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

[Dylan :)]

Ignore the content of the tweet, the video itself is so true

[Ty]

Solid performance. I don't like it as much as the VMA. The segment with Tina Arena stood out as really awkward and forced. However, "Lifetimes" once again sounds amazing amongst her greatest hit, like another multi-week global #1 smash from 2010.

[Carlitoz]

What are the expectations for the album’s second week? To plummet or to stay somewhere in the upper part of the charts?
All the curiosity streams I guess already happened. Will the fans of the album be enough to keep it high in the charts?
I still haven’t listened to the album and still don’t feel the urge to, but sooner or later I will I’m sure.

[Carlitoz]

Sept 28, 2024 6:37:37 GMT -5 Ryan said:

Like her or not, I think nobody can deny the woman is working her ass off promoting this album. I lost count of all the interviews and big-event live shows plus videos, etc.

Now this live show in Australia… the sports fans in the lower seats you can tell they were having A BLAST…. not. 🤣

[Coco Yu'Kneek- Saint]

That was a cute performance I'm most impressed at her balance on that floating device. Had me nervous she was gonna topple over and people falling is funny 🤣

[Maximillian]

I’ve held off on sharing my thoughts about this album, but it’s honestly been the biggest disappointment for me this year. Despite the mess of “Woman’s World” and the controversy with Dr. Luke, I kept my hopes high, thinking, “It’s Katy Perry! There must be some bops on here.”

Here are my quick thoughts:

1) Katy feels disconnected from her own music. It’s like she’s barely present. The heavy use of auto-tune strips away any personality or soul, making this album indistinguishable from something a generic pop star could release. This is a far cry from anything she’s done before— even Witness had personality and that unique quirky Katy brand attached to it.

2) The featured artists outshine Katy. That’s a big problem. “I’m His, He’s Mine” should have been a Doechii song with Katy as the feature. Kim Petras overshadows Katy on “Gorgeous,” and even 21 Savage’s half-hearted verse on “Gimme Gimme” is more memorable than the rest of the song.

3) The production and lyrics feel basic. It’s the kind of work you’d expect from an emerging pop star, not someone with Katy’s immense resources. People have compared the sound to AI, and I agree—it’s cold, dated, and forgettable. I’ve listened to the album five times, and I still can’t remember most of the tracks or distinguish them from each other.

Overall, you have to wonder: where did this go wrong?

It seems like Katy, despite being incredibly talented and successful, might be her own worst enemy when it comes to making creative decisions. I doubt her label challenges her, and she likely has full creative control. But not every artist makes the best decisions, and just because she has some of the biggest hits in the world, doesn't mean she is a savvy business person. She either needs to relinquish some of that creative power to better decision-makers or stop chasing Top 100 hits altogether. She also might need to shake up her inner circle and find some people that aren't "yes men" types, and maybe get out in the real world a little bit more. This albums theme is female empowerment, yet it wreaks of her not knowing who she is anymore outside of being a pop star and mother.

[popwizard]

Sept 28, 2024 12:42:34 GMT -5 Maximillian said:

I’ve held off on sharing my thoughts about this album, but it’s honestly been the biggest disappointment for me this year. Despite the mess of “Woman’s World” and the controversy with Dr. Luke, I kept my hopes high, thinking, “It’s Katy Perry! There must be some bops on here.”

Here are my quick thoughts:

1) Katy feels disconnected from her own music. It’s like she’s barely present. The heavy use of auto-tune strips away any personality or soul, making this album indistinguishable from something a generic pop star could release. This is a far cry from anything she’s done before— even Witness had personality and that unique quirky Katy brand attached to it.

2) The featured artists outshine Katy. That’s a big problem. “I’m His, He’s Mine” should have been a Doechii song with Katy as the feature. Kim Petras overshadows Katy on “Gorgeous,” and even 21 Savage’s half-hearted verse on “Gimme Gimme” is more memorable than the rest of the song.

3) The production and lyrics feel basic. It’s the kind of work you’d expect from an emerging pop star, not someone with Katy’s immense resources. People have compared the sound to AI, and I agree—it’s cold, dated, and forgettable. I’ve listened to the album five times, and I still can’t remember most of the tracks or distinguish them from each other.

Overall, you have to wonder: where did this go wrong?

