Not releasing a song featuring xtina. Gaga did and she bounced.

3 hours ago, halcyonday said:

Agree about TIHWD but Maroon 5 smashed with a Birthday cosplay dd

It was 100% a clone, but the lyrical quality of Birthday (plus the cringe fest music video) didn't help. Not that Sugar was much better tbh, but it definitely flowed better imo.

A version of This question gets asked every year and the answer always remains the same: artists like Katy Perry have a short shelf life. She just reached hers. There is nothing she could have done.

I think the answer is a little bit more simple; she and her team didn't build up a fanbase or a community. Even during Smile and 143, the strategy was extremely dated; trying to get recognition of the general public. This doesn't work in this new era of music anymore and it's a bit too late for her aswell.

Her brand is and always will be clear, but the whole brand is about her, there is no community that can relate.

Edited August 13Aug 13 by itsnickcray

witness was obviously her biggest mistake. granted, most pop stars have a pretty short shelf life and its likely she was destined for a downward spiral anyway. however i feel like there was still interest when she released chained to the rhythm and things could have worked better if she hadnt turned herself into a joke with bad pretentious music, a terrible new look and an inability to understand the line between playful to full clown.

Not working on her craft, being uncool, terrible music

Not investing in a vocal coach.

i think she's stuck in this space right now where she desperately wants to be back at teenage dream levels of fame but is trying to play it off publicly which makes her whole act odd. her recent album run just not being good also doesn't help her. there's a reason her biggest song this decade is one that didn't even come out in the 2020s.

Prism was her downfall because she changed her image way too drastically. The blonde Karen hairstyle Idk who lied to her and ever told her that was a good look. It was horrible. And the music just wasn't that good, either. Chained to the Rhythm I really liked it but she was never that type of artist to do a song like that.

She didn't grow up with her age

I think it was honestly her inability to grow and she sort of became a caricature of herself.

I loved Lifetimes, I think had she made the song and the music video like 10 years ago it would've been perfect for the time.

Having Walking On Air and Legendary Lovers on Prism but releasing This Is How We Do didn't do her any favors

Too long until Witness and the whole image was weird. Not just the haircut. The music wasn't really good either.

She had a chance to bounce back with NRO but she abandoned it. I like Smile as an album, but the rollout was a mess, with too many questionable single choices before release.

She had a lot of hype before 143, but she chose a bad collaborator and lead single. Lifetimes was right there.

Eventually, the decline is gradual if you think about it. I believe she can bounce back, but she needs to stop trying too hard. SexyConfident and Watch It Burn style songs are not it, she needs to find back her cool factor. I believe she has at least one hit inside her and a cute era.

5 hours ago, fractions. said:

Not serving hot, fly, or sexy in the Witness era.

She was controversial for all the wrong reasons, and "Swish Swish" needed a damn hot video. Then, when she finally decided to serve sexy with 143, the music sucked.

To be fair I think making any dance-y music at all at the time wasn't helpful. No matter how hot fly or sexy she was or wasn't.

America was sort of moving into the more somber "I'm a real singer/artist" era when Witness came out.

Unable to grow as an artist, like she spent this last decade rehashing and chasing her old sound without any evolution and innovation

I think the answer lies in the careers that did succeed longer than 5 years. Look at Gaga: ARTPOP "flopped" and she switched to Jazz and more acoustic pop with Toucanne and ASIB. Katy did not make such a change, and the change she made was too late. Only now she tries to do rock with bandaids and Watch it Burn

Waiting 4 years between Prism and Witness and coming back with a way too different look and sound. It was obvious she needed to switch things up, but it needed to happen a) faster and b) more gradually.

Edited August 13Aug 13 by MAD

she made many mistakes in the last decade, but THE biggest one? Easily the whole 143 era, imagine thinking it was a good idea to go back to Dr. Luke, only to deliver the worst album of your career. She really didn't needed to do that, and I don't think she can bounce back anymore after that.