Ten years ago, Katy Perry was beefing with Taylor Swift about dancers.
The story goes that Perry stole three dancers away from Swift’s “Red” Tour to join her “Prism” Tour.
At the time, they were dueling divas at the very top of pop. The feud even inspired Swift to write “Bad Blood,” her chart-topping hit that appeared on her “1989” later in 2014.
A decade later, that feels like a whole different era.
Perry’s next album, 2017’s “Witness,” was a bust by the standards of 2013’s “Prism” and certainly 2010’s blockbuster “Teenage Dream,” which had a record-tying five No. 1 singles.
Then, in 2018, Perry became a well-compensated judge — at a $25 million salary — on “American Idol” when it was revived on ABC.
But her own career as a pop idol was sinking just as Swift’s was soaring. Perry’s 2020 “Smile” album failed to produce any Top 10 hits just as Swift’s “Folklore” LP was taking her to new heights. (As Swift genially cheered Perry on during her Video Vanguard Award performance at last week’s MTV VMAs, it was very much clear who had won.)
Now, after leaving “American Idol” in May, Perry is refocusing on her recording career with “143,” her seventh studio album — named after her angel number — that dropped on Friday.
But a month before she turns 40, this is hardly the comeback that Perry needed. It’s as if she became a has-been before her time on “American Idol.”
The LP is a dance-pop affair that never really finds its groove. There are plenty of other women who have done this kind of thing better in recent years, from Lady Gaga and Dua Lipa to Jessie Ware and Kylie Minogue.
Perry, quite simply, feels as if she is playing catch-up.
And she did herself no favors by releasing “Woman’s World” as the first single in July. What was meant to be an empowering anthem turned out to be a problematic track co-written and co-produced by Dr. Luke, the same hitmaker who Kesha claimed had sexually and emotionally abused her. (The two have since reached a settlement.)
As much as Dr. Luke had to do with hits such as “I Kissed a Girl,” “California Gurls,” “Teenage Dream,” “Roar” and “Dark Horse,” it wasn’t a good look. As tone deaf as that was, Perry must’ve been desperate to recapture that magic with Dr. Luke, who co-wrote and co-produced all but one track on “143.” (Although Perry also worked with a slew of other people too.)
Perry also invites some guest artists to the party. 21 Savage shows up on “Gimme Gimme,” a trap-pop bop that wants to be another “E.T.,” but never takes off. Trans diva Kim Petras turns up to score Perry points with her LGBTQ fans on the oddly flat “Gorgeous.” Rapper J.I.D can’t breathe any real life into the electro-infused “Artificial.”
But another rapper, Doechii, fares better on “I’m His, He’s Mine,” the new single that reworks Crystal Waters’ 1981 house hit “Gypsy Woman” for a new generation.
The rave-up “Lifetimes,” another housed-up track, is another highlight. But like most of the songs on “143,” it doesn’t feel quite like Perry. Or better yet, it feels like it could be anyone — especially with the persistent Auto-Tune that takes much of the soul and personality out of her voice.
No one ever said Perry was Adele, but she’s a better singer than that.
And it’s hard not to see the irony on closing track “Wonder,” when Perry asks “One day when we’re older … Will our hearts still have that fire?” Because she seems to have lost hers.
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