- Jan242012
Hot Topic: A Case For Katy Perry
Written by Trent | Filed under Hot Topic,Katy Perry
Almost every artist, especially those acts who emerged during the last 10 years, seems pitiful when compared to the enormous shadow of Michael Jackson. However, one particular act has become a favourite metaphoric punching bag of the critics who continuously seek ways to slam the younger generation. That artist is Katy Perry.
From the moment that it became clear that Perry was on the path to matching Jackson’s record of five #1 songs from a single album on the Billboard Hot 100, she automatically became the bane of every sel-proclaimed “music fan.” Of course, you could imagine the nightmares about Hello Kitty that they had when the singer not only matched the King of Pop but she launched a campaign to surpass him.
Still, what really bothered most people about Perry’s accomplishments were her numerous business tactics to achieve success. Her label, Capitol Records, slashed the prices of several of her singles and issued a series of shamelessly paltry remixes in clear attempt to give the tunes the momentum to nab the top slot of the Hot 100.
For instance, Perry’s latest single, ‘The One That Got Away’, is currently available in its original form, a remixed version that features rapper B.o.B. and acoustically. These versions of the song were once priced at 69 cents, 99 cents and 99 cents, respectively, on iTunes instead of the usual $1.29.
Issuing three discounted versions of one single could easily be termed as desperation but in 2012 when label executives are forced to go the extra mile to achieve their bottom lines, such a practice is actually a case of savvy business. In fact, we shouldn’t expect anything less from an artist who perfectly represents the iTunes generation – aside from Proactiv acne medication, of course.
Similar to Rihanna, Perry caters to the 16 to 25-year age bracket where persons rarely buy albums and they are easily satisfied by purchasing select tunes on iTunes rather than complete collections. I explained this issue in greater detail during a previous article regarding Rihanna’s slow album sales. You can read all about it here (it’s quite interesting if I do say so myself).
Remarkably, though, despite the fact that Perry’s fanbase comprises mindless school girls, intoxicated surfers and young gay men with attention spans lasting less than 15 seconds – hey you, stop scrolling on Tumblr and pay attention! – her ‘Teenage Dream’ album has sold relatively well. Indeed, since August 2010, the LP has sold over 2.02 million copies in the US, which is better than most other artists who appeal to a similar market. This is typified by Rihanna’s ‘Loud’, which has yet to pass the 1.6 million sales mark, despite the fact that it was released during the peak sales period of November 2010 and was surrounded by a series of scandals, such as sex and stolen ideas, to keep it in the headlines.
Honestly, is Perry really that bad, especially when compared to her peers? She writes her own songs, she is a generally competent singer and she makes great videos. Additionally, with the exception of her cut/paste remixes that could have been made with the GarageBand app on a Mac, her music is actually good! You know that you scream ‘The One That Got Away’ when you’re vacuuming the carpet and you think your neighbours can’t hear you singing horribly off-key.
“Instead of admitting that Perry’s music is enjoyable, they compare it to Jackson’s work and exaggerate the latter’s worth…”
Perhaps, critics aren’t just using Perry as their punching bag but they’re also using Jackson as their shield from reality. Instead of admitting that Perry’s music is enjoyable, they compare it to Jackson’s work and exaggerate the latter’s worth in an attempt to diminish the former’s accomplishments.
Was every Jackson song from ‘Bad’ a brilliant piece of musical tapestry? The title track alone should inspire you to answer that question with a negative response. Let me make it easy for you: write out the lyrics to that track and pay close attention to the opening line, “your butt is mine!” Yes, we should all be amazed by it’s literary genius.
In conclusion, Perry is not the silly Betty Boop character that the media enjoys attacking. Regardless of who surpasses Jackson’s chart achievement, the critics would be upset simply because such a feat represents a shift in the tide from the older generation to the younger generation. Records are meant to be broken but when they have been replaced, they make those persons who witnessed the originals feel as though they themselves are relics of the past.
Thoughts?
Keys: katy perry43 Comments
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Another solid work Trent. Keep it up!
very true! Perry is very good, not amazing but good for pop culture! She tries hard with her videos especially! Shes done well for herself in the past few years, but how long will it last though……..
“Records were meant to be broken” *sigh* I guess…..
Nah. I don’t sing her songs at all. I just don’t like her music period. She don’t settle in my SPIRIT.
Records are meant to be broken but Katy and her team are so fucking pathetic. It doesn’t matter what you think Trent. they are pathetic.
“your butt is mine!” – the song is called Bad, exactly what lyrics do you expect? What about Speechless, Earth Song, Man in the Mirror and countless other songs that were genius. He has countless songs. He achieved what he achieved without these silly tactics and without the help of itunes. This is the true reason why people are upset. It’s like she gets a free pass. c’mon son!
