I sometimes wonder if Taylor Swift and Katy Perry’s beef destroyed them both. And I’m saying that as someone who found Katy Perry to be absolutely blameless in that beef. Four years ago, Taylor made her beef with Katy the showcase issue of her 1989 album, and Taylor spent more than a year “proving” how she had more friends than Katy and all of that. I expected Katy to react with good music and perhaps some beef of her own. She did not. She released Witness in Spring 2017 to absolutely mediocre reviews. None of the singles on Witness charted at #1, and Witness sold paltry numbers compared to Katy’s mega-hit album Prism. Well, Katy covers the latest issue of Vogue Australia, and she talks about how Witness’s failure left her shaken and depressed.
The bad reviews for Witness: “I have had bouts of situational depression and my heart was broken last year because, unknowingly, I put so much validity in the reaction of the public, and the public didn’t react in the way I had expected to … which broke my heart.”
She didn’t want to sulk in self-pity: “Music is my first love and I think it was the universe saying: ‘Okay, you speak all of this language about self-love and authenticity, but we are going to put you through another test and take away any kind of validating ‘blankie.’ Then we’ll see how much you do truly love yourself.’ That brokenness, plus me opening up to a greater, higher power and reconnecting with divinity, gave me a wholeness I never had. It gave me a new foundation. It’s not just a material foundation: it’s a soul foundation.”
I don’t hate Katy’s rebrand to “pop star with a social conscience and mental health advocate,” but I do feel like Katy’s still in flux. She’s still a work in progress as an artist and as a person. What Witness showed was that – much like Taylor’s Reputation – Katy was trying too many different messages all at once. Katy needs to stick with the pop music formula that got her to the top of the charts and made her one of the most popular pop artists around. Eh.
Photos courtesy of WENN, cover courtesy of Vogue Australia.
She looks like Miley in the pink dress photo.
Yes!
But more to the point… I think her big issue is a brand issue. She rebranded for sure, but I can’t figure out what she rebranded to. Her last image was very straightforward.
Yep, I think it’s either very uninspiring and generic or otherwise too amorphous to really pin down. That’s one thing that Taylor Swift’s team has beaten her at repeatedly over the years – not only branding well but transitioning almost seamlessly from country to pop. Reputation is probably the biggest stumble for the Swift unit, but it’s comparatively minor considering that we can steal understand the idea even if we don’t entirely find the branding genuine.
It’s her hair. It’s like Felicity all over again.
😂
HAHAHA! the curse of Felicity strikes again.
Definitely the curse of Felicity! Blond short hair is not her friend. I know of her because of her stunts – stuff shooting out of her bra at shows, and her fling with Orlando Bloom, but I’ve never heard any of her music. I can’t seem to regret it.
I can’t believe anyone doesn’t like her short platinum look! She really rocks it. I see pics of her with longer darker hair and I’m like, “meh.”
I didn’t think it was a big deal but every time my husband sees her with the short hair she’s been rocking for a few years he always says how bad she looks with short hair. Every time. It’s like he forgets and expects her to have the long hair again.
yes! her hair is awful.
‘That brokenness, plus me opening up to a greater, higher power and reconnecting with divinity, gave me a wholeness I never had.’
Could be way off the mark here, but this reminded me of AA/NA. I hope she’s ok i really like Katy. But yes, she needs to go back to the drawing board music wise.
I mean, her last album wasn’t that bad message-wise, but from a pop and critical standpoint I could see why. Perhaps her rebrand was too drastic and what ended up as Witness should’ve been the last part of a 3-point rebrand. She should be on point #2, but she jumped too quickly. Progression should’ve been smoother so people would warm up and accept it,
“I sometimes wonder if Taylor Swift and Katy Perry’s beef destroyed them both.”
Taylor Swift doesn’t seem hurt by the feud at all. Reputation didn’t do well for a Taylor Swift album, but it still did better than everyone else. Her tour is apparently making crazy bank too. Delicate is also a legit hit. I think her “demise” was more wishful thinking on some people’s parts than reality.
I don’t even think the fued hurt Katy. I think the bad music and (to a lessor extent) bad haircut hurt her more. Whatever it is about Beyonce and Taylor Swift that makes their fans stick with them, Perry just doesn’t seem to have it.
I am all for more and more people opening up and talking about their own mental health journey. It’s so important for people to hear the stories so they know they are not alone. For that, I commend her.
However, there is a part of me that feels like this is just a popular girl whining about not being popular anymore. I’m sure there’s more to it, but it just doesn’t seem like it’s coming through.
In echoing what some other commenters have said, it’s hard for the public to follow such a sudden shift from being an incredibly vapid pop star (whip cream shooting bra anyone?) to incredibly woke and preaching at everyone. I’d love for more pop stars to have positive messages in their songs, but society as a whole seems to not be ready for it, which breaks my heart.
I listen to music that makes me feel good. Being preached at and pretty much told I’m a crappy person because I’m not ‘woke’ like Katy Perry [or insert generic pop star] doesn’t make me go out and buy their albums.
I don’t want to downplay this….because I’ve suffered from some pretty major depression all my life. But….. “situational depression?”
This doesn’t sound like a mental health issue.
It sounds like a normal human reaction to having a failed project.
Actually situational is legit and can follow death of a loved one, loss of employment, a failed relationship, etc. It is often treated differently by medical professionals in that they’re thinking “short-term” opposed to years or more due to long term mental struggle.
I think Katy looks and dresses older now. Doesn’t she? Not saying she is conservative but she appears that way now. I can’t imagine her younger base identifying with her look. Just a thought. Haven’t her Witness so I can’t comment on that.
Perry’s hair looks awful. I love short hair but unfortunately it doesn’t suit her and the bottle blonde makes the hair look even more awful. Visually her image shift was awful and her album was terrible.