Katy Perry is facing another difficult moment in her career following the rollout of her latest single, Watch It Burn.
The pop-rock release was positioned as a nod back to Perry’s earlier sound and widely seen as a chance to reignite momentum for the once-dominant chart star, but its early performance has fallen well short of expectations.
Since arriving on Friday, Watch It Burn has not managed to break into Spotify’s top 200 streaming rankings either worldwide or in the United States.
According to news.com.au, the track’s strongest showing to date has been a No. 127 peak in Brazil.
The muted response comes despite Perry supporting Watch It Burn with a high-production music video and live festival appearances, including Rock in Rio Lisboa on June 20 and O Son do Camiño in Spain on June 18, where she debuted the song onstage.
The apparent downturn has surprised many fans, with one asking, “People really have moved on from her? She was, NOT THAT LONG AGO, one of the biggest pop stars on earth.”
Katy Perry is facing another challenging career moment after releasing her new single, Watch It Burn
Even with a big-budget video and multiple live performances, the angsty track has struggled to make an impact on major charts
Another wrote, ‘It’s over’, while a third added, ‘Unfortunate, because this is the best song she’s released in quite some time honestly.’
So far, Watch It Burn has performed even worse than Perry’s last single, Bandaids, which debuted at No. 101 on the global Spotify chart before dropping off.
During a recent appearance on the Unfamous podcast, Perry explained that she was ‘wrestling with my darkness’ on the angsty Watch It Burn following a ‘tough year’.
‘I have not given myself permission to be angry my whole life over things I should be f***ing angry about,’ she said.
‘What I’ve done is I pushed it down, but I should be f***ing angry. I’m allowed to be angry for a f***ing moment.’
Perry, who at one point had a string of back-to-back hits, has struggled to get her new music to connect with audiences like it once did.
Her last two studio albums, 2020’s Smile and 2024’s 143, both tanked on the charts.
On top of that, her last few singles, including Bandaids and Lifetimes, all failed to crack the Billboard Hot 100.
Perry’s last single, Bandaids, briefly peaked at No. 101 on the Spotify global 200 before quickly vanishing, marking yet another flop for the former hitmaker
Perry’s last album, the dance-driven 143, was a critical and commercial disaster on the charts
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The star’s last charting single was 2024’s Woman’s World, which peaked briefly at No. 63 on the Hot 100 but was savaged by both fans and music critics alike.
However, Perry has seen many of her old songs surge in streams thanks to viral success on social media apps like TikTok.
Her 2011 single The One That Got Away has become an unexpected mega-hit, racking up over 1.6billion streams on Spotify alone.
Another one of her Teenage Dream hits, the chart-topping ‘Last Friday Night’, is also surging back up the Spotify charts.
Daily Mail has contacted Universal Music for comment.
It comes as Perry was forced to cancel her show at the Belgian music festival Werchter Boutique on Saturday just hours before taking to the stage.
The songstress shared a post to Instagram as she explained to fans that she had ‘no choice’ but to pull the plug on the show.
Perry had been slated to close out the festival on Saturday following Pitbull’s set, but dangerous weather conditions prevented her from doing so.
‘Sadly my set @WerchterBoutique tonight can’t happen due to a government mandated cancellation because of the incoming inclement weather and crowd safety concerns,’ she penned in the caption.
The Roar hitmaker said that she had been backstage getting ready for her show ‘when this news was delivered and they gave me no choice.’
Despite some setbacks, the star performed live at Cardiff Castle in Wales on Tuesday
The singer slipped into fishnet tights and a white shirt with polka dot shorts
The star performed many of her old hits at the Cardiff concert
‘I am just as unhappy as you are,’ she continued, before adding that the situation ‘is beyond my control’ and the safety of attendees is the main priority.
‘I am sorry I can’t change the weather, and even sorrier that all of us can’t be together tonight.’
Perry concluded her message to fans by expressing her disappointment that she cannot celebrate her return to the festival stage after her last appearance back in 2009.
‘I was even gonna wear the same outfit from that 2009 show again. I love you all, and please get home safe,’ the singer wrote along with a sad face emoji.
The last-minute cancellation of Perry’s show was due to ‘severe thunderstorms’ that were predicted to hit the area.
The decision was to ‘ensure that the exit of visitors proceeds in a safe and orderly manner, allowing everyone to return home calmly. The safety and health of everyone present is always our top priority.’