I don’t like her music or her voice.
Dissaprove of the tactics but in this day and age we should really stop caring about what makes the number 1 spot. I’m just happy when deserving songs are a success and by that i don’t mean number 1.
Katy’s music is nice, i’ve heard her whole album and can say its far from a masterpiece but it’s consistant and agreeable. As long as the music you enjoy enough success to keep that artsit relevant/employed then i think we should all stop caring about who debuted at number and how many number ones everyone has.
yasss Trent. They don’t hear you tho! *starts sweeping up the wigs on the floor*
Really good article!! I felt like I was reading a high level thesis!!
Katy Perry makes garbage music and we all have the right to say so. We don’t have to pretend to feel bad for her. She’s making millions even though she has no talent and resorts to shady tactics because she can’t earn anything. Records aren’t made to be broken. They are set and talked about as a way of celebrating a special, unique achievement-katy crapped all over that. Trent, if kp cheats her way to breaking mariah’s record for number ones, will you still think it’s right? I give you the same advice I give kp: do better.
Are you serious? Pop music doesn’t get anymore bland and generic than katy perry. Not hatin but there is nothing special about her voice and her music. @lola pretty much sums it up
I blame Billboard’s policies,not her.BUT,she obviously doesn’t care about what kind of influence she’s having on trends in industry-which is actually every popstars’ implied responsibility.So I don’t respect her for that.But yeah,you could play few of her songs in the car.And she isn’t totally talentless-she CAN sing and is involved in all her music’s writing process.Generic,but not ‘talentless’.She’s no Lady Gaga though,let alone being worthy of comparisons to legends.
Just think… If iTunes didn’t exist, would half of some of these pop artists be making hits? Back when there was no iTunes, people had to go out and buy music they liked. Look at the iTunes audience… A lot of people don’t use it but if they did would they be buying the same music? Back then the “album” had more value than the “single” – which is probably why it was easier to sell millions of albums. Now albums are only hot for a few months but have no life a year later like they used to which equals less quality in crafting an album but more rushing to get the next big hit out. Just a thought. I love your articles, because they get me thinking
Another thing… Lol. Now things are so instant so maybe it’s easier to reach the top spot and break records. Back then when we liked a song, we couldn’t just go and download it instantly – a lot of times we had to wait for the whole album to come out which meant we would listen to it all but people have short attention spans these days. We want everything right now. I do believe MJ was a genius. He has an entire collection of great music that I can listen to TODAY, decades later and it still has the same effect. Revisit Katy’s album 10-20 years from now and see if you feel the same. I do believe she makes catchy songs though.
People will always have different opinions on what music is good and what is bad. My personal opinion is that mj’s worst song is better than katy perry’s best song. That isn’t the issue though. The issue is mj got 5 number 1′s from one album and perry really didn’t. She played games on the chart-she basically bought an accolade she didn’t deserve-and devalued his record. That’s why she’s getting a negative reaction from people and it’s her own fault.
Katy perry represents everything that is wrong with today’s music, in my opinion of course. Didn’t kno she wrote her own music and really couldn’t give a damn actually because she cannot sing, her voice really grates on me. Mj’s success is not exaggerated and that’s comin frm someone within the 16-25 bracket. Some of my earliest memories of music were from that Bad album, which I still regularly listen to today. Do u think in 20yrs time people will be referring to the Katy Perry’s album as a classic – hmmm I doubt it! Kudos to katy tho, she’s makin her money, I give her 5yrs before she turns to presenting cos she’s not a credible artist sorry!
This is probably one of my favorite write-ups!
Coming from a person who’s a huge MJ fan and only finds Katy Perry tolerable in small doses, I get really irritated when people bash Katy for breaking a record. As if MJ’s records are on some kind of pedestal that can’t be touched. It’s just a record! It’s not like she’s making shitty covers of his music. This doesn’t make Katy more talented or whatever than MJ. And who cares HOW she did it? She did it! The end. It’s only a matter of time before someone breaks her record, and so on.
