Katy Perry was arguably the pre-eminent pop star of the first half of this decade. Her album Teenage Dream, released in 2010, spawned five No. 1 singles, only the second album in history to achieve that feat (the other: Michael Jackson’s Bad). In 2013, she released Prism, which—while not a Teenage Dream—was successful in its own right and sold 1.7 million copies. In 2015, she performed the Super Bowl halftime show, the pinnacle of success for a pop star.
From there, it’s been a bit of a winding road for Perry. After stumping hard for Hillary Clinton, and performing at the Democratic National Convention in 2016, she released an album in 2017, Witness, that did not connect with audiences. She had touted, in advance of the release, that she would be aiming for “purposeful pop” with the collection; but after first single “Chained to the Rhythm” didn’t take off, she seemed to walk back from that characterization a bit. The next two singles, both frothy and lighthearted—“Bon Appéтιт” and “Swish Swish”—peaked at No. 59 and No. 46 in the U.S., respectively.
What does one do following a bit of a disappointing album cycle? At least publicly, Perry didn’t seem to sweat it much. She vacationed with her boyfriend, Orlando Bloom, in various exotic locales. She signed an extremely lucrative contract to serve as a judge on American Idol. She also has maintained a very high-profile public life, popping up at all kinds of events: in the past week alone, she attended Jennifer Aniston’s star-studded 50th birthday party (arriving on a motorcycle with Bloom) and then performed at the Grammys the next night, as part of a Dolly Parton tribute, alongside album-of-the-year winner Kacey Musgraves, Miley Cyrus, and others.
Perry is still extremely famous, and has a mᴀssive platform (she has more Twitter followers than anyone else in the world), yet finds herself at an interesting spot at the moment. Pop music is marked by a certain melancholy and looseness right now; the booming choruses and bright colors of Perry’s earlier output are no longer au courant. The Ariana Grandes and Billie Eilishes and Halseys, currently reigning, release moody and sparse tracks, keyed into a streaming model, where single releases may or may not be followed by albums. There is a sense that these singers are struck by a certain mood in the recording studio, record the song, and then release it, not overthinking any of it.
Without much in the way of buildup, Perry dropped a new song Thursday morning, her first proper pop single since Witness. A collaboration with Zedd, “365” still has the hallmarks of a Perry song, particularly in the lyrics and her vocal stylings (“And I wanna just let go, falling deeper than before / Say that you are ready, lock it up in a heartbeat” is the platonic ideal of a Katy Perry lyric). But there’s a smoothness and low-key undercurrent here that feels very of the moment, too. This isn’t a brash or overcooked Perry tune; it’s silky and fresh. And it’s very easy to imagine this coming on in a curated Spotify playlist.
Perry, in typical fashion, goes all out with the visuals in the accompanying music video, playing a robot who is programmed to feel human emotions (with Zedd as her romantic partner). She has always been highly committed in her videos, and it is easy to imagine her pivoting to an acting or variety-show host role at some point (she emceed the Video Music Awards in 2017, and has hosted Saturday Night Live, as well). And this sense that she could go in any number of directions could likely be creatively exciting for her, as well: that a country album, a spiritual ballad collection, or a set of 12 collaborations with Zedd all seem equally possible from her is maybe freeing.
