Katy Perry Dodges Dr. Luke Collab Inquiry With Response About Motherhood and Empowerment
Back in 2010, all the stars aligned for Katy Perry as she released Teenage Dream. All six of the album’s singles were era-defining hits, and when she expanded the album two years later, those deluxe singles were hits, too. It’s been years since Perry last occupied such a dominating space in pop, but with her upcoming album 143, she recruited her Teenage Dream collaborators — including Dr. Luke — in hopes of making magic once again. During an appearance on Call Her Daddy, the singer responded to a question about her decision to work with Luke by using a non-answer about motherhood and women empowerment.
“I understand that it started a lot of conversations, and he was one of many collaborators that I collaborated with. But the reality is, it comes from me,” Perry said. “The truth is, I wrote these songs from my experience of my whole life going through this metamorphosis, and he was one of the people to help facilitate all that. One of the writers, one of the producers. I am speaking from my own experience.”
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The producer and songwriter has spent the last few years working his way back into pop’s good graces while embroiled in a defamation lawsuit with Kesha. Luke countersued the musician after she filed a suit against him in 2014, alleging sexual, physical, and emotional abuse. The lawsuit was settled in June 2023.
Perry added: “When I speak about ‘Woman’s World,’ I speak about feeling so empowered now, as a mother, as a woman, giving birth, creating life, creating another set of organs. A brain! A heart! I created a whole ass heart! And I did it, and I’m still doing it. I’m still a matriarch and feeling really grounded in that, that’s where I’m speaking from. So I created all of this with several different collaborators, people that I’ve collaborated with from the past, from ‘Teenage Dream’ era. All of that.”
Call Her Daddy host Alex Cooper didn’t press the topic further, instead asking Perry about how she has evolved as an artist since last working with this particular crew of collaborators. The singer has also dodged inquiries from fans both online and in person when criticized for reconnecting with Luke.
In June, Rolling Stone confirmed that Perry worked with Luke as well as Teenage Dream collaborators Max Martin and Stargate on her seventh studio album. “Katy knew exactly the album she wanted to make and put together the team to make it happen,” a Capitol Records source said at the time.
Luke was absent from the credits of the singer’s last two albums, 2017’s Witness and 2020’s Smile. The 143 lead single “Women’s World” arrived to criticism that it leaned into outdated pop culture feminism and a version of pop maximalism that the genre has moved on from. It marked their first collaboration since 2013.
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