Also, Trent’s right about the Bad album. Compared to the two albums that preceded it, it’s pretty mediocre (and the title track is pretty lame; the video makes it enjoyable). Not all of MJ’s songs are great, just like all of Katy’s songs aren’t terrible.
exaggerating mj’s worth?are you even serious there?MICHAEL JOSEPH JACKSON was the man who literally changed entertainment and music industry with his record breaking music,dance and short films.he is the standard everyone looks for.
at the end of it all,katy’s so called songs n talent doesn’t even compare mj’s toenail.she can break whatever records she want but she’s not n never will be comparable to the late great michael jackson.keep him out of the book when ur talking about vapid artists like katy perry.she’s as manufactured n hollow as music gets.
and yes bad is genius song which is better than every song on teenage dream.20 years later we dance and sing to bad title song.i wonder if katy’s teenage dream will inspire the same reverence that bad album does.hmmm…lets talk then.until then you have no business writing trash articles like this.
I personally enjoy katy perry’s song. I agree that most of MJ material is great. But to trash katy’s song is not good. If you only listen and interpret well the lyrics of her song you would found out that it is a great track.. created in a catchy way. teenage dream brings back the youth in me.. fireworks is inspirational… california girls is more of a fun song and she have achieved its purpose. other katy perry song like thinking of you is infectious. i guess katy perry alone, set aside MJ comparison, she has a great material too.. to bad in this era you have to stratigize well in order to stay in the game. something that Christina Aguilera needs to learn, she has talent but no strategy.. although she is still part of the game she needs to recharge to perform well again same as what they did on her early years.
Personally, I don’t even care about Katy matching and even eventually surpassing MJ’s record. I honestly didn’t even know about the record until I heard that Katy was trying to match it and probably won’t even remember it by next year. The problem that I have with Katy (and her label) is that she is trying too hard to accomplish something. It’s not about the record, it’s about the tactics that her label is using to break it. Regardless of the fact that Billboard is enabling these tactics, it’s just irritating to me that her music, which as you say is not that bad and I agree, is now being repeatedly reissued in order for her to be on the list of history makers.
I would be the first to congratulate her if she did it without “cheating” (as I view it). Reissuing different versions of the same song and doing that process for multiple songs just so you can be higher on the charts is very dishonorable. I want Katy to focus more on just making good music and, as I’ve said before in a comment on a different post, treat the accolades as supplementary to the ability to make good music.
As to the exaggerating MJ’s worth, I think it comes down to the amount of memories that have been gathered with MJ’s music. There’s a certain nostalgia associated with older music and that makes people believe that the music of today is awful in comparison (whether true or not), not only by those of that older era but also those of today who connect more with that era of music. No one wants to think that the music that they grew up with is just as awful or only a notch better than that of today. Think of it like this, you are a Lamb 4 Life. Let’s say in 20 years or so, someone that is the age that you are now says that Mariah isn’t as great as you think she is. Mariah is your love and you’ll defend her to the death. It’s the same with MJ. People loved him and they go crazy when someone is trying to outdo him, especially if they feel that the artist is going about it in the wrong way. Plus, he’s deceased, so many new “fans” and “stans”, who cared less about him when he was alive, are going to defend him and hold him high to the sky because he’s no longer with us.
pavi says:
January 24, 2012 at 11:24 pm
and yes bad is genius song which is better than every song on teenage dream.20 years later we dance and sing to bad title song.i wonder if katy’s teenage dream will inspire the same reverence that bad album does.hmmm…lets talk then.until then you have no business writing trash articles like this.
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I don’t even know how bad sound like. Im sorry, maybe the problem is with me?! or maybe not (coz some people only exxagerates).
MJ is Great we all know that. But is there something wrong with katy and her team trying and Dreaming to break a record that may come once in a lifetime? i don’t see any wrong on that. In the first place her album is abou Dream.. “Teenage Dream”?
This has to be one of the most shallow and smug “articles” I have read in a good while; full of excuses and assumptions (no, I don’t scream ‘The One That Got Away’ when vacuuming the carpet and think your neighbors can’t hear. LOL! On my life, I couldn’t even hum the melody of that crap.) The bottom line is that Katy’s “music” is unremarkable. It’s plain, simple, cheesy and half the time sounds “unfinished”. Linda Perry’s commentary about it being ‘microwavable popcorn’ was so spot on that no one will be able to assess it better than that. MJ’s “Bad” may not have been ‘genius’ and wasn’t his best work, but it was still better produced, better performed and ultimately shits on the best of what Katy has to offer.
Records and accolades aside, MJ was a charismatic performer whose charisma and talent made him prolific and deserving of every record he ever set. He touched a broader audience, and in his prime no one could argue against his deserving any of his commercial achievements. By contrast, Katy is some random, borderline-forgettable of-the-moment pop star who is as deep as a fishbowl, phony as a pyramid scheme and totally interchangeable with her peers. Her ‘feats’ are the result of strategic marketing that takes advantage of a lazy, apathetic generation that half the time only appreciates music for its ringtone value. 2.2 million albums since August 2010, with 5 #1 singles, is poor. That’s a succinct example of what I’m talking about. Her album sales don’t add up to her hit singles…and the whole point of singles are to serve as a promotional tools to sell the album they’re from. Tell me again why anyone should respect Katy.