It seems like Katy, despite being incredibly talented and successful, might be her own worst enemy when it comes to making creative decisions. I doubt her label challenges her, and she likely has full creative control. But not every artist makes the best decisions, and just because she has some of the biggest hits in the world, doesn't mean she is a savvy business person. She either needs to relinquish some of that creative power to better decision-makers or stop chasing Top 100 hits altogether. She also might need to shake up her inner circle and find some people that aren't "yes men" types, and maybe get out in the real world a little bit more. This albums theme is female empowerment, yet it wreaks of her not knowing who she is anymore outside of being a pop star and mother.

Well said, especially regarding the features—Doechii makes I'm His, He's Mine. The production even sounds better during her verses, and she brings the song to life in the video. The same goes for Gorgeous, and to a lesser extent, Gimme Gimme.

This is unlike her previous hit features, where the feature was just the feature and not the main act. She can’t seem to hold her own in her own songs anymore. It’s giving Camila Cabello, who also gets lost in her own songs on C,XOXO, but at least that project was more ambitious.

[👑 Eloquent ™]

Sept 28, 2024 10:33:08 GMT -5 Dylan :) said:

Ignore the content of the tweet, the video itself is so true

It's baffling to me how so many people supposedly well-versed in the music industry miss the clear as day nuance in this whole Luke situation in terms of audience when comparing Katy to other artists working with him and public reactions there.

Public reaction to perceived "scandal" always relates to the audience in question and no one ever touches on this while being "shocked" the response with Katy was so harsh. There is a reason Ashlee Simpson's career was ruined for lip-synching, yet Morgan Wallen is bigger than ever after publicly being caught using racial epithets/slurs. There's a reason Chris Brown still has success outside of pop radio after attacking Rihanna but the pop side of his career never recovered. There's a reason Nicki Minaj can marry a rapist and can help bully a rape victim and still have a successful career. There is a reason the Dixie Chicks' career was ruined after their comments on then President Bush. Audiences of different genres forgive, overlook, and accept different things and pop audiences, especially "woke" pop audiences are notoriously much less forgiving of mistakes and scandals in general. The bar is different. All the artists he mentioned alongside Katy, a predominantly pop artist, are artists who are Rhythmic, Urban, and even Country artists with all differing audiences than hers. Katy was held to the fire much worse than Doja or Nicki Minaj, or Latto, or Morgan Wallen because of her primary audience. Pure and simple. It also didn't help that she wasn't under contract so she didn't get the same pass from some people that Doja got (not to mention Doja spoke out against the situation). Now, does that make the whole situation "fair"? Of course not. But it is certainly a reality. It also hurt Katy that prior to the scandal she already wasn't in the best place with the public since the whole Witness debacle. I mean this has all been discussed to hell and back and I still don't see how people are so blind to why it played out as it did. "The perfect storm" (a unique, almost destined series of events aligning to some ultimate outcome) is related to success just as much as it's related to a downfall and why many keep overlooking the super relevant nuances in this whole situation is beyond me.

[Coco Yu'Kneek- Saint]

This song and Dark Horse are my BOPS. And honorable mention to Swish Swish.

[daddy]

Crush reminds me of a worse version of this song. 

 

[Ｓｏｕｎｄｃｌ🕤ｃｋ]

[Ｓｏｕｎｄｃｌ🕤ｃｋ]

her most streamed songs (09/27)

1.Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.) 1,102,643
2.Dark Horse 880,058
3.Hot N Cold 850,468
4.The One That Got Away 825,425

it's funny how she keeps ignoring TGIF and Hot N Cold (TOTGA is a slower song, so I understand) at big events (VMAs, SB, AFL), and these two are one of her most streamed songs.

[Dylan :)]

That bottom three... I felt this before anyway with their rankings, but Billboard staff really have no taste. They are the best three songs on the album

Katy Perry’s ‘143’: All 11 Songs Ranked
11. All The Love
10. Trurth
9. Nirvana
8. Woman's World
7. Crush
6. Gorgeous
5. Artifical
4. Lifetimes
3. Wonder
2. Gimme Gimme
1. I'm His, He's Mine

[👑 Eloquent ™]

Sept 29, 2024 9:28:29 GMT -5 Ｓｏｕｎｄｃｌ🕤ｃｋ said:

her most streamed songs (09/27)

1.Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.) 1,102,643
2.Dark Horse 880,058
3.Hot N Cold 850,468
4.The One That Got Away 825,425

it's funny how she keeps ignoring TGIF and Hot N Cold (TOTGA is a slower song, so I understand) at big events (VMAs, SB, AFL), and these two are one of her most streamed songs.

Yeah it still surprises me how "LFN(TGIF)" is the most-streamed Teenage Dream track. People love that one (but so do I do I get it)! I just knew it would be "Teenage Dream" or "Firework", but nope!

