What Happened to Katy Perry’s Career? A look at one of pop music’s most abrupt downfalls

[Urbanney]

I love that like every 6 months, a different Exhaler writes or posts an essay about this topic

[bitbitboi]

2 hours ago, Sourab Patodi said:

Given she started with TS and Gaga, she is falling behind and flopping hard

TS fans are rich white people from the US, she has a super strong core fan base but she is NOT a global superstar. And Gaga is shifting towards acting, and her last album (EVEN THOUGH IT'S A-M-A-Z-I-N-G) pretty much flopped. Things change, people change, the world changes... The artists who stand the test of time and are still on people's mouths are VERY few. So I still don't think Katy is the biggest downfall, that's a reach. And no one will take away all that she's accomplished so far, which is a lot.

[bitbitboi]

4 minutes ago, Urbanney said:

I love that like every 6 months, a different Exhaler writes or posts an essay about this topic

...and it's either about how her latest single is number 1 (a delusion) or how she's the biggest flop (another delusion)

[rik]

36 minutes ago, 3IsACharm33 said:

well I wish her luck I believe she will have great success as a touring artist she should stop trying to reinvent herself and just perform her hits and show off her talent, maybe she should go on jimmy fallon do some musical impressions!

I

[S jones]

4 hours ago, Martian_M00d said:

And Gaga is currently 48th most streamed, despite releasing more albums than her. 

Gaga, acting career saved her! Overall gaga is doing better, but musically she is flopping too. Gaga is a bad example above

[S jones]

1 hour ago, bitbitboi said:

TS fans are rich white people from the US, she has a super strong core fan base but she is NOT a global superstar. And Gaga is shifting towards acting, and her last album (EVEN THOUGH IT'S A-M-A-Z-I-N-G) pretty much flopped. Things change, people change, the world changes... The artists who stand the test of time and are still on people's mouths are VERY few. So I still don't think Katy is the biggest downfall, that's a reach. And no one will take away all that she's accomplished so far, which is a lot.

That’s absolutely BS that TS fans are white rich..bla bla! Her numbers are wayyy strong! She is doing great. 
there is no correlation between being rich and high streaming numbers!

 

kP last two albums flopped horribly..that’s the fact ! No one is taking away her accomplishments, it’s just a fact she is flopping now! 

[Isla]

I know it's a shallow thing to say... but I don't think the haircut she had during the Witness era helped things.

Also I think some people may have been put off her behaviour, especially during that era. Anyone remember that Witness Worldwide livestream she did?

[Stefani]

9 minutes ago, Isla said:

Anyone remember that Witness Worldwide livestream she did?

Don't remind me of that ARTPOP sized mess.

[Moscow]

35 minutes ago, Sourab Patodi said:

That’s absolutely BS that TS fans are white rich..bla bla! Her numbers are wayyy strong! She is doing great. 
there is no correlation between being rich and high streaming numbers!

 

kP last two albums flopped horribly..that’s the fact ! No one is taking away her accomplishments, it’s just a fact she is flopping now! 

Brother that's kinda true, here also people say the same. But in all fairness she is becoming popular with time but here mainly 15 year old girls listen to her. I come with no shade but most 35+ people say this about her fandom and she is the strongest in US proves this point to an extent.

[limezd]

She’s right on track with all the others divas that had decline in fame and flop albums around the 15 year mark into their careers. Look at the facts. 

[BritneyWiki]

I was a big fan of her debut pop sound. Remember when she had a 3D documentary concert movie in theaters? She was huge. Loved the Prism tour and superbowl performance. Unfortunately she has an annoying personality and the slow reveal of that turned me off. Also her long term gig as a TV personality has made her seem like less of a big star. She should have just done that one time like Britney. I think she really screwed things up with Witness and has yet to recover. I don't think she can be as big as she once was.

[limezd]

14 minutes ago, BritneyWiki said:

I was a big fan of her debut pop sound. Remember when she had a 3D documentary concert movie in theaters? She was huge. Loved the Prism tour and superbowl performance. Unfortunately she has an annoying personality and the slow reveal of that turned me off. Also her long term gig as a TV personality has made her seem like less of a big star. She should have just done that one time like Britney. I think she really screwed things up with Witness and has yet to recover. I don't think she can be as big as she once was.

But all of them get a comeback and she’s due for one soon. 

[BlackoutITZ]

There were a few different elements as to why her career success declined

- Most of her early huge success came from being an artist with mainstream GP appeal, instead of building a large loyal fanbase like Gaga did during the same time. Once the GP appeal wore off, she didn't have as a big of a loyal fanbase to fall back on

- She took almost four years between Prism and Witness. It was a long break for a pop artist in her position, and between 2014 - 2017 the pop landscape changed a lot, trends changed and streaming became more prevalent

- She faced backlash for the Britney comments, the Obama comments, and the "let's see both sides" ethos, people started to think of her as tone deaf

- The "purposeful pop" concept didn't work, and people rejected her image overhaul. The songs mostly didn't have the same level of replay value and hooks as some of her previous work, and the image was too jarring for the GP compared to her previous look. Not really fair, but just a reality

Those are the main reasons, but tbh she is still a big star and definitely still has the potential to get a hit with the right material. We have seen that with Never Really Over doing well, and Harleys in Hawaii having a revival on TikTok.

[Freakshow__]

I adore Katy. I think she got too involved in politics... Just my opinion. She is still pretty succesful so please stop pretending she's a flop. 

[Sia]

I skimmed through the article and stopped here:

"In 2013, Perry was still a relatively new artist, and taking four years to release another album was a mistake."

In 2013, she had released three albums, had countless hits and just two years later had one of the most watched Super Bowl Performances. How exactly are you considered a "new artist" with 4 years and 3 very successful albums under your belt?

Like someone else mentioned, I think people get too caught up in their own bubble to really understand what success is. The woman has a Las Vegas residency that is drawing big ticket sales just doing 2-3 shows a week. If y'all consider that unsuccessful and a result of a downfall, then sign me up!

[jordeezy river red]

The Dr. Luke drama, identity crisis, Hilary Clinton campaign tour and mediocre music all aligned into one big flop for her...Witness reminded me of the Artpop era. Her ego def took a hit. She seems to be doing better now, though. 

[Loosenupthosebuttons]

13 hours ago, bitbitboi said:

I looove Katy, but I think this sums it all up pretty well. She just had a string of massive hits because when she came out she was fresh, super quircky (which was new at the time), and she worked with the right people. But yeah, she never really evolved. That was clear to me with "Prism", no one really loved it as an album from beginning to end, and most of the songs that aren't singles are either kind of dark, or her singing is obnoxious. She doesn't sound nice live either. She relies on props and dancers because she isn't a dancer. And off stage she definitely has a personality but it can be off-putting sometimes. So that's a complex popstar right there. But I wouldn't call her the biggest downfall, I hate that shallow and simplistic analysis. If anything, I blame people for believing she was an A list popstar to begin with. Or are you guys the same who think Normani is top notch? Like, do your homework...

Well thank you for saying I summed it up well. Despite what I wrote, Katy is still a talented individual, has made millions, and has influenced pop culture forever! 
My response was harsh bc this thread was asking why she did not remain popular. I gave a bl**t answer! 

[princessmimi]

I think the Witness era really killed her successful career

cause not only did she lose her "sxy girl" look with that awful Wannabe Miley haircut,

she also changed her whole sound and also I think the Britney comments and Livestream were the nail on the coffin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mythology]

Why are all you so pressed over Katy?  She's basic AF

[Curious]

I think TS bad blood affected her too