[imagesource:facebook/katyperry]

Katy Perry’s attempt to reignite her music career with her new single ‘Woman’s World’ has been met with collective disdain by all whose ears have been marred by the pop star’s vapid new musical offering.

The new track marks five years since Perry’s hopeful comeback bop ‘Never Really Over,’ making fans wish the star’s career really was over.

While we are not able to speak to Perry’s character, there is plenty of reason to back up the unanimous cringe felt by the world in response to ‘Women’s World’.

The biggest issue is that the song is, quite simply, bad.

The insipid lyrics, which beg for more interesting production to carry them through, are made that much worse by over-processed modulations and yawn-worthy melody. One almost feels embarrassed for the previously-lauded pop star, as many netizens joke that the song sounds like an AI parody.

It feels like a hard miss, especially considering Perry’s history of enjoyable, nostalgic, melodic pop hits like ‘Last Friday Night’ and ‘Roar’.

On top of the poor songwriting, Perry has come under fire for working with producer Dr. Luke on the latest track, who has been accused publically by pop icon Kesha of sexual assault. While other musicians have gained success through collaborations with Dr. Luke (like Doja Cat’s banger ‘Say So’), the problem is that the pseudo-feminist ditty by Perry is not good enough for fans to let Dr. Luke’s writing credit slide this time. Doja Cat’s artistic talent on ‘Say So’ is at least prevalent enough for fans to ignore Dr. Luke’s involvement, despite how icky he may be as a person.

The decision to work with the producer has led many to rightly question the authenticity of the song’s feminist message, which has been made even more confusing considering Perry’s recent attempt at feminist ‘satire’ via her social media:

YOU CAN DO ANYTHING! EVEN SATIRE! pic.twitter.com/aHFTqcvCVm

— KATY PERRY (@katyperry) July 13, 2024

We’re inclined to agree with the top commenter on the X post – “If you have to explain the joke it’s not a good one”.

And it’s not just fans and followers of Perry who are feeling confused and embarrassed in the wake of the single’s release; the Guardian has smacked ‘Women’s World’ with a generous one-star review, calling the track “regressive”, while pop culture stalwarts at Pitchfork noted that,

“Even if ‘Woman’s World’ didn’t sound like its author had feminism explained to her by the top half of the first page of Google, its message of empowerment would have rung false simply because it was co-written and co-produced by Dr. Luke.”

The video’s use of WWII feminist imagery and 2000s-chic American flag bikinis also muddles its already murky message.

All Perry needed to do was release decent pop music, but she missed the mark entirely. ‘Woman’s World’ confirms the sad truth that Perry is no longer in on the joke; she has become the butt of it. A fizzled firework, as it were.

As the world awaits her upcoming album ‘143’, it’s hard to imagine it gaining any positive traction. Perry has torched her hard-earned career over a song with no vibe, leaving fans questioning if she ever truly gave a d*mn about the art of music-making.

Hopefully, this is a wake-up call for Perry and the future of her career. Someone send her some links on ‘satire’ and ‘feminism’ and let’s see if she can process that complex information before her next cringe single release.

[source:thedailybeast]