Katy Perry is in a reflective place.
Last year saw ‘Witness’ – an album that was supposed to be a victory lap after years of success – go on to become her worst selling yet. Crucially, it yielded no hit singles either – something that was once her undeniable forté.
As she attempts to pick up the pieces (with a stint on American Idol and an on-going arena tour), Perry is waxing honest about what has been the most challenging year of her career to date.
See what we mean below..
In a frank interview with Parade in promotion of Idol, Perry didn’t shy away from her woes. Peep excerpts:
The Best Advice She Ever Got
If you look at your career as a graph chart, Perry says, don’t get hung up on all the highs and lows. Instead, “it’s about staying on the graph and making sure every move is authentic.” Her friend, alt-rocker Alanis Morissette, advised her to be transparent—so that whenever anyone looked at her career, anywhere on that graph, they’d look through it and see the “real” her.
How Failure Has Fuelled Her
“I’m learning all the time; everything turns into a lesson for me,” says Perry. Last year, when she radically changed her look and took a more futuristic pop approach with her fourth album, Witness, she got mixed reviews. “I’m starting to realize that, after doing this a decade and reaching the highest heights, nobody is going to hit the bull’s-eye every single time,” she says.
While her underperformance is undeniable, it’s refreshing to see her not sugar-coat it – as far too many others do.
It’ll be interesting to see which direction she drives her sound and image in next go round. Can she turn it around?
She basic.
Not loved enough as a child?
You basic too and corny.
And you’re pathetic and desperate for attention.
To me she promised one thing and didn’t deliver it was supposed to be about something this time
And then her second single is “bon appetit beh beh” like NO
so true. after chained to the rhythm, which was actually a nice banger
“Crucially, it yielded no hit singles either.”
Clearly that isn’t true. The first single was #4 on the hot 100.
Witness is much much better then the generic Prism album. However the lesbian hair and the bad promotion and bad single choices all killed the album on the market.
“Witness”, with its issues, was not a complete flop. It’s only considered a flop by pop standards and KP standards. The album was the 25 best selling albums of last year and “Chained To The Rhythm” was a Top 5 hit. The era was a complete mess, i must admit. “Power” and “Tsunami” are the best tracks for me.
PENDULUM, ROULETTE, POWER, TSUNAMI. THOSE SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE SINGLES FOLLOWING THE LEAD SINGLE. SHE NEEDS TO STOP REACHING FOR RADIO DISNEY IN HER 30s. THE IMAGE AND BAD SINGLES TANKED THIS AND IT COULD HAVE BEEN SAVED.
Honestly, it was a good and refreshing album , no big hits but it was still good and cohesive.
Thinking the no dr Luke thing probably affected the hit making side of it but if the arenas tours are selling who needs hits anyways
It was the HAIR that started it all.
It felt ‘off’.It led to negative comparisons with miley Cyrus and culture vulturing in general.
Which brings me to the next point.
In this new social media/iTunes/ala carte age,YOUR IMAGE and BRANDING is almost as important or even more important than the SUBSTANCE itself.
One lousy comment from someone in fenando po can sink a career.Sad but true.Thats the social media age for you.
Image and branding should be well cultured and maintained,like a trophy garden.No weeds,no overgrowth.She failed there.Her team failed her.She should have know better.All publicity is good publicity when you are coming up.Not when you are an established act in 2018.
She has a lot of potential hits but her image this time around just killed interest in the entire project …
It will be very HARD for her to bounce back.
It’s Katy Perry, with 9 number 1 hits and over 100 million records sold WW in just 5 years. Trust me, it will not be hard for her to “bounce back.”
Think so? Nelly Furtado was once of the biggest stars as well. Now she releases albums and no one even knows that she is still releasing stuff
While I like and respect Nelly, she’s not near Katy’s success. And will never be.
?WHO?!!
Did anyone see this post like 2 months ago? wtf like if ur gonna post a new article make it new tf
No hits? TF?!?! “CTTR” reached #4 on BB100; Platinum in most countries including the U.S., and has sold over 3 million WW. Although not my favorite, but “Swish Swish” is Platinum, “Feels” is Platinum, all while “Bon Appetit” is deservingly Gold.
And here’s a fun fact: “Bon Appetit” is the only single of Katy’s yet to be Platinum. I wouldn’t be surprised if it hits that status by midyear.