Unfortunately, it seems to be really over this time. Five years after Perry attempted her first big comeback with the beautiful, underrated song that is “Never Really Over,” she’s back with new music that, based on the instant thrashing it received on social media, reminds everyone exactly why they stopped listening in the first place.
Perry’s comeback single “Woman’s World” features lyrics and orchestration that are so devastatingly reductive that—even if you could ignore the extremely troubling fact she resumed working with producer Dr. Luke, who has been accused of sexual assault by Kesha—the worst offense may just be that the song plain bad. After all, music fans and the general public have long forgiven questionable figures when they release a salacious bop (take for example, Doja Cat’s “Say So,” also produced by Luke).
“Woman’s World” is lyrically devoid whilst lacking the infectious production required to salvage the song. There’s nothing to grasp onto, whether you love it or hate it. It’s really just boring and one-note. And despite playing it so safely in the aim for a hit, the song has failed to gain any positive traction, while still managing to elicit a firestorm of discourse. From the ill informed choice to partner with Luke, leading people to question the authenticity of the song’s feminist statements, the song was doomed before it even dropped, further cemented by the one-note lyrics.