[Choco]

Hot N Cold back in the day also had better legs and sold more than IKAG and she pays it dust. I know IKAG is memorable but HnC is a crowd pleaser on it's own right (and the better song).

[Dylan :)]

[shakemaki]

Sept 29, 2024 12:27:52 GMT -5 Choco said:

Hot N Cold back in the day also had better legs and sold more than IKAG and she pays it dust. I know IKAG is memorable but HnC is a crowd pleaser on its own right (and the better song).

I think people forget how instrumental HnC’s success was for her success. IKAG very much felt like the epitome of one of those novelty one hit wonder hits, and I remember plenty of people suspecting that’s what would happen at the time. HnC is what actually proved she could be a big new pop star who wasn’t going anywhere, not IKAG.

And awesome to see TOTGA holding so well on streaming. After revisiting TD recently, I think it has aged the best of the whole album by a pretty wide margin. Sounds like a timeless hit.

[Ｓｏｕｎｄｃｌ🕤ｃｋ]

[Ｓｏｕｎｄｃｌ🕤ｃｋ]

[Dylan :)]

Wow! So close to the top 5. Great numbers all things considered. I really expected it to be around #20 the days before it dropped

One Of The Boys - #9
Teenage Dream - #1
Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection - #7
Prism - #1
Witness - #1
Smile - #5
143 - #6

[james518]

I mean that’s pretty comparable to Smile, so the numbers definitely aren’t all bad

[Maximillian]

Sept 29, 2024 13:23:55 GMT -5 Dylan :) said:

I’d buy this if the album was actually good. I find it interesting they compare it to Padam Padam, yet PP is an incredible dance bop that won a Grammy.

Meanwhile…

Beyonce is 43
Pink is 45
Kelly Clarkson is 42
Shakira is 47
Kylie is 55
Mariah is 54
Gaga is almost 40 as well

I can go on and on.

If the music is good, people will show up. They all have incredible fandoms and do amazing tours, with Gaga, Beyonce and Shakira still charting frequently, and Mariah who dominates Christmas annually.

While it’s true the industry is disposable of woman over a certain age, and there can be some underlying issues there, Katy could have had the successful era she wanted if the **music was good**

[Love Plastic Love]

Sept 29, 2024 13:26:19 GMT -5 shakemaki said:

Sept 29, 2024 12:27:52 GMT -5 Choco said:

Hot N Cold back in the day also had better legs and sold more than IKAG and she pays it dust. I know IKAG is memorable but HnC is a crowd pleaser on its own right (and the better song).

I think people forget how instrumental HnC’s success was for her success. IKAG very much felt like the epitome of one of those novelty one hit wonder hits, and I remember plenty of people suspecting that’s what would happen at the time. HnC is what actually proved she could be a big new pop star who wasn’t going anywhere, not IKAG.

I'd throw Waking Up in Vegas in there as well. IKAG felt very, very one hit wonder-ish. HnC and WUIV really sealed that she was not a one hit wonder. It also set the tone for Teenage Dream in a lot of ways.


I have a vague memory of the WUIV times where there was another song that most people thought was better, but WUIV overshadowed it and shot to #1 and I was like, yeah its peppy and fun and refreshing sounding. I cannot for the LIFE of me remember what that other song was or if it was an actual competition between the two, or just fans being weird lmao. I may try to look up what else was charting when WUIV went #1.

[wwr]

Sept 29, 2024 14:52:47 GMT -5 Love Plastic Love said:

Sept 29, 2024 13:26:19 GMT -5 shakemaki said:

I think people forget how instrumental HnC’s success was for her success. IKAG very much felt like the epitome of one of those novelty one hit wonder hits, and I remember plenty of people suspecting that’s what would happen at the time. HnC is what actually proved she could be a big new pop star who wasn’t going anywhere, not IKAG.

I'd throw Waking Up in Vegas in there as well. IKAG felt very, very one hit wonder-ish. HnC and WUIV really sealed that she was not a one hit wonder. It also set the tone for Teenage Dream in a lot of ways.


I have a vague memory of the WUIV times where there was another song that most people thought was better, but WUIV overshadowed it and shot to #1 and I was like, yeah its peppy and fun and refreshing sounding. I cannot for the LIFE of me remember what that other song was or if it was an actual competition between the two, or just fans being weird lmao. I may try to look up what else was charting when WUIV went #1.

