On Oct. 16, pop star Katy Perry released her fifth single titled “Harley’s In Hawaii”. Did you know that?

You would be forgiven if you haven’t seen this song because it is #200 on the iTunes charts. It’s also nowhere to be found on the Billboard Hot 100. It only has 11 million views on YouTube, compared to the 21 million and 105 million views from her previous singles, “Small Talk” and “Never Really Over.” Not to mention that I have not heard this song on the radio or seen her perform it on television anywhere. It was not “Good Morning America”, “The Wendy Williams Show”, “Stephen Colbert” or even “Ellen” besides that one time she performed “Small Talk.”

The only real promo she has done so far is an ASMR video of her reading the lyrics. So on the promotional side, she is not helping her chart success.

When it comes to the song itself, I like it because the lyrics are silly, especially in the chorus when she says, “When I hula-hula, hula, so good, you’ll take me to the jeweler-jeweler, jeweler,” I like the motorcycle effects in the song; it sounds oddly pleasant to me. I also like the effect on her oooh’s in the bridge.

However, just like “Small Talk,” it’s very chill and I don’t think the sound is going to skyrocket her back to the top of the charts. “Never Really Over” which could really be considered her signature sound, was supposed to be that song, but it only peaked at #15. “365” and “Small Talk” was at the bottom of NRO’s boot at 86 and 81.

The last factor that I believe is causing her to “flop” is her age. She turned 35 two days ago and the three women that in the top ten of the hot 100 currently are Lizzo, Camila Cabello, and Billie Eilish. Their ages are 31, 22, and 17.

Granted Lizzo just started becoming successful on the charts so she won’t “flop” just yet, but don’t be surprised when she turns 35 or 38; her music won’t be as popular as it is now.

Madonna would be the next best example of women who are successful in music despite their age. Her last successful album and single were “Hard Candy” and “4 Minutes”. The album peaked at number one while the single peaked at number three. This was 2008 when she was 50 years old. The tour for that album “Sticky & Sweet Tour” went on to become the best selling tour for a female artist of all time. In 2019, she is 61 and released “Madame X,” which is not on the Billboard 200 nor are any of her singles. 

This happens to male artists as well but women definitely get hit harder. It happened to Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Lopez, Britney Spears, Madonna, Shakira, and now it’s starting to happen to her ex-rival, Taylor Swift. Katy Perry just happens to be the latest victim.

Instead of saying Hawaii-i-i in the chorus she should be saying bye-e-e. This can’t be the type of teenage dream she dreamed about.