Just shy of a month after the release of her highly-anticipated comeback single “Woman’s World” — which debuted at number 63 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and failed to properly reincorporate her into the current pop zeitgeist — Katy Perry has now taken another stab at a comeback with her latest single “Lifetimes.” Though an exponentially more pleasurable listen than “Woman’s World,” “Lifetimes” gets stuck in the pop machine of it all before it really gets anywhere, resolving to nothing but a jumpy, EDM-forward track that can’t help but sound dated among 2024’s pop landscape.
A lighthearted song set to danceable production was Perry’s prime mode of success during her imperial era of the late aughts and early 2010’s. If there was one thing she knew how to do, Katy Perry could be counted on to save the day with a campy, upbeat banger that’d get the party going — whether it be songs about kissing girls, loving California or going on an all night bender. She understood that successful pop music of that era could be achieved by following the formula developed by auteurs like Max Martin, her then-frequent collaborator. Music was almost something to be created through a machine, a kind of magic that had been distilled down to a science. Just over ten years ago, if you laid down some booming bass, added a bit of electronic instrumentation and finished the thing off with straightforward lyrics about feeling free and persevering against the odds, you’d have a hit on your hands.
But cut to 2024, where things are now different and a younger generation of prima donnas have revived the field by taking the best (and most relatable) parts of sad bedroom pop and melded it with creamy smooth pop sonics. Sure, there’s still mindless yet irresistibly catchy numbers out there, but there has come to be a hunger for authenticity behind even the most empty-headed of songs. Add “Lifetimes” to the mix of this year’s contenders for song of the summer, and something just doesn’t click.
On paper, “Lifetimes” is a to-the-point declaration of loving somebody or something “for infinity,” aided by a bass kick and a boisterous house-inspired piano track that is just as palatable as, say, any number of songs one might hear on the dance floor at their local club. But other than an undeniably catchy melody and hook, the song features only one short verse and endless synonyms for loving somebody forever. The result sounds just about as watered down as a bad vodka soda at the gay bar — which is maybe exactly what Perry is going for. Perhaps she has realized that when she attempts to be politically-minded (whether satirical or not) or tries to add another anthem to her already enormous catalog of them, things struggle to take off with the general population. So, why not try for a simple feel-good dance track?
In theory, this song should be a return to the Katy Perry-style that people love, and in some ways, it is — with its earworm sensibilities and impressive vocal performance. Yet, for a song with eight writers, it says so little. How is it that the artist who wrote “Thinking of You” solo recruited seven others to craft a song that largely relies on the refrain, “I’ll love you for, I’ll love you for life/Lifetimes”? For an artist who has such undeniable talents, it’s disheartening to receive such rudimentary themes and sounds. Settled into her career, happily engaged and a loving mother to her young daughter, maybe the singer has simply grown tired of incorporating her pain and sorrow into her music (“Part of Me,” “Thinking of You,” “Never Really Over”). Or far worse, does Katy Perry just not have much to say anymore?
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Awesome article and spot on!