Could it be Gaga’s LoveGame?
They were released around the same time as singles I think
(And Joseph Kahn directed both videos)

[George]

This was cute:

[haven]

I watched through spectrum pulse's video, and I do want to say that i think a couple in this thread are misinterperting what he said (but to be fair, the point isnt super clear from the clip posted here). That video is almost entirely about CRITICS, and how critics bring up dr lukes involvement only when its convenient for their point. Otherwise, his impact is largely ignored, which is obviously bad! More artists need to be called out for working with him, not just the ones you already don't like.

He is not talking about fan reactions. He does briefly mention rateyourmusic (whic is a fan-driven site), but its not his main point.

[Love Plastic Love]

Sept 29, 2024 15:03:13 GMT -5 wwr said:

Sept 29, 2024 14:52:47 GMT -5 Love Plastic Love said:

I'd throw Waking Up in Vegas in there as well. IKAG felt very, very one hit wonder-ish. HnC and WUIV really sealed that she was not a one hit wonder. It also set the tone for Teenage Dream in a lot of ways.


I have a vague memory of the WUIV times where there was another song that most people thought was better, but WUIV overshadowed it and shot to #1 and I was like, yeah its peppy and fun and refreshing sounding. I cannot for the LIFE of me remember what that other song was or if it was an actual competition between the two, or just fans being weird lmao. I may try to look up what else was charting when WUIV went #1.

Could it be Gaga’s LoveGame?
They were released around the same time as singles I think
(And Joseph Kahn directed both videos)

I don't think so-for some reason, I remember it being a slower or mid-tempo song that ended up "underperforming" (or like, not going to #1). Like, I have a very specific dynamic in mind for the discussion lmaoooo. I may be misremembering-I'm going now to look up what was charting at the time.

EDIT: I am absolutely thinking of Battlefield by Jordin Sparks. They both performed at the American Idol finale in 2009 and I remember people really going hard for Battlefield at the time and being confused why Katy got more of a boost with her "fourth single" when WUIV was just so buoyant and fun it made sense to me why people gravitated toward it. In hindsight, I am not sure why we were even putting them next to each other LMAO.

[Az Paynter]

Were you thinking of Keri Hilson ("Knock You Down") or Pink ("Please Don't Leave Me")? It definitely wasn't Gaga because Katy is who replaced her on top. Keri fits the slower/mid-tempo description you gave, but Pink, while not actually being downtempo, is comparable to the sound Katy was giving at the time because they were in that same Max/Luke pop-rock lane. Keri peaked at #5 and Pink at #6 which I think was a bit of an underperformance after a #1 and a top 5 follow-up.

EDIT: And you beat me to it, and I was way off lmao.

[Love Plastic Love]

Sept 29, 2024 15:55:25 GMT -5 Az Paynter said:

Were you thinking of Keri Hilson ("Knock You Down") or Pink ("Please Don't Leave Me")? It definitely wasn't Gaga because Katy is who replaced her on top. Keri fits the slower/mid-tempo description you gave, but Pink, while not actually being downtempo, is comparable to the sound Katy was giving at the time because they were in that same Max/Luke pop-rock lane. Keri peaked at #5 and Pink at #6 which I think was a bit of an underperformance after a #1 and a top 5 follow-up.

EDIT: And you beat me to it, and I was way off lmao.

I feel like both of your options make more sense to compare than what I was actually thinking of LOL. Though, I guess the main connection I was missing was that they were both performed at the same major event. I forgot that performing at the Idol finale used to be like...on par with the biggest performance slot you can have in the industry. Nostalgia!

[Rose "Payola" Nylund]

Sept 29, 2024 14:35:23 GMT -5 Maximillian said:

Meanwhile…

Beyonce is 43
Pink is 45
Kelly Clarkson is 42
Shakira is 47
Kylie is 55
Mariah is 54
Gaga is almost 40 as well

I can go on and on.

If the music is good, people will show up. They all have incredible fandoms and do amazing tours, with Gaga, Beyonce and Shakira still charting frequently, and Mariah who dominates Christmas annually.

While it’s true the industry is disposable of woman over a certain age, and there can be some underlying issues there, Katy could have had the successful era she wanted if the **music was good**

I think another thing people seem to forget is that pop music is generally consumed by people of a certain age, and for the most part, they're going to listen to newer pop stars for an assortment of reasons that I personally don't believe to be ageist. When we think of recent examples of successes, like Kylie's "Padam Padam," do we think it was teens and 20-somethings who made that a hit? Similarly with some of Pink's recent hits, even Beyonce's, Kelly Clarkson, etc. Who is propping them up? I doubt it's the same people that are making Chappell and Sabrina the big names they are now.