The song that started Katy’s decay

[BHM 145]

Can anyone explain why this flop song continue to gain lots of youtube views?

[BHM 145]

8 hours ago, dzox said:

okay but imagine if next year she's back with her long black hair, and an R&B-Pop song (something like ariana grande would sing). i honestly think her black hair would make headlines

Just like her pregnancy, fleeting like a drop of water in a dessert.

[Chromatico 54]

16 hours ago, calmwaters3 said:

For everyone saying Birthday or This Is How We Do, that's not the case. Both songs did well, with Birthday reaching the top 20 and TIHWD reaching the top 30, and both spending decently long on the charts for fourth and fifth singles. I saw someone say Dark Horse was a fluke, and no, it wasn't. Teenage Dream was. No one is going to earn 8 top 3 hits from one album now. Unconditionally was her first underperformer, reaching only no. 14 despite being a pre-release single and getting a big budget MV with high profile performances. Birthday didn't get either of that and still did similarly. And personally I think Birthday was the best single choice on Prism. It fit her brand very well. Instead of Unconditionally she should've gone for the genuinely excellent Double Rainbow. It's much more radio friendly imo and even Billboard ranked it as one of the most deserving non-singles of the decade which ought to be made singles. I think Rise was an underperformer, but it was an awful song with no major performances and still nearly reached the top ten. What killed her career was the decision to take a long break (4 years) between two albums. 2015 was the year imo when streaming overtook digital sales to be the most popular method of single consumption, and any artist who wasn't releasing music to transition into the new era was gonna be on shaky ground with their next albums. Plus, with singles artists like Katy driven more by the general public buying their music rather than huge fanbases are more likely to go obsolete andd need to keep pumping new music to keep themselves in the public eye. Think of Maroon 5 or Post Malone. Katy didn't do that, and considering how quickly the gp loses interest in artists (especially aging female ones), it came to bite her soon. Secondly, going political or at least 'woke' is never a good choice, unless you're aggressive about it. Think of Madonna with American Life. An artist like Katy best known for shallow pop hits (don't come for me, I love her) was obviously going to generate less interest and even controversy that way because people don't think that artist can do that, and frankly she couldn't. The album's promo was misleading. Had it been marketed as a normal pop album, it would've done much better. Thirdly, the aesthetic change also hurt Katy. Katy's long black hair with bangs had become her signature look, and forgoing it meant she was alienating a lot of people. That's like Ariana Grande losing her ponytail in favour of a bob. It's just gonna repulse people. She could've gone blonde and still not hurt her image because she looked good with it. It just shouldn't have been that awful pixie cut. It made her look so much older and the music industry being the ageist and sexist one it is didn't like that. Fourthly, she shouldn't have sent CTTR as the lead to radios. Imo Act My Age was a much better lead. It's really damn catchy and upbeat, and in 2017 escapism was a huge thing. The US viewed Trump's presidency as a sort of death sentence, and an upbeat pop song reminiscent of better times would've resonated much more with the audience. That's a big reason why Shape Of You, Bodak Yellow, Despacito, Havana and That's What I Like were so huge in 2017. They made people forget what was going in the world. Act My Age would've done that, and people would've found it a natural progression from the previous two eras. Fifthly, she should've dropped that feud with Taylor. When Taylor was going at it she was at the peak of her popularity. Katy was at an accelerating point in her decline. In fact, a lot of people hated on Taylor for releasing Bad Blood. Katy doing it brought so much negative publicity towards her. It was an awful idea to release Swish Swish as a single. Tsunami should've been released or even Roulette. That's imo why Katy's career entered rapid decay.

this

[HIM820 1,840]

Long time lurker here (mostly for Gaga gossip and rumors) but I have to say these constant bash Katy Perry threads are draining. I know there has been drama in the past but I've always loved how Katy, Gaga, Rihanna, and Beyoncé were all my main pop girls growing up. I used to love them all separately and have realized how toxic stan culture has made being their fans incredibly draining. I am so thankful social media wasn't around when I was in middle school wearing my Monster Ball t-shirt. It is really hard sometimes to support everyone and feels like you have to constantly be on the defensive. I also believe it's an uphill battle being a successful woman in music so I try to support as many female artists as possible. Literally, I probably only buy physical editions (cds, vinyl) of female artists. 

