Movies

In a year of great pop music, Katy Perry’s latest is pop trash

BBG News

In a year of great pop music, Katy Perry's latest is pop trash

As someone who grew up listening to Katy Perry and her infectious pop tunes that made me feel like a firework, I must admit my disappointment with “143.” The album feels like a far cry from the vibrant, fun-loving spirit of “Teenage Dream” or “California Gurls.

When in doubt, call in the kid.

At the conclusion of her latest album, “143,” Katy Perry employs an unlucky tactic, ending with a less than impressive track titled “Wonder.” This closing song features a guest appearance by Perry’s own 4-year-old daughter, Daisy.

In “Wonder,” similar to her 15-year-old song “Firework,” Katy Perry encourages Daisy to maintain her innocence amidst a jaded world. This means keeping the spark in her soul alive, avoiding the burden of reality weighing down her dreams, and not letting others bring her down by labeling her as insignificant or ordinary. In essence, she’s urging Daisy to keep her inner fire burning brightly. By showcasing Daisy’s raw vocal talent, Katy Perry symbolizes the personal struggles associated with this task while underscoring that, as a music producer, she too is embodying her own message.

She’s also, of course, daring us to scoff.

However, I can’t help but express my viewpoint: On an album dripping with nervous tension, it seems less like Daisy is reaping the benefits of Perry’s maternal inspiration and more like she’s enduring the consequences of her creative urgency.

In a year of great pop music, Katy Perry's latest is pop trash ×

As “143” approached, it’s easy to see why Perry felt lost, considering she had just concluded her seven-season stint as a judge on “American Idol” a few months prior. At the age of 39, Perry has two albums, “Smile” in 2020 and “Witness” in 2017, that didn’t achieve much success. This is a challenging time for female pop stars, as the music industry often favors newcomers and youth. Even before the rise of new talents like Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan this summer, Perry was grappling with the perception of becoming outdated, and artists like Ariana Grande, only 31 years old, might have added to her apprehensions.

Perry’s strong desire to return to the music scene is evident in her decision to work again with Dr. Luke, the songwriter and producer who helped create many of her biggest hits, such as four out of the five No. 1 singles from “Teenage Dream” (a 10-times platinum album). This move comes despite Kesha’s accusation against him regarding a rape allegation in 2014. Last year, it was announced that Kesha and Dr. Luke had reached a settlement in their ongoing legal dispute, with the producer asserting that he is completely certain that no such incident occurred on the night she claims he drugged and assaulted her.

Was Perry expecting the significant backlash that followed her and Luke’s reunion, given she was involved in nearly all the tracks on “143” album? Regardless, her assumption that audiences would ultimately forgive her choice if she delivered hit songs seemed justified. After all, look at the minimal controversy surrounding Doja Cat’s collaboration with Luke on her hit “Say So”, and Latto’s work with him on the Grammy-nominated “Big Energy”.

The issue for Perry is that these songs lack charm, even the unconventional dance-pop album “143” falls short with monotonous tunes, functional beats, and vocal performances that seem somewhat artificial, reminiscent of AI output. In contrast to past hits like “California Gurls” and the title track from “Teenage Dream,” Perry’s writing and singing lack the genuine emotional depth or witty humor that characterized those classics. This may explain why 21 Savage felt compelled to appear in “Gimme Gimme” and deliver lines such as “I heard you gotta jump just to put on your jeans” (fair enough) with “I’m like Amazon ’cause I got what you need” (really?).

In simpler terms, I’ll avoid using many poetic references, but I’d like to highlight that the song “Artificial” by Perry seems to be making a statement about technology, and the strongest metaphor she uses is likening herself to a captive within the confines you’ve created.

A prisoner — in your prison.

143’s lack of sauce is even more melancholic considering that pop music, having spent years immersed in somber whispers, has returned to the cleverness and grandeur reminiscent of Perry’s heyday. The popularity of catchy tunes like Carpenter’s “Espresso” and Roan’s “Hot to Go!” demonstrates a clear demand for what Perry once provided, with an added condition that it includes the charming quirks – such as Carpenter’s whimsical neologisms in “Espresso” – that Perry, ironically, appears to have shied away from in her quest to appease her audience.

The shortcoming of ‘143’ isn’t due to unfortunate circumstances; instead, it’s rooted in lack of creativity.

Read More

2024-09-21 01:31

Previous post Netflix’s animated Devil May Cry series gets first teaser and release window