How Katy Perry's Comeback Had 'All the Love' and Went Wrong

The comeback has been a staple of pop culture, and most stars are deemed one at some point. 2024 was poised to be the year that Katy Perry reclaimed her throne as one of the defining divas in pop music after stepping down as an American Idol judge to concentrate on her music. However, it all went wrong from the start.

Perry's return to music began on July 11 when she released the lead single for her 143 album called "Woman's World." Music listeners were quick to turn away from the track for several reasons, the biggest one being the song's producer, Dr. Luke.

While Perry had previously collaborated with Dr. Luke for some of her biggest hits, including "Teenage Dream," "The One That Got Away," and "Last Friday Night," he has since become the subject of a lengthy legal battle with singer Kesha. She claimed that the producer had drugged her and raped her on two occasions. While both parties have since agreed to a resolution in the case, it has not stopped Dr. Luke's name from having a scar on it.

So, when it came time to release "Woman's World," many people were upset to see a seemingly pro-woman anthem have a man that was in a legal battle over assault on the credits of the song. Many people felt as though it undermined the song's message of independence and female empowerment.

This led to the song's poor performance on the charts. It debuted and peaked at No.63 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It then departed the chart after one week.

The poor performance of "Woman's World" and 143's ties to Dr. Luke made the hype dwindle for the follow-up single, "Lifetimes," which performed even worse. It did not even crack the Hot 100 chart.

This was unusual for the pop star who was used to selling millions of copies of a song and topping the charts for the better part of a decade.

However, "Woman's World" and "Lifetimes" failed for another reason. Many people called out the songs for having lazy songwriting and being underwritten. Some felt the subject matter of female empowerment had a lot to draw from, only to be given a watered-down radio hit.

Still, the album could have failed for other reasons. One of those being nostalgia. Perry's last significant hit was in 2017 with "Chained to the Rhythm." Since then she has failed to produce another major hit. Because of this, people remember her for the hits that she once had and not the ones that she could potentially have.

Two other big reasons for the failure could be ageism and sexism. This pair has been a toxic trend that has happened to female artists once they reach an age over 35. Radio tends to ignore female artist of this age and goes toward younger ones in favor of the youth listeners.

While it remains to be seen as to the exact reason why Perry's comeback has been received so negatively, given that her album currently has a 38 score on Metacritic, it's safe to say this wasn't the return to music she was hoping for.

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Katy Perry