Katy Perry finally dropped her much-hyped comeback single Woman’s World on Friday morning, complete with big budget music video.
And after many a teaser, the full video shows Perry strutting through the streets in nothing but a tiny white crocheted G-string bikini, and some robotic metal leg covers.
The video opens with Perry and dancers in Rosie the Riveter looks, dancing on a worksite and lined up at a urinal, before she strips down to a bikini for the rest of the clip.
Once she’s in that barely-there outfit, Perry commandeers a monster truck with YouTuber Trisha Paytas, crashes a TikToker’s dance routine, injects her own butt cheek with petrol and finally hangs off the back off a helicopter yelling “I’m Katy Perry” as the video ends.
And as for the song itself? It’s certainly catchy and upbeat, with production that bears more than a passing resemblance to Lady Gaga’s 2020 single Stupid Love, as some have already noted from the initial snippets released.
The single is the first release from Perry’s upcoming sixth studio album 143, set for release on September 20.
Why that title? Perry said in a statement that she “set out to create a bold, exuberant, celebratory dance-pop album with the symbolic 143 numerical expression of love as a throughline message.”
She also teased snippets of a few more songs from the album during an Instagram Live session this week – among them, the song It’s His, He’s Mine, which samples dance diva Crystal Waters’ 1991 classic Gypsy Woman (La Da Dee).
But interacting live with fans was always going to be a gamble given the controversy surrounding Perry’s latest release – and sure enough, at least one person in the comment section asked why she was working with Dr. Luke, a screenshot of that exact moment spreading on social media:
Some have criticised Perry’s decision to once again work with pop producer, who was at the helm for her massive hits like Teenage Dream and Last Friday Night, for this musical comeback.
Fellow pop star Kesha served Dr. Luke, producer of her early hits, with a lawsuit in 2014 alleging emotional distress, sexual abuse and employment discrimination.
Dr. Luke denied all claims, and launched a counter-suit against Kesha. In 2023, the two parties announced they had finally reached a joint settlement.
But that scandal made him a controversial figure in pop music, with artists like Kim Petras and Doja Cat weathering public backlashes for working with him in the wake of Kesha’s claims.
143 will be Perry’s first album release since 2020’s underperforming Smile.
That album was home to just one top 20 single, Never Really Over – a steep drop from Perry’s peak Teenage Dream era, where she scored a record-breaking six number one US hits from the same album.
