Y’all know I love Katy Perry — always have, always will. She makes some damn good pop music and puts on an entertaining show (I should know, I’ve seen her live) and that makes her a good pop star. However, there’s always a small curse many stars of her stature tend to fall into, and that’s of the Woke Celeb. Now, we’re living in some seriously fucked up times in the US and I think artists and people with a public platform should absolutely speak up and use their influence to call out the bullshit that’s happening in the country. However, Katy seems to have reinvented herself as a social justice warrior almost of the most clueless degree and I’m not sure what to make of it.
Last week, Katy released her new single – her first in nearly 3 years – called “Chained to the Rhythm”. The track features a rap verse from Skip Marley, the grandson of Bob Marley, and seems to assert that through dance, we can all unite in these terrible times and somehow fight injustice in the process. Okay, then?
Here’s the song in question:
So what’s the deal here? Has Katy P. always been woke? Is her whole new album going to be about social justice? Is “Chained to the Rhythm” a terrible song? I can’t decide on any of these.