Katy Perry’s rollout for her upcoming album, “143,” has attracted several controversies and has seen the release of two singles that have performed poorly on the charts.
Topline
Katy Perry released her seventh album, “143,” on Friday to mostly negative reviews, the conclusion of a rough rollout for one of the biggest pop stars of the 2010s that began with a series of poorly received singles and a much-criticized decision to work with a controversial producer.Key Facts
In a negative review, Variety said the album “strips away the remnants of the perky personality” that propelled Perry to pop stardom, slamming the “lyrical cliches” and Perry’s voice sounding “disaffected and removed.”
Variety said the album was “set up to fail” and “stained by the narrative” of her decision to work with Dr. Luke, the producer whom Kesha sued for sexual assault in a now-settled legal battle (which he has denied)—a decision Perry defended.
In a 2-star review, The Guardian acknowledged “143” isn’t the “calamity expected,” but clarified it “isn’t good,” stating the album feels dated in the wake of “messily inventive and hugely successful” pop music by Charli XCX, Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter.
The Independent also slammed “143” as “painfully dated” in another 2-star review, stating the songs have a sense of “weariness” and “hesitance” that fail to match the highs of the more playful, “tongue-in-cheek bops” that made Perry famous.
NME also gave “143” two stars out of five, slamming lead single “Woman’s World” as the “most disastrous comeback single in recent memory” and said Perry seems to be “grasping for ideas” on songs like “Artificial,” which it says feels like a reworking of her 2010 hit “E.
