Can Katy Perry Come Back?

Aeshaan Singhal

February 27, 2026

Katy Perry once ruled the world, with a total of nine number one songs, including five from her album ‘Teenage Dream’. It is not even a debate that Katy Perry is part of the most influential pop stars in history, within the same league as Taylor Swift and Rihanna. However, Perry slowly but surely endured a downfall starting roughly 2016, her brand crumbled. Her style of bubble gum pop music was no longer part of the mainstream, the mainstream became mature music like what Billie Eilish and Ariana Grande were releasing, making her music sound last decade. Next, her “Witness” album lacked significant hits, with the exception of “Chained to the Rhythm” and had a confusing vision.Her next album “Smile” in 2020  undoubtedly underperformed as well. After the overexposure from 2008 to 2015, the public mentally phased out Perry, as she was part of the old pop wave not the new generation. Unfortunately, she was not able to reinvent herself in the way the public desired. 

The final nail in the coffin came in 2024, when she released her highly anticipated single, “Woman’s World” that would undoubtedly ruin her career. It was seen as out of touch and seemed as if written by a man. Her collaboration with Dr. Luke, who allegedly sexually assaulted Kesha, also caused significant backlash, especially for a song which was supposed to be about female empowerment. Her subsequent album “143” was described by Pitchfork as a “spectacular flop” and says “ The material here is so devoid of anything distinguishing that it makes one suspicious it’s a troll or cynical attempt for the campy realm of so bad it’s good”. This poor album performance alongside Perry’s flight to space, which people viewed as "Billionaire Coded”, “Overly Dramatic”, and a host of environmental concerns, spelled the end for Perry. 

Needless to say, Katy Perry is currently stuck in her flop era, which for many artists is hard to escape. The question is what can she do to revive her career. First and most obviously, she needs to come out with catchy, lyrically deep and mainstream music that features her creativity and emotions, instead of 2010s party anthems. Next, she needs to focus on a full rebrand of her image, which includes sticking to a single aesthetic and color and playing into her personality. By doing this, when people see her they will establish a connection between her and that aesthetic. Perry also needs to book extremely good venues, maybe this manifests as headlining Coachella or Lollapalooza, or something to regain the public eye and craft her image as a good performer. Finally, a series of good advertisements poking fun at her past self, or anything to get the internet talking about her will most definitely get her out of the khia asylum.

While Katy Perry’s downfall is something that most definitely needs to be studied, with the right next steps, she can turn it all upside down. It just requires a little bit of a media rebranding.