MJ scored 5 #1 singles without resorting to desperate stunts (forgettable remixes with tacked on rappers, discounting the songs to the price of a cheap candy bar get them to break records, etc., etc.) *and* still sold nearly over 8 million copies of the album that they came from. When Katy can claim this, I’ll back off…until then, she’ll continue to look both ridiculous and suspect.
Stop acting like behind the bitter skepticism from fuddy duddy’s who dislike a change of guard her music is actually good and undeserving of the criticism, when in reality it is as cheap and tacky as a TV show theme songs. Honestly, it seems like she records these dingy little ditties just so that they can be easily covered by the cast of GLEE.
Yes, someone, some day was going to match/break MJ’s record…but I would have hoped that the one to do it would have been more charismatic than her.
You picked one half-line from the Bad album to make the point that MJ’s work is exaggerated? Seriously? You don’t need to exaggerate MJ’s music to see his on a different level compared to Katy Perry. You will see in 10 years, when MJ will still be remembered, danced to and listened to – yes including the line “your butt is mine” – and about Perry people will be like “Katy who?” It isn’t about nostalgia. MJ’s fan base isn’t just made of 40-50 year old people who were his generation. Teenagers still become fans of his by listening to his music, watching his videos. I doubt this will be the case with Katy Perry in 20 years.
It will be funny to re-read articles than this then.
@ Small_Angel
“MJ is Great we all know that. But is there something wrong with katy and her team trying and Dreaming to break a record that may come once in a lifetime? i don’t see any wrong on that. In the first place her album is abou Dream.. “Teenage Dream”?”
The problem is not with Perry breaking a record of MJ (just one record of many MJ records), the problem is rather the hype around it – and articles like this. As long as MJ alone held this record no one even talked about it, it wasn’t considered very important. In fact, the media talked about how “Bad” was a flop, rarely even mentioning the record it held. Now, all of a sudden this record became important and all the talk is about Perry breaking MJ’s record, OMG!
Plus people don’t like her desperate tactics to break this record. I personally couldn’t care less about the record itself, but I find articles which try to put him on the same level as Jackson, annoying and laughable at the same time. And like I said, it’s not about nostalgia and a war of generations – the article is wrong about that. Go to an MJ fan forum and see how many young people, teenage fans he has! He’s not a nostalgia act.
The song “Bad” may not be his strongest song ever (though the video and the dance in it makes up for the song’s weaknesses), but the album also has songs like “Smooth Criminal” (which is still getting covered by other artists – for example Alian Ant Farm scored a hit with it a couple of years ago), “Dirty Diana”, “Man in the mirror” and so on. Will anyone cover anything from “Teenage Dreams” in 25 years and score a hit with it? I very much doubt that.
And just to show the weakness of Trent’s argument: by the same logic Katy Perry and “Teenage Dreams” is also on the same level as some of the Beatles’s most memorable songs! I mean “She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah” – yes, we should all be amazed by it’s literary genius…
Of course, I don’t think any of Katy Perry’s songs is on the same level as the Beatles. Just like I don’t think any of her songs is on the same level as Jackson’s.
Hmmm really, Trent? Okay here come my 2 cents…
Katy Perry is like one of those pretty little boxes little girls get as birthday or Xmas gifts. You can put anything you want in there: goodies, paper, fantasy jewelry, garbage…in the end, the box is still pretty. Nobody expect the pretty box to become a practical luggage, or a fancy briefcase, or a secure vault. Nobody puts anything precious or valuable in a pretty box. The box purpose is to be pretty for everyone to see. Nothing less, nothing more.
Katy Perry ain’t doing nothing wrong, seriously. But if she wasn’t around, nobody would really care about or miss her musicality.
I said musicality, because her music is actually good, ‘Teenage Dream’ and ‘E.T’ are two standout tracks on her album. But the Glee kids are the ones who gave ‘Teenage Dream’ the treatment the song deserved. And even though ‘E.T.’ hit #1, it is not considered a solid pop record like Beyonce’s ‘Sweet Dreams’ or Black Eyed Peas ‘Meet me halfway’.
Nobody sings Michael like Michael. Nobody sings Beyonce like Beyonce. Nobody raps Kanye like Kanye. Nobody whistles Mariah like Mariah. Nobody delivers Britney pre-meltdown better than Britney pre-meltdown. Nobody should sing Katy better than Katy, but it turns out that a lot of people can actually. That’s all what this is about.
