Katy Perry’s 143 is not the comeback she was surely hoping for.
The album has debuted this week at No. 6 on Billboard 200 after moving 48,000 equivalent album units, a far cry from the 192,000 first-week copies that Teenage Dream moved when it debuted in 2010. While landing in the top 10 is still a notable feat for any artist, it’s worth noting that 143’s sales were “bolstered by its availability” on 13 different physical format variants, and two digital exclusive versions (per Billboard). 143 officially marks the worst debut of Perry’s career since One of the Boys in 2008, as even her previous album, Smile, managed to crack the top 5 with 50,000 equivalent units sold.
As shocking as these subpar sales figures may or may not be to Perry — who seemed to hope that this album would help kick off a “comeback” of sorts — they come as no surprise to the many fans who were baffled by 143’s lead single, “Woman’s World,” a heartless, uninspired grift on feminism produced by the controversial producer, Dr. Luke.
Upon the arrival of “Woman’s World” and its cringey music video, Perry faced backlash for both working with Dr. Luke and, maybe even worse, making terrible music with him. She tried to back-pedal a bit, releasing a video explaining that the song was meant to be satirical (because the best comedy always requires explanation, right?), but has ultimately seemed to fail at regaining a hold of the narrative about the album.
When recently asked on a podcast about the decision to work with Dr. Luke, Perry mostly dodged the question, claiming that the music “comes from” her, and that she “wrote these songs from my experience” (though, at this point, claiming even more credit might be more embarrassing than just saying that she leaned heavy on collaborators in the absence of actually good creative ideas).
But beyond those headline controversies, 143 truly fails to be a compelling piece of art. As Consequence’s Wren Graves wrote in his review, “143 is so lacking in fresh ideas and human touches that it accidentally slips into the AI Uncanny Valley; even if no AI was involved, it gives you the same queasy feeling in your stomach.”
All in all, it seems that 143 has failed to deliver the comeback Perry wanted… in fact, it’s done almost the exact opposite, illustrating just how large the disconnect between the industry and the real-world can become when labels support undeserving stars.