Pop star Katy Perry broke down and wept on stage during a recent concert, amid a loud online backlash about her current tour.
Pop star Katy Perry launched the Lifetimes world tour in Mexico City last week, a 24-song, hit-filled show that she’ll bring to Australiain June for a string of sold-out arena dates.
But early social media reactions to the new show have included some withering critiques that have since gone viral.
“Katy Perry said NO BUDGET for the Lifetimes tour!” proclaimed one viral TikTok, which showed Perry doing battle with her back-up dancers during the hit E.T., wielding what appears to be a plastic Lightsaber.
The video attracted thousands of comments, many of them mocking Perry and the tour’s supposedly “cheap” production values.
“It’s giving Temu Gaga,” read one brutal comment, while another compared it to the infamous “Wonka Experience” in Glasgow.
Others complained the singer looked “bored” in the clips they’d seen online.
Other elements of the show have copped fierce criticism too, including Perry’s decision to use what appears to be AI-generated imagery in the video backdrops for the tour.
Footage of Perry performing the song Lifetimes reveals the star on stage in front of a video compilation of happy, smiling revellers – but they aren’t live shots from the audience, and instead look suspiciously AI-generated.
Pundits on social media dubbed the apparent use of AI imagery “zero effort and low budget”.
Another clip from the tour has also copped backlash online – this one featuring Perry showing off some bizarre, half-hearted dance moves as she performs the hit Part Of Me.
Amid this noticeable online heat, Perry was spotted with tears streaming down her face during a recent performance. The tears came during a performance of surprise song Pearl during a fan request section of a recent show.
It’s been a rough few months for Perry, starting with the reception to her comeback album 143 last September, which quickly fell off the charts and failed to produce a single top 40 hit in any of her major markets.
Then there was her participation in this month’s all-female Blue Origin space flight, a stunt that copped a divisive reaction and saw Perry use her brief time in space to … announce the set list for her tour.
Katy Perry announcing her Lifetimes tour setlist in the first all-women flight to space facilitated by Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin. Photo / Blue Origin
Amid the social media pile-on, Aussie fans can decide for themselves when the singer kicks off her Australian arena tour in Sydney on June 4.
While other legs of Perry’s tour have been plagued by reports of poor ticket sales (something that’s certainly not affecting her alone – even Beyonce is struggling to sell out her upcoming Cowboy Carter stadium tour), Perry’s Aussie visit has been a popular seller, with 15 near-sold-out dates across five Australian cities.
