Small Talk" that Katy said there were not plans to release an album so I wonder if the songs that ended up on the album weren't even created by that point. I could be completely making this up but I feel like she said that.
Shania Twain 💜 Christina Aguilera ❤️ Taylor Swift 🧡 Adele 💙 Carrie Underwood
I remember being so excited when she performed it at the AMA’s, she should’ve done a lot more with it! Same with “Champagne Problems” and “Cry About It Later”. I’ll never understand why anyone on her team agreed to put out “Small Talk” when she had several songs that are vastly superior ready for release.
I could have sworn around the release of "Small Talk" that Katy said there were not plans to release an album so I wonder if the songs that ended up on the album weren't even created by that point. I could be completely making this up but I feel like she said that.
I recall seeing that the metadata from the photoshoot for Smile showed that the album cover was shot sometime in summer 2019, so I think the moderate success of “Never Really Over” was enough for Katy to consider putting out a body of work. I imagine she would’ve at least had a couple of the highlights from the album recorded and ready to go in place of “Small Talk”. She’s been plagued with obviously bad single choices since PRISM, it’s honestly astounding how obvious some of her missteps were, even at the time.
During that period Katy definitely said she was into just "releasing songs when she felt like it as opposed to a full body of work". With that said, "Small Talk" still shouldn't have seen the light of day. And it got a decently budgeted video and everything. It shoulda just been a no all around. We didn't need a reminder of mediocrity after getting our hopes back up with "Never Really Over".
They already had a music video filmed for Harleys In Hawaii when Small Talk was released. The release of Small Talk will never make sense to me.
I think they were trying to declare Charlie Poof to be a bigger artist at that time, but obviously, it backfired miserably. I'm rooting for a Katy comeback. I don't want her to be just good for a throwback or known as an American Idol judge.
Post by Active Aggressive on Jun 5, 2024 22:05:30 GMT -5
I LOL'd at "her Emancipation of Mimi" because...yeah, no, but she is overdue for some hits and I really hope this album delivers. She proved with Smile she could provide quality, at least, and honestly, a handful of those songs should have been hits.
I'm here for a Katy comeback, I hope to see it! But some of these "reviews" just are seeming really forced and fake lol every saying BOP BOP BOP. Idk it just seems all planted to try and rake up buzz. Just let the music talk for itself
All these listening party reviews where we aren’t getting any real details about the album (except that it’s full of upbeat songs) and at this point I just want a release date for the lead single.
These fans have almost no way of saying if they didn’t like it either. I’m sure their accounts are watched after, and if they ever want to be invited again they’re not going to say negative stuff. They were likely hand picked so as to allow for maximum good press. So really, we know nothing more than we did before other than that there’s at least 8 songs ready and there are some features. She needs to release soon if she’s looking to get Song of the Summer
The real question is if any radio PDs were invitied to these listening parties, or if they had separate private ones. She has also been a radio-driven artist, so if the PDs think some of the songs have potential, THEN we can see a comeback.
I'm sure Katy (&team) can come up with TikTok-worthy soundbite lyrics if anyone can. It might be slightly cringy but can also go viral.
And tbh I really liked the music video for this. It was well done IMO.
Katy is looking better than ever btw! I am PERCHED for the return and especially for those HIGH GLOSS BRIGHT FUN POP BOPS! I'ma need another run of 5 #1s!! Could you imagine?!
Last Edit: Jun 6, 2024 10:52:47 GMT -5 by Eloqueen™
All this hype seems promising, at least we are close to the fact that album EXISTS. She should drop it out of sudden imo, to maximise the publicity and curiosity streams.
Post by MissAmericana on Jun 6, 2024 14:05:44 GMT -5
While we wait, I would love to know what everybody’s ideal Smile rollout would've been! Mine is fairly straightforward, I think.
"Never Really Over" was the perfect lead single, but I recall being dumbfounded by the lack of promotion. It would’ve been smarter to release the song two weeks ahead of time for a performance on the American Idol finale. That alone would’ve drawn a lot more eyeballs to the song, since Idol is consistently one of the most-watched shows on broadcast TV. She could've done a few more performances, maybe on Good Morning America or TODAY, but I doubt that would have much impact outside of a few hundred more copies sold on iTunes.
"Harleys in Hawaii" was such a missed opportunity, I wonder who thought it was a good idea to release it in October without any support outside of a music video. Releasing the song in late July to early August, once "Never Really Over" is dead at Pop could’ve kept her hotstreak going. Not to mention, that timing would be ideal for a performance at the 2019 VMA’s. At the very least, I feel as though the song might’ve replicated the success of NRO (Top 20 on Hot 100, Top 10 on Pop).
"Only Love" always struck me as a great choice for a winter single (late October, early November), especially if Katy had collaborated with a country act on it. Luke Bryan being on the song would’ve been cute, seeing as the two of them bounce off each other really well on Idol. I don’t think it would’ve done particularly well on Pop, but it could’ve been aimed towards Hot AC and AC, kinda like "Daisies". Longevity-wise, it seems like the type of song that would last well into the spring, especially with a performance at the 2020 Grammy’s.
"Never Worn White" is a necessary song for Katy to release, given that it announces her pregnancy and is about her never-ending engagement to Orlando Bloom. A Valentine’s day release would’ve been adorable, and she could even do a double-release à la "Havana" and "OMG" by Camila Cabello. The main single, and last single from Smile before its release, is a tricky one to nail down but "Cry About It Later" is a good candidate in my eyes.
Other singles released down the line could be "Daisies" (serviced solely to Hot AC and AC formats), "Tucked" (resonated well as an album track, having nearly 100M streams through YouTube and Spotify), and "Not the End of the World" because... well, 2020. The album would release in late February to early March, maybe with a deluxe edition later that year.
Last Edit: Jun 6, 2024 22:34:20 GMT -5 by MissAmericana
"Never Really Over" was absolutely the right choice for the first single and it should've gone top 10 on Billboard Hot 100 at least. Because Smile didn't come out until August 2020, ideally, "Never Really Over" shouldn't have been released until spring into summer 2020. I will echo that the lack of promotion is puzzling. She promoted just fine in the weeks leading up to giving birth so we know she had it in her.
While "Harleys in Hawaii" isn't at the top for me, I do like the song overall and I like how different it is compared to a lot of her other music. Because of that, I think it would have been an ideal second single. Maybe released sometime around the album into fall of 2020.
Now, the title track. I believe Diddy (bleh) was originally supposed to be on the song and you can tell because the bridge sounds like it's missing something. So, if they couldn't have gotten him then they should have found another artist to take his place because it definitely feels empty without someone in that spot. After fixing that, I think it would have been a good third single. I rewatched the music video earlier today and I think it's okay but it wasn't my favorite.
"Cry About It Later" is one of my favorite tracks from the album so I would have loved if it became a single. I don't know if it would have done well, especially with the guitar solo, but I would have been satisfied either way.
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