We need to talk about Katy Perry's current flop era. While first single Woman's World came and went like a fart in the wind, Perry rushed to release a second single, Lifetimes, along with its music video but fans are once again not impressed.
After one day of streaming, Katy Perry's second single "LIFETIMES" performed poorly on Global Spotify with a debut of No. 145. The song received 1.426 million streams.
In case you haven't been following the chart data, "Woman's World" debuted at No. 58 with 2.25 million streams, but fell out of the top 200 after just one day. This song, despite being catchier yet outdated, will probably meet a similar fate.
It also debuted at No. 198 on US Spotify with 351k streams.
Now, less than 24 hours after the single's debut, fans took to social media to tear Lifetimes to shreds.
One person commented on Reddit: "this feels kind of beneath someone of her stature. she went in too hard on the camp on woman's world and then this feels personality devoid. it's like something an artist like jess glynne would do. that kind of generic, ibiza, love island type music."
A second fan penned: "it’s fine, i’d dance to it in the club but just like WW it lacks substance. it’s flat. i’m gonna need her to start digging a little deeper, although it’s probably far too late for that."
A third aded: "I can see any British pop girly doing this song, there's no flavor" as a fourth agreed: "The song is generic nothingness."
Yet another critiqued: "This song needed another texture added to it. A guitar riff, a breakdown, hell I’d settle for a rap feature. Might as well lean all the way into the 2013 sound."
Others couldn't help but argue that Lifetimes is yet another single that doesn't show Perry's new "futuristic" era for the album.
One said: "This whole era is just so confusing. She had something good going with the last era visuals before she did the whole Smile clown thing and dropped the flowery/hippie aesthetic. Witness was pretty cool despite the mess around it.
"None of these songs sound 'sleek and futuristic.'"
Another agreed: "The robot legs make even less sense now."
Another fan thought the single was better than Woman's Would, but didn't think it'd save 143.
The fan wrote: "A Katy Perry video without cringeworthy, goofy moments?! It's a miracle! This should help salvage some of the damage caused by WW. Whether it's enough to save the era tho..."
Another argued: "There’s nothing to left to salvage. She ruined any hype or momentum with WW. This song is not saving anything."
In a statement, Perry explained the meaning behind Lifetimes, saying it's "a song about eternal love."
"I wrote it with my good friend and longtime collaborator Sarah Hudson, along with the incredible Vaughn Oliver," she said.
Perry has noted that the song is "about finding that one deep and satisfying love of your life. Personally, I don't think a soulmate will always come in the form of a partner. It can come in all different ways, a child, a best friend, a pet. You'll find each other, over and over again, for lifetimes."
After it dropped, fans also shared their opinions on Twitter.
"Who approved these lyrics girl? Lyrically that's garbage. Sonically... It's a generic radio-friendly pop song that lacks character, which I can say about no other Katy Perry single," one user stated on Twitter.
"I think the songwriters were on strike," another user wrote on YouTube.
"Katy perry’s new song sucks," a third wrote.
Having only dropped the new track on Thursday, Perry is already receiving hate, which started when news broke that she collaborated with Kesha's alleged abuser, Dr. Luke, for the lead track titled Woman's World.
Fans weren't impressed with Woman's World either, deeming it a "flop" as they wait for Perry's upcoming album, 143, which will debut on September 20.
Now, less than 24 hours after the single's debut, fans are shredding Lifetimes apart on a Reddit discussion board.
One person commented: "this feels kind of beneath someone of her stature. she went in too hard on the camp on woman's world and then this feels personality devoid. it's like something an artist like jess glynne would do. that kind of generic, ibiza, love island type music."
A second fan penned: "it’s fine, i’d dance to it in the club but just like WW it lacks substance. it’s flat. i’m gonna need her to start digging a little deeper, although it’s probably far too late for that."
A third aded: "I can see any British pop girly doing this song, there's no flavor" as a fourth agreed: "The song is generic nothingness."
Yet another critiqued: "This song needed another texture added to it. A guitar riff, a breakdown, hell I’d settle for a rap feature. Might as well lean all the way into the 2013 sound."
Others couldn't help but argue that Lifetimes is yet another single that doesn't show Perry's new "futuristic" era for the album.
One said: "This whole era is just so confusing. She had something good going with the last era visuals before she did the whole Smile clown thing and dropped the flowery/hippie aesthetic. Witness was pretty cool despite the mess around it.
"None of these songs sound 'sleek and futuristic.'"
Another agreed: "The robot legs make even less sense now."
Katy Perry fans aren't impressed with her new single. (Image: Katy Perry/YouTube)
Another fan thought the single was better than Woman's Would, but didn't think it'd save 143.
The fan wrote: "A Katy Perry video without cringeworthy, goofy moments?! It's a miracle! This should help salvage some of the damage caused by WW. Whether it's enough to save the era tho..."
Another argued: "There’s nothing to left to salvage. She ruined any hype or momentum with WW. This song is not saving anything."
In a statement, Perry explained the meaning behind Lifetimes, saying it's "a song about eternal love."
"I wrote it with my good friend and longtime collaborator Sarah Hudson, along with the incredible Vaughn Oliver," she said.
Perry has noted that the song is "about finding that one deep and satisfying love of your life. Personally, I don't think a soulmate will always come in the form of a partner. It can come in all different ways, a child, a best friend, a pet. You'll find each other, over and over again, for lifetimes."
After it dropped, fans also shared their opinions on Twitter.
"Who approved these lyrics girl? Lyrically that's garbage. Sonically... It's a generic radio-friendly pop song that lacks character, which I can say about no other Katy Perry single," one user stated on Twitter.
"I think the songwriters were on strike," another user wrote on YouTube.
"Katy perry’s new song sucks," a third wrote.
While some social media critics were harsh, others took to Perry's defense.
"Katy Perry is going to rock the world again," one user stated.
"I love this song Katy!" another penned.
No shade, but I'm going to have to agree with the sentiments of the people. Lifetimes visually is a cute beachy, fun vibe, but as far as the song goes, besides the chorus the rest of the song is nothing to brag home about.
At a time where we are getting fun, experimental dance music (Beyonce's Renaissance, Charli XCX's Brat, Adam Lambert's Afters EP) Katy's latest body of work feels like a dated, uninspired mess.
At thins point I don't even think there's an overall excitement to see her promote this album in an arena setting, because unless her team gets it right in regards to marketing her next tour, I can pretty much see another JLo-esque touring disaster on their hands.
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