Pomegranate Seeds: 0/10
Katy Perry has released her sixth studio album 143. A reference to the online short-hand for “I Love You”, the album is the singer’s first project in four years. With her last two albums disappointing in quality and sales, Perry was poised to either release a comeback album that would re-launch her career or be another failed project. The album’s singles were disappointing, and with the news that she was working with producer Dr. Luke, hopes weren’t set high for the record. Here are my thoughts on 143.
The album opens with the extremely disappointing “WOMAN’S WORLD”. It’s disappointing not only because it’s a boring, one-note song, but because an artist as experienced as Katy Perry should have known it wouldn’t be a successful single. The production is extremely boring, the least creative of all of the tracks, and the lyrics sound like they were written by A.I. What’s almost comedic about the song is that it was co-written and produced by Dr. Luke, a producer famous for his hit songs as well as allegedly raping singer Kesha. A song about feminism produced by an accused rapist, now that’s a woman’s world.
My first thought on track two, “GIMME GIMME”, is how did they get 21 Savage to agree to do this? The rapper, who features on the song, as well as the infusion of hip-hop and trap beats is just an attempt to show that Perry is still “with it”. The lyrics are incredibly terrible and I cringed listening to Katy Perry sing about hooking up as if she’s not a 39-year-old mother in a relationship. The best part of the track by far is 21 Savage’s feature since he at least has a certain level of talent that Katy doesn’t reach once on this album. 21 Savage was supposed to make Katy sound younger and more relevant, but all he does is show how she’s still stuck in 2008.
“GORGEOUS” is Woman’s World 2.0, but, this time, Katy is trying to convince you she’s 22 again. It’s simply boring. The entire song (and album) are mind-numbingly boring. Perry is trying to make music for the club when I can’t believe she’s been in one for over a decade. Perry isn’t doing anything that hasn’t already been done, and done better, by other artists. In the year 2024, where we have pop stars such as Charli xcx and Sabrina Carpenter dominating the charts, Perry’s lackluster production and lyricism have no place in the current world of pop. From Eternal Sunshine to Brat, the pop girls have been serving us champagne. Katy Perry gives us room-temperature milk.
On “I’M HIS, HE’S MINE”, once again, Perry tries to infuse the sound of hip-hop and R&B (with the help of guest feature Doechii) to try to convince you that she understands what the youngsters listen to. Perry thinks she’s up-to-date with the current trends, but she’s far from it. Doechii, the only good part of the song, leaves Perry in the dust.
Tracks five through eleven are a drag. I took up memory on my phone to listen to this. I let this album permeate my music library, thereby affecting any app-produced playlist, for 11 tracks of the same derivative drivel. Track five “CRUSH” sounds like a combination of the four previous tracks. The most interesting thing about “LIFETIMES” is the music video that caused environmental damage.
By the time I get to “ALL THE LOVE” I’m thinking, “Wait, haven’t I already listened to this song?” On “NIRVANA” Katy Perry drills into you for the millionth how in love she is. On “ARTIFICIAL” featuring JID, we receive another poorly done trap-inspired base, a guest artist who has better places to be, and lyrics that make me doubt any of the songwriters had any musical experience. Maybe Perry does write her songs, that would explain the quality. “TRUTH” and “WONDER” make a perfect ending for the album; they’re just as dull and unimaginative as the previous nine songs.
If Katy Perry has any musical talent, she doesn’t display it on 143. This album is the result of a singer whose best work was due to someone else’s work. What made albums such as One of the Boys, Teenage Dream, and Prism interesting was not Perry. Replace her with any other artists and they would have sounded just as good, if not better.
The hour I took to listen to this album is time that I will never be able to get back. I could have listened to “HOT TO GO!” 20 times by now. She had four years to come back from her last two failures of albums, and what she delivered was 11 tracks of boring, stuffy music. She didn’t even deliver, the package was lost at the post office. Every beat sounds like something I’ve heard before. All of the features far overshadow anything Perry does. If you’re looking for new, fun pop music, you aren’t going to find it here.
143 by Katy Perry is not sonically unique and contributes nothing to a soundscape that is already oversaturated with pop. The album has earned 0/10 pomegranate seeds. And believe me, it truly did earn it.
