Katy Perry is celebrating the release of her hotly-anticipated new album 143, which dropped Friday at midnight.
The Teenage Dream hitmaker, 39, took to Instagram to announce to her devout fans — often referred to as ‘KatyCats’ — that the album is ‘out now.’
Flaunting her chiseled abs and famous bust in a skimpy top, Perry appeared in a brief video to showcase the many 143 vinyl copies that fans can purchase.
She had on a colorful butterfly-shaped top with a chainlink back strap and baggy low-rise denim jeans.
The 13-time Grammy nominee whipped around her waist-length black hair as she smoldered for the camera.
Katy Perry is celebrating the release of her hotly-anticipated new album 143, which dropped Friday at midnight
The mother-of-one starts the video with her back turned before showing off her vinyl stack to her 205million followers.
143 is Katy’s sixth studio album and her first in four years.
Her last two albums — Witness (2017) and Smile (2020) — were critical and commercial failures after years of Katy dominating the Billboard charts.
143 was supposed to be her much-anticipated comeback after her beloved music of the 2010s found a resurgence on TikTok.
But the album’s rollout — which saw the release of three single: Woman’s World, Lifetimes and I’m His, He’s Mine — was plagued by controversy.
In July, it was revealed that Katy had worked with producer Dr. Luke on her new music, including the ‘female empowerment’ anthem Woman’s World.
This sparked backlash as Dr. Luke was previously locked in a decade-long legal battle with singer, Kesha , 37, who he sued in 2014 when she accused him of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, which he has vehemently denied.
Earlier this month while appearing on Call Her Daddy, Katy defended her decision as she addressed the controversy for the first time.
‘I understand that it started a lot of conversations,’ she said of her choice to reunite with Dr. Luke. ‘And he was one of many collaborators that I collaborated with.’
The Wide Awake singer insisted Luke is simply someone who helps her ‘facilitate’ her music.
The Teenage Dream hitmaker, 39, took to Instagram to announce to her devout fans — often referred to as ‘KatyCats’ — that the album is ‘out now’
Flaunting her chiseled abs and famous bust in a skimpy top, Perry appeared in a brief video to showcase the many 143 vinyl copies that fans can purchase
The mother-of-one starts the video with her back turned before showing off her vinyl stack to her 205million followers
She went on: ‘But the reality is it comes from me. 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. 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 whole heart and I did it. I’m still doing it. And I’m still a matriarch. And feeling really grounded in that, that’s where I’m speaking from,’ she concluded.
Early reviews for 143 have not been too kind to Katy, with Variety brutally stating that the album ‘strips away the remnants of the perky personality that catapulted Perry into early 2010s superstardom.
The described the album as ‘flat’ and remarked that Katy ‘sounds disaffected and removed, as if she’d just punched in between “American Idol” tapings.’
Meanwhile, The Guardian gave 143 a two out of five stars, calling it ‘a common-or-garden mediocre pop album.’
Ahead of 143’s release, Katy was celebrated at the 2024 MTV Video Music Award as she received the coveted Video Vanguard award.
During the show, Katy took to the stage to sing a medley of some of her biggest hits, including California Gurls, Teenage Dream and Fireworks.
143 is Katy’s sixth studio album and her first in four years
Katy shared footage of hoards of her devoted KatyCats chanting ‘Katy’ and ‘143’ outside her hotel window in Brazil after the album dropped
Additionally, she invited rapper Doechii to perform her latest single I’m His, He’s Mine with her, which was officially released last Friday.
Perry spent much of Thursday rehearsing for her headlining gig at Brazil’s annual Rock In Rio festival in Rio de Janeiro.
Katy is headlining Dia Delas on Friday, September 20, which is a day to celebrate the power of female artists, boasting a 100% female line-up.
She last performed at Rock In Rio in 2015 during her Prismatic World Tour.
Also performing at the festival, which takes place between Friday 13 September and Sunday 22 September, are Ed Sheeran, Imagine Dragons, Travis Scott, and OneRepublic, amongst others.
With a special program to celebrate the festival’s 40-year history, there are over 700,000 music fans expected to arrive.
Rock In Rio has also branched out into other locations such as Lisbon, which took place in June this year and saw Jonas Brothers, Doja Cat and Leigh-Anne Pinnock take to the stage.
Katy arrived at Galeao International Airport in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday, where she was greeted by her adoring fans.
She waved to them from her balcony in a clip uploaded to her main Instagram feed
Perry spent much of Thursday rehearsing for her headlining gig at Brazil’s annual Rock In Rio festival in Rio de Janeiro; seen on September 11
She shared footage of herself and her dancers rehearsing inside a massive rehearsal space on Wednesday and Thursday, which she revealed on Instagram was a two-hour drive away from the event’s location.
Fans flocked to the singer’s hotel on Thursday in the hopes of meeting her.
Katy shared footage of hoards of her devoted KatyCats chanting ‘Katy’ and ‘143’ outside her hotel window.
She waved to them from her balcony in a clip uploaded to her main Instagram feed.
