How to Murder Your Career: The Katy Perry Formula

well here we are again, this might be the most work I've ever put into a video LMAO. today we're talking about katy perry's disastrous and protracted rollout for her 7th studio album, 143. when I started digging into WHY this was such a catastrophic flop, I uncovered a few threads of truth that go back to the very beginning of her career. so really, this is a career autopsy. we're going all the way back to the legendariness of one of the boys, and teenage dream, then descending into mid-ness which just eventually becomes straight up badness later on. witness era mention! smile era mention! a video on katy's 'flops' has been long overdue, so here you go....

0:00 - 4:04 katy perry's career death
4:04 6:19 why I'm making this
6:19 - 10:36 early failure & getting dropped
10:36 - 17:41 debut: I kissed a girl
17:41 - 24:24 one of the boys
24:24 - 25:57 💋 perplexity sponsorship
25:57 - 26:04 refocusing on FUN
26:04 - 30:08 california gurls
30:08 - 36:47 teenage dream era
36:47 - 38:10 obama era optimism
38:10 -39:56 selling out
39:56 - 41:45 lost after teenage dream
41:45 - 43:09 roar
43:09 - 45:00 did prism flop?
45:00 - 48:34 katy is a BAD writer
48:34 -51:03 bad timing and brand collabs
51:03 -54:37 industry shifts
54:37 -57:42 'purposeful pop'
57:42 -59:01 witness confusion
59:01 - 1:02:33 cringe promo
1:02:33 - 1:04:21 truly flopping
1:04:21 1:07:32 the ALMOST comeback
1:07:32 - 1:10:06 smile flops
1:10:06 1:11:11 vegas residency
1:11:11 -1:12:23 controversies
1:12:23 143 is DOA with dr luke

[lindsaytroneMPHMSc]

In retrospect, Katy Perry was like eating frosting straight out of the can. It’s fun for a couple spoonfuls, but then eventually you realize you really do wish you had a cake to go with it.

[HannahSmith-nz]

rewatching this after her "space flight" is hilarious. the signs were there (see: "asked an astrophysicist if math had anything to do with science")

[FrancesCW-]

I don't think 143 would have fared well in any context but Sabrina's ascension really showed that a cheeky humorous pop persona is always more enjoyable when there is good songwriting attached.

[mbschrepel]

It’s so interesting how Katy Perry makes the most sense in a maximalist era but cannot make anything good in our current era of maximalist pop trending again

[tylertyler]

I remember being a Katycat in 2012 and being promised prism would be dark and gothic… then it was teenage dream leftovers

[VGirl]

This album has me convinced that Max Martin was the real genius and Dr. Luke just piggy-backed off the songwriting talent of the women he abused.

[manic_girl]

Someone described it as “Love Island music” and I can’t agree more. It has no soul

[legslegsankles]

I feel like Sabrina has really taken the place of (peak) Katy Perry in pop music. Both have the cheeky irreverent tone, the 1950's pin up beauty, the artful dip into the risque: I kissed a girl vs the taste kiss &"the lord forgot my gay awakening". Peacock vs Bed Chem & Juno. They also took years of trying out different musical genres and tones before finding their niche and creating mythology to fit that niche; Sabrina going so far as to framing Short n' Sweet as her sophomore album. I don't mean to deem the same fate to Sabrina, in fact I think she's proven to be a a far better song writer who can captivate without having to lean on so many to do so.

[ellehampton]

Katy’s “purposeful pop” was her saying “You’re gonna hear me… roar… strike that… MEOW.”

[favOriTe-ve]

crazy how she won the Roar x Applause war in 2013, sent lady gaga to a career crisis but now fell off and gaga is still taken seriously.

[Lbbrooke]

The evolution of the pop landscape for women is so interesting because in the 90s/early 2000s and into the 2010s female (actually almost all) pop stars were just caricatures to feed some machine. Then, it would have been beneficial to simply be pliable and do what you’re told to make a name for yourself.

But now, with streaming and the consumption of our music and art being less curated by suits behind closed doors, true artists are being allowed to hold the reins of their music and it has allowed the pop world to be truly elevated.

There just isn’t room for somebody who isn’t doing it for love of the art.

[sydneyprather]

Whenever Katy Perry comes up, I always think of Todd In The Shadow’s video on Witness. In it, he blames Prism for the end of her career and talks about his theory of the “delayed flop.” In this, the artist has a smash album (Teenage Dream) and because of this, the next album is also a smash because it’s riding the coattails of the previous album’s success. But if nobody really liked what was on that album, you’ll pay the flop tax on the next release. I truly think Prism was Katy’s delayed flop because of how soulless it was, and it set the tone for the rest of her career

[miriamk]

I was just listening to Kesha distography on shuffle and her first half reminded me a little bit of of katy perry. Their songs would be the ones playing in school dances, roller rinks, weddings, and parties. They were everywhere. They also shared Dr. Luke as a producer. But Kesha did something very smart — she pivoted and showed the world who she was. She’s done that consistently since Rainbow came out. They weren’t chart topping or record breaking, but she had something to say, it was interesting, it was captivating, it was a risk, and, in my opinion, it payed off. She’s not selling the way TikTok or Die Young sold, but she has a real fanbase, a captivating story, and a soul to bear through music and seems to really need music and was able to shed her pop factory gloss. The thing with Katy Perry, I fear, is that she doesn’t really “need” music, the way that other artist describe needing music and when her pop factory gloss came off, there wasn’t much left. Honestly, if Katy went back to her pre-One of The Boys singer songwriter inclinations, it would have been better than 143.

[dakotalee]

I always say being boring is original sin. I'd much rather see someone go out on a limb and fall out of the tree than just sit on the ground the whole time, and boy was this album grounded in the worst way.

[deliacordero]

i feel like katy perry's career could be summarized by the phrase "good enough!". she's simply, good enough. not worse, but never better

[autxmn_]

Katy Perry should have used the pandemic time to brainstorm and go through the creative process of an album. If she released an album to follow up "Never Really Over, " collaborated more with Charlie Puth, and dove into the 1970's aesthetic she probably would have had a successful comeback summer of 2022. I mean people would have ate that up with Harry's House being as successful as it was. That optimism and bright colorful aesthetic was what people were obsessed with summer of 2022. Do I think it would have been Teenage Dream or even Prism level of successful? No tbh, but it would help regain the public's interest in her. I also don't think people would mind "Never Really Over" being released far apart from the album if it was released in 2022 because she can easily blame the pandemic for why the album was released so far apart. Katy was just one of many artist who did not use the pandemic wisely and that's a shame.

[margoalex.]

what absolutely kills me about this “era” like you said is how absolutely huge chappel, sabrina, and charli are this year???? I’ve been getting youtube recommendations since march about how “recession music” is coming back and how people WANT the kind of campy, fun, vapid music katy used to make so like it wouldn’t have been that hard for her to make a comeback if she earnestly wanted to but it’s clear she just doesn’t care anymore

[arvolyptus]

Not even the burger and fries could have saved her from the black magic curse that the bad blood video put on her

[brysonsunorganizedlife]

ONE HOUR AND SEVENTEEN oh we’re getting fed.

[chunli]

the fact there was a time where katy perry was more successful than taylor swift ?? thats why album artists last longer, you’re as good as ur last hit when u rely on singles, katy perry is a firework, thats the diffrence between a coldplay and a maroon 5.