 

That being said, Katy's career is in a peculiar place right now and I have a feeling we the public don't know all the information. I have many friends at record labels and took artist management classes in college and the #1 thing I learned that can throw off an album cycle above anything else is the choice of singles. No matter what there will usually be something for everyone on a pop record. It is how they are made, so that they have the broadest appeal. That's why there are skips for some, and those are favs for others. But singles should have the largest amount of public support behind them. The choice to have Bon Appétit as the second single to Witness was odd, one that I think came directly from her label because of the Migos feature. It would have been fine as the final single or the second to last (like Birthday) but to choose this over Roulette or Witness did not seem right. Katy usually didn't put her most sexually suggestive songs as lead singles. It polarizes a good percentage of an audience. Gaga's team has made similar mistakes before as well with singles. But this is a team effort. While I do believe Gaga and Katy have creative control over a majority of their careers, there are certain choices that fall onto management and the label, whether they are correct or not. In many ways it is a big gamble. (Also I am a Bon Appétit apologist- it hits differently when you're working out or dancing at the club)

 

That's why I am kind of sick of seeing people say Katy's career is over. That is ridiculous. She is way more successful off of one album than many current popstars will never get to see. After Michael Jackson's Bad he had trouble living up to it with his next three albums, and unfortunately we weren't able to see how his career would have gone into an older age like Madonna and Cher. I think Katy's best bet going forward is to get new management. The people around her have been with her since Teenage Dream and the formulas they are using just don't work the same anymore. This is completely normal. Madonna does not have the same managers, and neither does Gaga. I also think that she might need to seek out a new label. I could see her moving from Capitol to Republic within the next two years. From what I've seen on twitter, Smile might have been a contractual obligation for the label and is why she released it. Her instagram post noting the cover was shot with no intention of it being an album cover is a big clue. 

[latikofficial 829]

i expected this to be “ur so gay” 

[j0sh 15]

when did she ever decay? also u all seem to worship lady gaga and yet are ignoring lady gaga's main platform about being kind and loving towards each other smh.  but like katy's always put out good pop music.  some of her work is great, other works by her are just average.  but like, i've never not liked a song that katy has put out, and her work has always had success on the radio so idk what decay yall be talkin about

[BillieGOAT 5,216]

Yoooo this thread has all the lurkers coming around locked and LOADED

[RRR 3,996]

I think it's because Katy became political, except she was sort of ditzy and had a "stupid blonde" persona in regards to politics, at a time when everyone was taking it pretty seriously

[Economy 49,708]

21 hours ago, Lighter said:

It wasn’t her decay tho #17 is understandable for a fourth single.

Bon Appetit is something she neve recovered from. She furthered the damage with Swish Swish

I also think of Bon Appetit as where the chronic flopping started

 

Birthday underperformed but so did unconditionally for example it doesn't mean anything. She was still relevant at the time

 

But once Bon Appetit flopped, everything flopped after that. The closest thing she came to a big hit since then was "Feels" and it wasn't even her song she was just a feature

 

Edit: regardless of flopping I just gotta say 365 is one of my fav songs and music videos of the last several years of any artist. I still bop to it now!

[Im Human 133]

hey hey hey and immortal flame

Ot:  cttr start the disco trend... this good song deserve success and acclaim

[Inferno 2,880]

Ive seen enough people outside of here referencing this track especially negatively. so even though I don't agree, I can't entirely disagree either. peoples perception of this song on the whole is usually very negative and the lead single from Witness did relatively decent. so i have to admit it seems like this being the second single must have put a damper on things.

[Inferno 2,880]

On 9/4/2020 at 3:42 PM, HIM820 said:

Long time lurker here (mostly for Gaga gossip and rumors) but I have to say these constant bash Katy Perry threads are draining. I know there has been drama in the past but I've always loved how Katy, Gaga, Rihanna, and Beyoncé were all my main pop girls growing up. I used to love them all separately and have realized how toxic stan culture has made being their fans incredibly draining. I am so thankful social media wasn't around when I was in middle school wearing my Monster Ball t-shirt. It is really hard sometimes to support everyone and feels like you have to constantly be on the defensive. I also believe it's an uphill battle being a successful woman in music so I try to support as many female artists as possible. Literally, I probably only buy physical editions (cds, vinyl) of female artists.

social media existed when you were in middle school wearing your monster ball shirt, you just were not engaging on these platforms, its not for everyone and the toxicity is palpable ill give you that. but ggd is by and large not the most toxic platform in that respect.