AOL Feature Examines 11 Songs That Damaged Singers’ Careers

A recent AOL.com feature examines 11 songs that had disastrous effects on artists’ careers, highlighting tracks that derailed popular musicians. Among the highlighted releases is Katy Perry’s 2024 single Woman’s World, which served as the lead single for her sixth album and aimed to stage a career comeback following her 2017 commercial and critical flop album Witness and another flop album in 2020.

Described as an underbaked attempt at feminist empowerment, the track features lyrics like Sexy, confident / So intelligent / She is heaven-sent / So soft, so strong and It’s a woman’s world, and you’re lucky to be livin’ in it. Its music video features Perry as a sexy Rosie the Riveter surrounded by construction worker ladies, getting crushed by a giant anvil halfway through, reawakening as a bionic woman, and “refueling” by sticking a gas pump nozzle into her butt cheek before joining a TikTok dance, stealing a ring light, and flying off in a helicopter.

Response to Criticism and Collaboration Backlash

While the single got everybody talking again for all the wrong reasons, Perry responded to criticism in an Instagram video by stating, We’re kind of just having fun being a bit sarcastic with it. It’s very slapstick and very on the nose, and with this set, it’s like, ‘Ooh, we’re like, we’re not about the male gaze, but we really are about the male gaze.’ And we’re really overplaying it and on the nose because we’re about to get smashed, which is like a reset, a reset for me, and a reset for my idea of feminine divine. And it’s a whole different world we go to after this.

However, the core of the backlash stemmed from the fact that Woman’s World was produced by Dr. Luke (Lukasz Gottwald). Addressing the choice on Call Her Daddy, Perry noted, I understand that [collaborating with Dr. Luke] started a lot of conversations. He was one of many collaborators that I collaborated with.

The Legal History Behind Dr. Luke

Dr. Luke stated in his own release, While I appreciate Kesha again acknowledging that she cannot recount what happened that night in 2005, I am absolutely certain that nothing happened. I never drugged or assaulted her and would never do that to anyone. For the sake of my family, I have vigorously fought to clear my name for nearly 10 years. It is time for me to put this difficult matter behind me and move on with my life. I wish Kesha well. The settlement announcement arrived several months after Kesha released Gag Order, her final album with Dr. Luke’s Kemosabe Records, before she officially parted ways with the label that December.