‘It’s starting to feel sad’: The new Katy Perry single buries her comeback deeper in the ground

If you had no clue who Katy Perry was and you had a look at what she was up to for her upcoming album, you’d be forgiven for being shocked that this is someone who was once the biggest pop star on the planet. This is a star who had a sophomore album with FIVE number one singles. A pop girl with her foot always on the neck of pop culture. And yet, after her last two albums Witness and Smile failed to really resonate with critics or audiences beyond a few lucky semi successful singles, Katy Perry’s pop crown slipped. All eyes were on her for her comeback – which she has promoted heavily. It all feels very make or break. And now, as we are settling into the second disaster in as many months, there is nobody who could really say the Katy Perry comeback era is airing firmly on the “break” side of the spectrum. Her latest single Lifetimes is as catastrophically shit as lead Woman’s World – here’s how Katy Perry continues to bury her comeback era six feet deep.

‘She had one chance’

Everyone’s said all they need to say about the disaster that was lead single Woman’s World. Controversially produced by Dr Luke and notably annihilated for it online. But Luke’s involvement aside, the single was hit with “was this written by AI” allegations after the dismal lyrics aired on the most tiresome 2012 era girl boss vibe imaginable. The whole thing felt flat, patronising and worst of all – annoying. It utterly flopped off the charts in its second week.

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With Woman’s World failing on literally all fronts, all eyes were on Katy Perry to resurrect her 143 album era – and she has attempted to do so with second single Lifetimes. I’ll be frank: This song is deeply stupid. Whilst it’s nowhere near as bad as Woman’s World, Lifetimes sees Katy Perry abandon the cringe of that to something somehow more vacuous. Lifetimes is like eating a McDonald’s – sort of serviceable in the moment, but then after you finish with it you just feel hollow.

“If you want to rave, you must presave,” Katy Perry posted this week. I’m not sure if she’s ever been to a rave, but one stream of Lifetimes would suggest she has not. To call it rave music makes the output of Becky Hill sound like Fatboy Slim. It has a piano house feel to it in the way that you might hear as some Love Island future influencers pull each other for chats in the villa. It’s just utterly soulless.

katy writing Lifetimes: https://t.co/rPlp2cjN3d pic.twitter.com/kjH8zU7C27

— Pop Drug (@zPopDrug) August 8, 2024

‘It’s getting kinda sad’

But where Woman’s World had controversy and cringe to its name, Lifetimes sees Katy Perry barely even be worth discourse. As smaller artists infinitely less famous than her change their careers and make their best ever music, with the likes of Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan and Charli XCX not only getting a lot of commercial success but having huge pop cultural impact too – it is a sorry sight to see Katy Perry flop so hard. But sadly it feels like she only has herself to blame.

https://twitter.com/DJLouieXIV/status/1821718990860829112

I don’t know if you’ve ever seen the video of Drag Race legend Delta Work doing her little “pick me, choose me” bit in Untucked. But watching Katy Perry look like she’s on her hands and knees begging for a hit – even working with the long cancelled producers who helped play her part in the early 2010s domination – is akin to it. It’s over before it even begins.

And it is sad to see. It wasn’t too long ago Katy Perry was releasing the likes of Never Really Over and Harleys in Hawai. Songs that did not light up the chart but definitely were solid pop entries into her catalogue and sounded like her at her best. What is happening for Katy Perry with Lifetimes and the entirety of this album’s fiasco is nothing short of a car crash. The era is dead and buried. It’s time to give up the ghost.

For more like this rundown of the Katy Perry new single drama and all the latest music and entertainment news and gossip, like Pop Culture Shrine on Facebook.

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