Katy Perry’s new album 143 is the review site’s lowest-scoring album in more than a decade.
Statistics show that the score is the lowest on review aggregation site Metacritic in 13 years, based on 10 reviews so far.
Metacritic is a site that assigns a numerical value to music, movies, TV shows and other material, based on weighted scores from professional critics.
Among the fierce reviews was from Los Angeles Times review critic Mikael Wood, who said: “In a year of great pop music, Katy Perry’s latest is pop trash.”
It reads: “The problem for Perry is that the songs are bad, and not in a fun way. 143 is a strange pop dance album with boring melodies, utilitarian grooves and vaguely AI-derived vocal performances.
Another review by All Music critic Fred Thomas, which is included in the Metacritic score, reads: “No one likes these songs, and it’s really not the kind of light, sometimes silly, sometimes rude. fun that is used to establish his stardom .
“143 rings the death knell for Perry for no other reason than to commit pop music’s cardinal sin: it’s boring.”
While a Rolling Stone review by Maura Johnston headlined: “Katy Perry’s 143 is a Failed Attempt to Shed the Glory Years.”
At the time of publication, there were no positive reviews on the Metacritic site.
Katy Perry released her seventh studio album 143 on September 20.
The singer hoped the LP would boost her career in the early 2010s when her second album, Teenage Dream, and a deluxe package yielded eight UK top 20 singles.
However, Perry and his team are faced with a rescue mission after weeks of bad reviews, poor performance, and criticism of their decisions.
Her label, Capitol, is currently struggling on the back of the relative failure of Perry’s sixth album, Smile, which sold just 67,000 Stateside – compared to Teenage Dream’s 3.1 million.
Here’s a timeline of what happened during one of the most unsuccessful album campaigns of recent times.
Katy Perry collaborated with Dr. Luke on her new album, 143
Jonathan Brady / PA
July 10 – Worked with Dr. Luke
On July 10, Perry announced 143 – named after what he considers a “symbolic angel number” – will be released on September 20, a month before his 40th birthday.
He also said that the first single, a song called Woman’s World, will be released the next day and insiders know that the producer of the scandal Dr. Luke has a credit.
The feminist name of this song is enough to prompt Kesha to take herself to X to send a single “lol” in response.
July 11 – Release of World Woman
“It’s a woman’s world and you’re lucky to live in it,” became the chorus of the song which Perry intended to be a feminist rallying cry.
Critics were not kind and accused Perry of pandering and being outdated.
Mary Siroky in Consequence of Sound said: “Beyond the black irony of making a female empowerment song with someone tied to disturbing accusations, the song is just bad – and the music video is even worse.”
David Browne in Rolling Stone wrote: “The argument for his comeback single shows that the era of maximum hits is further away than ever.”
The video came next and made things worse, with a YouTube comment summarizing many opinions: “It’s like a parody of feminism gone wrong.”
Another added: “I don’t know, the lyrics are clearly designed to promote strong, intelligent, powerful women. But the video just shows her reducing herself to a sex object.
The song reached number 43 in the UK.
August 8 – Reviews of Lifetimes
Unfortunately for Perry, the follow-up single didn’t do much better than Woman’s World.
Anthony Fantano from YouTube said: “What is this? It sounds so empty and dated. The rhythm is basic, the lyrics are uninspired.
“The vocals are very touchy, pitched and airbrushed. Anyone can sing this with the effects behind it.
“If this is the best that recording has to offer, imagine what else it will be like.”
Lifetimes reached number 89 in the UK charts.
August 14 – Balearic Islands debacle
Perry had been filming a Lifetime video in the Balearic Islands but, according to the local government, he did so without authorization to film.
The environment department of the Balearic Islands insists that the filming itself is not a “crime against the environment”, the illegal activity.
The department is now investigating whether there was any damage to the restricted area, which is marked with ropes to prevent disturbance.
143 is the lowest-scoring album on review aggregation site Metacritic in 13 years, based on 10 reviews.
