Despite weeks of heavy promotion and media buzz about Katy Perry's departure from "American Idol" to make her musical comeback, her first single in four years -- "Woman's World" -- has failed to climb the charts in the U.S. or Europe, prompting Rolling Stone to call it a "catastrophic flop" and question whether it's the "worst comeback song of all time."
Released on July 11, 2024, "Woman's World" is meant to be an anthem for female empowerment and Perry has posted dozens of video clips of herself and fans singing along with the main chorus line, "It's a woman's world and you're lucky to be living in it."
But the song has failed to resonate, debuting at number 63 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, per Variety, and at number 110 on Spotify's U.S.-based chart. "Woman's World" has received blistering critiques from music critics, including USA Today declaring it "devoid of substance and artistry," and fans have begged Perry online to "move on," hoping that another single from her upcoming album, "143," will have a better showing.
Many fans are also upset that Perry worked on "Woman's World" with pop producer Dr. Luke, who was accused of sexual and physical assault by fellow pop star Kesha in a 2014 lawsuit that was eventually dismissed, per Forbes. But their legal battle continued through 2023, and the singer has made it clear she's not a fan of the new collaboration.
Shortly after releasing "Woman's World," Perry told that she was motivated to write the song by her daughter with Orlando Bloom, four-year-old Daisy Dove, because she realized more accutely how incredible women are.
"They create life, they carry life," she said. "They do it with beauty, they do it with grace. They are not one thing. They are soft, they are strong, they are chaos, they are cool. They're all the things, and they contribute to the world, and I feel so celebrated in my life, and I hope that other women feel celebrated when they hear this, and that everybody connects to the feminine part inside of them."
But that's not quite the message many are getting from the music video for "Woman's World," which begins with Perry in a barely-there Rosie the Riveter outfit and, later, in a bikini with giant robot legs. It has racked up over 11.5 million YouTube views since its release on July 11, but not necessarily because fans love it.
"This feels like a parody of feminism gone wrong," read one comment, which received over 35,000 likes.
Another person wrote, "I'm so glad the general public agrees that this isn't the way to promote feminism or equality lmfao."
Replying to the backlash, Perry posted a behind-the-scenes Instagram video in which she tried to explain that it was meant to be satire, saying, "It's like, 'Oooh, we're not about the male gaze but we really are about the male gaze,' and we're really overplaying it and on the nose."
Hoping to repeat her past success on the charts, Perry's re-teaming with Dr. Luke has backfired in the eyes of many fans and critics. According to Forbes, he co-produced eight of her nine Billboard number one hits and received two Grammy nominations for their work together -- a 2011 Album of the Year nomination for "Teenage Dream," and a 2014 for Song of the Year nod for her hit single, "Roar."
After Kesha sued him in 2014, claiming he "drugged and raped her at a 2005 party," per Billboard, Dr. Luke denied her allegations and filed a defamation suit against her. After a nine-year legal battle, they settled out of court in 2023 before it went to trial, the outlet reported. But Kesha has not rescinded her claims publicly and artists including Pink and Kelly Clarkson have vowed not to work with Dr. Luke, Forbes reported.
On July 25, when X17Online caught up with Kesha at LAX and asked about her reaction to Perry's collaboration with him, she said, "Booooo. (Expletive) bad men. That's all I have to say. (Expletive) them all."
Perry's many social media posts about "Woman's World" have been flooded with comments from critics and fans slamming her over the collaboration, including one who wrote, "Let's just move on to the next single not produced by the alleged abuser, yeah?"
However, the expected next single from "143," called "Lifetimes," is also produced by Dr. Luke, according to Billboard.
