Is it fair to call Katy a “throwback”?

[warhol killah 9,099]

I personally think that if an artist only has their past hits to keep themselves relevant then yes, they are a throwback act.

[FurankiGaga 67]

A throwback thread for kety, fitting 

[onTheBrink 1,134]

2 hours ago, gagzus said:

Genuine question what legacy has she left? 

Erm...she advanced women's rights with the groundbreaking Women's World video? lmao

Edited Wednesday at 10:27 AM by onTheBrink

[Future Lovers 7,527]

I mean I guess you can call her whatever you want but none of these terms really mean anything at the end of the day

[Addison Rae 18,064]

yes **** that ho

[andy232000 13,187]

I think the stats and numbers you just mentioned prove the throwback point. All of that is coming from old music

[JohnPokerface 659]

Yes, just as sky is blue, grass is green and water is wet

[StrawberryBlond 15,536]

Yes, because of the length of time its been since any hit singles or albums as well as public opinion in general. Her most successful streams are for old songs and any viral success for Harleys In Hawaii has only been niche and TikTok based. Her last top ten in the US was in 2017, the last #1 was in 2014. Her last #1 album was in 2013. She can barely even get a single to chart. She didn't even start flopping in 2017, she was doing it by the end of 2014. Prism only had 2 hits from it. Once you've been well over a decade of success, you usually maintain a good level for a long time. And that is also true when you've had over a decade of flops.

She will likely still be able to tour with old hits. Her residency did well as did her recent tour, against all odds. But that was likely because it focused on old hits, tickets were reasonable, she hadn't toured with Smile and was going to regions she hadn't been in a while. Now, the next time she goes to tour, that may be a different story. But toyring will only in a legacy act capacity.

She's been mainly a kid-centred act for years and they don't think she's cool anymore and most of her adult fans have moved on. She isn't a threat to anyone in the charts currently and is essentially her generation's Paula Abdul (whole bunch of #1's then a sudden and inexplicable crash and burn) and Cyndi Lauper (first few albums did well then tapered off but still has love for her old songs and still makes music to this day).

[nkta 606]

On 7/14/2026 at 2:18 PM, Ladle Ghoulash said:

But she’s present *in the context of her old hits*. Being a throwback artist doesn’t mean you’re totally irrelevant, it just means your current output isn’t relevant (imo).

she’s not much present as a pop artist, but she’s very present as a celebrity: her space trip, her affair with Canadian PM - all that keeps her in media all the time.

Even musically she’s doing okay: she did big performance at VMAS recently, she has successful tours, AND - the most important thing - 

GGD talks about her ALL THE DAMN TIME!

so Katy is alive, relevant, and not going anywhere 

[Ladle Ghoulash 51,961]

10 minutes ago, nkta said:

musically she’s doing okay

[nATAH 56,673]

4 hours ago, nkta said:

she’s not much present as a pop artist, but she’s very present as a celebrity: her space trip, her affair with Canadian PM - all that keeps her in media all the time.

Even musically she’s doing okay: she did big performance at VMAS recently, she has successful tours, AND - the most important thing - 

GGD talks about her ALL THE DAMN TIME!

so Katy is alive, relevant, and not going anywhere 

she was only at the vmas for the vanguard, an award you basically buy as promo

she's barely in the media at all, actually 

[princedeeblebleble 3,543]

Id personally go with has-been 

[ALGAYDO 35,010]

5 hours ago, nATAH said:

she was only at the vmas for the vanguard, an award you basically buy as promo

she's barely in the media at all, actually 

I 100% agree with you, but like, Gaga at the VMAs 2021……. 

[ALGAYDO 35,010]

She’s a cute girl with a handful of hits but, at the end of the day, literally nobody besides her die-heart fans give a single F about her. All of her mainstream success is due to her past hits. Not a single recent hit. She’s a hasbeen and we know it. 

Edited 7 hours ago by ALGAYDO

[nATAH 56,673]

39 minutes ago, ALGAYDO said:

I 100% agree with you, but like, Gaga at the VMAs 2021……. 

well yeah, it's a paid promo slot

but gaga was relevant enough to have her own special one