Radio 2 should stop playing ‘Woman’s World’. It’s cruel to Katy Perry (and me)

The backlash against Perry’s ill-advised comeback single is overwhelming. So why is it still at the top of the playlist? Take it down and end everyone’s suffering

July 16, 2024 06:00(Update 07:07)

Hey girlboss! Live, laugh, love! This is what a feminist looks like! Kill, queen!

These aren’t the lyrics to Katy Perry’s new song, “Woman’s World,” but they might as well be. This sickening pop song, which sounds like it was written by a Pokémon called Giggly Girly Puff or an AI version of the Spice Girls but was actually co-written by five adults besides Perry (including industry pariah Dr. Luke), describes women in the broadest, most condescending terms possible. “Sexy, confident / So smart!” Hooray, I’m a flower and a thorn!

And then things don’t get any better. The lyrics “She’s a sister, she’s a mother” unfortunately echo those of a prominent man accused of something unsavory, who seeks to prove his respect for women by citing his proximity to one. Meanwhile, “so soft, so strong” sounds more like a toilet paper jingle than an emancipation anthem.

Since its release on Friday, “Woman’s World” has been the subject of a sarcastic backlash the magnitude of which is hard to recall. Whether you object to its stale, limp feminism or its maddeningly repetitive beat – as if someone had pressed “demo” on GarageBand – you’ll be in good company; yet the song remains on Radio 2’s A-list, screaming into the nation’s ears with a frequency that borders on cruelty (I say this as someone who listens to it on repeat as she writes, and can practically feel her brain cells atrophying).

Look, the last thing I want to do is join a Perry Pile On band. The poor woman was clearly trying to do something cool and failed—but mistakes are part of the art-making process, and I hope she dusts herself off before getting right back on the pop horse. In the meantime, wouldn’t it be kinder to everyone involved to let the song fade quietly into obscurity? The internet has obliterated “Woman’s World” like so many bullies circling a kid in nerdy clothes on the first day of school; it’s time to bury her, and for the nation’s DJs to follow her lead. Please: enough is enough.

I start to cry a little, because I wish the song would stop, but its omnipresence raises the question: what is radio for? If it is to try out new songs, that time is over: the people have spoken and want to put “Woman’s World” on sale. to history. If radio is meant to broadcast music that is “good” or “liked,” well, that should guarantee the “women’s world” We never play anymore. And yet, we still hear it, not only in my dreams, but every time I get into a taxi or enter a supermarket. It’s only been three days; imagine what state we’ll all be in by August.

As the first album released since 2020 Smilethat didn’t make much of an impact, “Woman’s World” isn’t just a song but Perry’s (unfortunately) chosen vehicle for an apparent comeback: The single is “the first contribution I’ve made since becoming a mother and feeling truly connected to my divine womanhood,” she said in a statement. But just because a pop star wants to give the charts another shot, should we all sacrifice our ears on her altar?

Oh, our eyes too – I haven’t even mentioned the music video, which was somewhat surreal (anvils, robotic horse legs) and tasteless (Sexy Rosie the Riveter, bouncy dance moves) at the same time. In the wake of criticism and sneering laughter, Perry claimed satire, posting a clip of herself on set expounding on her thoughts (like all the best jokes, satire gets funnier the more you explain it). Oh, the close-up of Perry’s breasts was mocking the male gaze, not flattering it! False alarm, as you did.

Perhaps with time and space to heal, we will be able to understand how this tragedy happened. For too long, radio has been dependent on big artists and well-oiled PR campaigns, whether or not they produce anything interesting; the ruins of “women’s world.”, and the extent of the damage it caused should be a learning moment. It’s not good for anyone to hear a terrible song played over and over again, least of all for its performer (and least of all for me). Never againwe say (we plead) – looking at you, Radio 2.