Swish Swish. Bish.
Back in February I celebrated the return of Katy Perry - away for far too long and ready to breathe some life back into the beige and synth laden landscape of pop. If she didn't move quickly, surely she would be next on Clean Bandit's collab hit list.
What a difference four months makes.
In a time of Ed Sheeran chart dominance, 'Chained To The Rhythm' achieved a respectable chart position of Number 5 in the UK. Not the textbook comeback most expected, but paired with mammoth radio air play and the inevitable 'video with a message' racking up nearly 300 million views, it was a respectable start to the campaign.
Then 'Bon Apetit'.
To even the hardiest of fans it was clear that, here and now in 2017, things were very different from those halcyon days of 'Roar' back in 2013. Reaction (mostly online) to Perry's ever changing style (short hair! Outrage!), a luke warm chart position for 'Bon Apetit' (Number 37) and those lyrics (spread like a buffet), made it seem as though a 'conscious' Katy Perry was something that the world had never seen coming. Calm down everyone, don't you remember the lyrics for 'E.T'?
Then 'Swish Swish'.
Read too much in to it and 'Swish Swish' is the response to Taylor Swift's 'Bad Blood' that the world had waited for, reigniting the internet's current favourite pop feud. Enjoy it for what it is, and 'Swish Swish' is a decent empowerment banger that I would have no problems filing next to Christina's 'Fighter' and Pink's 'So What'. When quizzed by James Corden during 'Carpool Karaoke' whether there was a problem between Perry and Swift came the response "Honestly, it's really like she started it, and it's time for her to finish it". Sound the publicity alarm!
Then Manchester.
When Perry joined the line-up for Ariana Grande's 'One Love Manchester' benefit gig, her rousing words of defiance, stripped back version of 'Part Of Me' and crowd-pleasing 'Roar' were the kind of moments a gig of such magnitude needed. It was clear that Perry was genuinely moved, just as the rest of the line up were, by being on that stage.
It came as no surprise then that during her mammoth 'Big Brother'-esque publicity stunt to promote the release of the album 'Witness', Perry's image seemed softened and she confessed her desire to bury the hatchet with Taylor Swift and opened up on the difficulties of popstar identity. The negativity encountered along this album campaign has been turned on its head.
The road to reinvention in pop is a path not taken lightly, it certainly has it pitfalls - this particular train has had a wobble but now seems firmly back on track. It's not about being 'woke' (please can we retire this word?), it's about evolving. Never forget that popstars spend most of their time bored out of their tree, so playing with us, the fans, from time to time, is just a bit of fun. Keep playing Ms Perry.