The 2010s are over, Katy Perry! A review of ‘A Woman’s World’
Kathrina Bailey / Our Today
Nearly 15 years after ‘Teenage Dream‘ and two underperforming albums since, it’s probably time for American pop star Katy Perry to pull the plug on a floundering career.
I personally have never seen such a fall from grace after listening to ‘A Woman’s World‘ on its release last Thursday (July 11).
Accompanied by a cringe-inducing music video ‘A Woman’s World‘ is the first track from her anticipated ‘143‘ album, which maybe she needs to reconsider if this is what fans should come to expect.
Boasting two great (and recent) stand-alone singles ‘Harleys in Hawaii‘ and ‘365‘, which had mixed critical reviews and limited success on the international charts, Katy seems to still be stuck in the 2010s and I don’t like that for her.
Where is the growth?
Throughout the entirety of the music video, I was confused, concerned then confused again.
The video starts with Katy dressed as American World War II feminist symbol, Rosie the Riveter. While the video was an attempt at slapstick comedy, I think it fell flat as a comeback feminist single, especially with Dr Luke as the producer of the song.
Luke was involved in lawsuits with singer Ke$ha regarding sexual, physical and verbal abuse which was settled in 2023.
As a longtime fan of Katy, to say I’m disappointed with this music video would be an understatement.
The video showed Katy dramatically using a urinal, a closeup of her cleavage, being crushed by an anvil and then being reborn with cyborg legs (eerily similar to Venezuelan producer Arca’s KiCk i album artwork).
The video ends with Katy Perry stealing a ring light in the shape of a female gender symbol and flying away screaming she’s Katy Perry.
Despite the fumbling of the music video, I think the song on its own was ok.
It was reminiscent of her signature bubblegum pop songs that dominated the 2010s. Katy, defending the video says “We’re kind of just having fun, being a bit sarcastic with it.”
She had the right intentions, but the video ultimately came off as dated, cringy and hypocritical.
When done right, satire doesn’t need to be overly explained and examples like ‘Paper Planes’ by M.I.A. or Doja Cat’s ‘Mooo!’ are prime examples.
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