This article is pathetic and ironic and you should feel bad. It’s just simple stanism. You think anyone is going to agree that Glee is far superior to the over-exaggerated talent/achievements of the Beatles simply, because they scored more #1s than them.
GTFO of here with that nonsense.
We got it. You are a Katy Perry fan.
LOL!!!! @ people calling Trent a Katy stan. Have you ever read what he usually writes about her?? HAAAaaaaa lol!!!
…and even after such a laughably “passionate” attempt to qualify the legitimacy of this pop tart, and to mock her naysayers, I still say that Katy is just a flavor of the month and that her music is no good.
Trent, you…aren’t heterosexual are you?
@My2Centz what does Trent’s sexuality have to do with this? You are THAT ignorant? I am Michael Jackson STAN #1 and I am DISGUSTED with your comment.
Trent, I know you want to draw people to your site and to get debates going, but writing absurd articles like this isn’t the way to do it. There are so many things wrong with what you’re saying. For one, I don’t scream along to Katy Perry songs when they come on the radio; I scream AT the radio. If I did sing along, I’d sound better than her…
Wow Trent, this was a terrible article. Such a stretch of Katy’s ‘talent’ …it amazes me to see the artists who receive praise on your site versus those you talk negatively about.
I’m just glad that that new single isn’t hitting number 1.
But seriously, I am in that 16-25 age bracket and I own that Bad album. Trust me the hit songs from that album separately and together are better than any music Katy has ever released. Honestly, that album had Man in the Mirror. The impact and the importance of that song in itself shows that MJs success from that album is not exaggerated.
PS what was the point of mentioning RIhanna to try to make Katy look better? Loud may have sold 1.6 million in the US but WW Loud has sold 6 million whereas Teenage Dream sold around 2.5 million. Loud is still the more successful album
@Girrrl
PS what was the point of mentioning RIhanna to try to make Katy look better? Loud may have sold 1.6 million in the US but WW Loud has sold 6 million whereas Teenage Dream sold around 2.5 million. Loud is still the more successful album
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You’re right but teenage dream sold around 5M not 2.5M WW. okay?
Trent, for your information, the “Bad” song is about the story of Edmund Perry who was a 17-year-old Harlem kid shot by a policeman in 1985. You can read about his story here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Perry
or here: http://abagond.wordpress.com/2009/06/01/edmund-perry/
Though the “Bad” song is a fun, dance song at the surface, but actually it’s much deeper than that. I can’t see any deeper message in Katy Perry’s songs though, sorry.
Trent, for your information, the “Bad” song is about the story of Edmund Perry who was a 17-year-old Harlem kid shot by a policeman in 1985. You can google his name and read his story.
Though the “Bad” song is a fun, dance song at the surface, but actually it’s much deeper than that. I can’t see any deeper message in Katy Perry’s songs though, sorry.
First of all he was just basically saying that tKaty/Rihanna kinda cater to the same audience. He wasn’t saying that one was better than the other. Although, some of that demographic still buys their albums as well. They just don’t appeal to various audiences, well alot of their songs anyway.
um..ok. Yes records are broken but when they’re on the verge of being broken by someone who has to to BUY her success then that’s when it becomes an insult. MJ never had to discount his NEW stuff for sales and never used gimmicks and what not. He redefined music and influenced EVERYONE that came after him, no matter the genre, the artist, etc. Who is Katy Perry influencing? If she was such a great artist why is she lowering herself and “whoring” herself out for these #1s, there’s even talks about her re-releasing TD. For what? If she’s such a great artist then why not do another fresh album with fresh content. Michael Jackson set the standard for every artist and to witness the way she went after these #1s are an insult. Last Friday Night was stuck at #2 on billboard for weeks before she released a remix with Missy Elliot that shot it straight to number 1. paying off radio stations and slashing prices on a NEW song..yeah that’s the way to go about it. No I don’t like her music because its crap to me. Growing up i was forced to listen to my mother’s music: Prince, Michael, Luther, Whitney, Marvin Gaye, Run DMC, Rakim, Madonna, George Michael, etc. So i know what GREAT music sounds like and she doesn’t make great music. If she’s such a wonderful artist why lower yourself for these numbers? Make great music and the numbers will come. That’s my issue. It’s not about her matching or surpassing MJ’s record cuz hello, Michael still has influence over ALL these people, but its the fact that it was matched by someone who doesn’t even have half the work ethic and respect for their craft.
I just don’t like her voice or music…
A grown man who stans for the likes of Mariah Carey and Katy Perry. Seriously Trent, your parties must be lame.