Katy Perry’s new song Watch It Burn has failed miserably on the charts, marking another devastating blow for the pop star.
The pop-rock track was heavily labeled as a return to Perry’s musical roots and was widely expected to serve as a much-needed comeback for the former hitmaker.
However, since its release on Friday, the single has completely flatted out, failing to even enter the top 200 of Spotify’s streaming charts both globally and in the US.
According to reports by news.com.au, the song’s highest peak anywhere in the world so far has been a disappointing Number 127 in Brazil.
The dismal chart performance comes despite an aggressive promotional push by the singer.
Perry backed Watch It Burn with a big-budget music video and high-profile festival concerts, including a set at O Son do Camiño in Spain on 18 June, where she performed the song for the first time ever, followed by a performance at Rock in Rio Lisboa on 20 June.
Despite these efforts, the new track is performing even worse than her previous single, Bandaids, which at least managed to debut at Number 101 on the global Spotify chart before quickly dropping off.
Opening up about the inspiration behind the angsty new single during a recent appearance on the Unfamous podcast, Perry explained that she was wrestling with her darkness following a tough year.
She admitted that she had not given herself permission to be angry her whole life over things she should be angry about, explaining that she had previously pushed her emotions down but felt she was finally allowed to be angry for a moment.
The failure of the single highlights a continuing struggle for Perry, who was once the biggest pop star on the planet but has recently found it difficult to get her new music to connect with audiences.
