Katy Perry’s “Woman’s World” debuted at Number 63 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, the publication announced on Tuesday, a tepid opening as the pop star is readying the rollout for her upcoming sixth album 143.
The song’s debut marks one of the lowest openings for a lead single in Perry’s career. While she dominated much of the late 2000s and early 2010s, her chart numbers waned after she released her fourth album Witness in 2017. While that album’s lead single “Chained To the Rhythm” debuted at Number Four on the Hot 100, it was the last time any of her singles would make the top 10. “Daisies,” the lead single off Perry’s most recent album Smile in 2020, peaked at Number 40, the last of her solo singles to make the Hot 100 at all. “When I’m Gone,” a collaboration with Alesso, hit 90 in 2021.
“Woman’s World” was met with largely negative critical reviews, both for the song and its accompanying music video. Perry received backlash online over critique that that the video catered to the male gaze, and some fans were angered that the song was co-written by her Teenage Dream collaborator Dr. Luke — who Kesha had since accused of sexually assaulting her. (Kesha and Luke settled their legal battle over the allegations last year.)
Amid the backlash, Perry shared a video on Instagram talking about the single last week, posting a behind-the-scenes clip during the middle of filming “Woman’s World” in which she talks about how the first half of the video is actually meant to be a satire. “We’re kind of just having fun being a bit sarcastic with it, it’s very slapstick, and very on the nose,” Perry said in the video. The instagram post was captioned “YOU CAN DO ANYTHING! EVEN SATIRE!”
143 is set for release on September 20. Earlier this week, Perry teased another song set to be featured on the album, the pop-dance track “Lifetimes.”
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