The reaction against Katy Perry It has been growing for weeks. Since it became one of the six women to travel to Blue Origin space Last month, the singer has been the target of strong criticisms: they have questioned her for making the trip, how she promoted her tour Lifesses Tour During the mission and, after that, for their performance on stage when starting the first shows last week.
The coverage about his participation with Blue Origin only aggravated the rejection of Katy, which already came from months ago with the launch of his album 143. The album received ruthless criticism from both fans and specialists, and several pointed out for again collaborating with Dr. Luke, the producer behind some of his greatest successes, who was accused of sexual abuse For another pop star. The hostility has followed the typical Internet cycles: some groups of fans have clung to legitimate criticisms to take advantage of and launch hate and cruel comments on networks. “Why did Katy Perry die in space as supposed?” says a tweet, reflecting the tone of many others.
The reality is that Perry’s cultural value is at a low point at this time. And it is evident that he has been facing hatred: As he wrote in a note Aimed at his fans on Tuesday, “I have worked hard to understand who I am, what is real and what is important for me … Internet is, to a large extent, a landfill for unbalanced people and with wounds without healing. What is real is to see their faces every night, sing together, read your messages, feel your love.”
In the middle of the controversy, Perry launched its Lifesses Toura tour inspired by video games that represents a search for “heart” and love. The high production show received several standing ovations during his shows in Mexico last week. Lifesses Tour It is an experience, with acrobatics, flying objects and Perry as the central axis of history. And it serves as a reminder of the type of pop star that has always been: exaggerated, fun and without fear of ridicule.
During the show last Saturday in Mexico City, Perry played KP143, a half human character, half a machine, inside a video game, with the mission of saving an imaginary planet. The world in which he lives is threatened by mechanical villains – he thinks of artificial intelligence – who have captured butterflies, symbols of female energy and power, and use them to do evil. In this videogame style mission, Perry flies through Pink -style, sings classics of One of the Boys and delivers a presentation full of exaggeration and theatricality, as he has done throughout his career.
Throughout her show, the singer reinvents her greatest successes, such as “Teenage Dream” and “Hot N Cold”, in presentations full of choreographies, aligned with what pop fans expect from their favorite female artists. (Male artists are rarely expected to include intense and narrative choreographies elaborated in their concerts). Perry is up to the two -hour show, constantly interacting with the public, where many attend dresses with looks inspired by the different ages of their albums. At a time when many artists maintain a distant relationship with their fans through automated messages or carefully edited Instagram accounts, Perry goes up to their followers on stage every night and allows them to choose a song to play during a “choose your own adventure” section of the concert.
In networks, some detractors made fun of Perry after they will circulate clips where it appears fighting against creatures with a kind of light saber -type wand during “et”, describing the moment as uncomfortable and shameful. But in person, combat scenes flow naturally as part of a choreography designed to follow the rhythm of music and advance in the video game narrative. The slightly exaggerated movements are intentional – at the end of accounts, is playing a character half robot.
Exaggerated attitudes, which were subject to mockery online – including a dance break in the middle of the presentation that went viral – have always been central to Perry’s public person from the beginning. After all, she is the pop star who has fired fireworks and whipped cream from her breasts, argued with a piece of speech parlante during His residence in Play, and posed on cotton of sugar real and edible for the cover of an album. Perry’s theatrical version was made a star at its peak. So why don’t those instincts have the same impact now? Perhaps the pop panorama has changed, hugging new artists known for sharing vulnerability rather than exaggeration. But Perry’s maximalist approach reflects a dedication to the world he built, which made it a pop icon and has inspired a new generation of stars such as Chappell Roan and Olivia Rodrigo. It is difficult not to give you credit.
There was some controversy about the use of images generated by AI during the song “Lifestimes.” Although this is a broader theme that affects artists of different genres, it caused valid conversations about the need to maintain human art. For a production focused on fighting non -human villains, the inclusion of apparently artificial images was ironically strange. However, for the show on Monday night in Monterrey (with only three presentations to his credit), Perry had replaced those visuals with shots of his audience Out, which shows that someone in his team is paying attention to the comments and adjusting the experience.
Despite all the empowerment throughout its concert and the spectacular looks inspired by machines that it uses on stage, Katy Perry, the pop star, remains human. The singer’s vulnerability was completely exposed during the second show of the tour last Friday, while sanging the lyrics of “Pearl,” a song of Teenage Dream: “I used to govern the world/I can’t believe that it has become a shadow of itself.” While sanging those words, tears fell down his face. “I am on a human trip, playing the game of life in front of a large audience and sometimes I fell, but … I get up, go ahead and continue playing the game, and somehow, through my beaten and hurt adventure, I keep looking for the light,” he said in his note for fans on Tuesday. It is worth asking if part of the hatred – including comments on his age and appearance and even attacks on his four -year -old daughter – has gone too far.
The hatred that Perry receives often reflects the worst on the Internet: a space where nuances are ignored in favor of a rapid trial. It is too easy to simplify Perry’s celebrity and make fun of her without recognizing the magnitude of her career. (Even the Wendy’s hamburger chain joined criticism). There are also clear double standards: in 2021, when the world was just beginning to recover from a pandemic, William Shatner of Star Trek He was acclaimed for making a similar trip funded by Jeff Bezos. Part of the frustration around the space launch seems to be better aimed at Bezos and the technological magnates that are friends with President Donald Trump, than some of the women who were on the trip. Lily Allen said it better when she apologized for her criticism of Perry’s space trip: “It was my own internalized misogyny … it was completely unnecessary to join the attack towards her.” Internet should also reflect.
As for Dr. Luke, it is just responsible for a pop star for whom he aligns. Even so, the reality is that none of Perry’s contemporaries – including Lil Durk, Kim Petras and Doja Cat – has faced or closely the same amount of negative reactions for their repeated collaborations with the producer.
Despite the negativity, Perry is offering a surprisingly fun and entertaining two -hour show that will arrive in the United States, next week. Along the show of the Lifesses Toursome moments refer to what Perry is going through. At first, the words “Must Touch Grass” (you must play grass) appear on a screen while your dancers, with virtual reality glasses, hit imaginary screens to the rhythm of “Chained to the Rhythm,” referring to the attacks of online users. “Are we crazy?/Living our lives through a lens?” Sing Perry. Towards the end of the show, when he approaches the defeat of the virtual villain of KP143, he triggers pyrotechnics from his rocket hand to the character on the screen and adjusts the letter of his empowering anthem “Rise,” proclaiming: “I will always get up.”
Before finishing his tour in Mexico, Perry attended the show Long live Mayhem From Lady Gaga and published a Gaga clip singing: “You love to hate me/I am the perfect celebrity,” a sharp letter that seemed to reflect Perry’s current experience. The publication seemed a silent recognition of the intense attention to which Perry has been subjected, and a reminder that in the world of pop fans, the perfection that people expect from their stars is always out of reach.
Perry, at least, is clear about his approach: “When the ‘online’ world tries to become a human piñata, I take it with grace and send them love.”
