Katy Perry has unveiled the cover art for her upcoming album, titled “143.” If the number 143 leaves you puzzled, it holds a special and deeply personal meaning for the pop star. In a conversation with Zane Lowe on Apple Music, Katy explained, “It’s called 143. It’s my angel number. It’s my symbol. It’s my sign. A couple of years ago, we were going through a tough time medically in our family, and it was quite scary. I started seeing 143 in many different ways, not just on the phone. It was almost trippy. I looked it up, and it’s code for ‘I love you.'”
Katy elaborated, “I really believe it was my angels, my guides, saying, ‘I love you. We got you. We’re going to protect you. You’re exactly where you’re meant to be. You’re on the path.'” She named her album “143” because she feels like she’s “exactly where I’m meant to be at this moment.” Naturally, she wanted to share these positive vibes with her fans, saying, “I love the listener, and I want to gift them the love that I’ve received as best as I possibly can and help invite them into this kind of love frequency. It is a love frequency.”
Katy’s album is set to drop on September 20 and is available for pre-order. The drought is almost over—Katy Perry is entering a new era. On June 17, the pop star shared an Instagram post announcing a new single called “Woman’s World,” set to release on July 11, followed by the music video on July 12. “Get ready to pop off,” she wrote in the caption. The cover art, shot by photographer Jack Bridgland, features Perry in a white bikini with sci-fi, robot legs, standing on what looks like a galaxy.
In celebration of the news, Perry posted a TikTok with behind-the-scenes footage of her cover shoot, lip-syncing to a 15-second snippet of her single. “Sexy, confident / So intelligent / She is heaven-sent / So soft, so strong,” she sings. According to Variety, this single will be our first taste of Perry’s sixth studio album. While we await its arrival, we’ve gathered everything we know about her new music so far.
Perry’s sixth studio album, formerly called “KP6” by fans, is officially titled “143,” and it drops on September 20. On July 10, just one day before the arrival of “Woman’s World,” the singer took to her social media accounts to share the news with her followers. She posted the cover art, also by Bridgland, which shows her levitating in front of a colorful vortex. “143. THE ALBUM. SEPTEMBER 20TH. PRE-ORDER NOW,” she wrote, including the link to her website.
The number 143 is code for “I love you.” It takes the number of letters from each word in the phrase: I (1) love (4) you (3). “I set out to create a bold, exuberant, celebratory dance-pop album with the symbolic 143 numerical expression of love as a throughline message,” Perry said in a statement. In a press release, Capitol Records added that the album is “a sexy, fearless return to form for the multifaceted musician. Jam-packed with the kind of empowering and provocative pop anthems fans have come to love, 143 is an album with a lot of heart—and a lot of BPM.”
Perry has been dropping subtle hints leading up to her big announcement. On April 13, Perry attended the 2024 Breakthrough Prize Ceremony wearing a classy black off-the-shoulder gown and carrying a clear glass purse. Inside the bag, she carried a small scroll that read “KP6: TOP SECRET,” which got the internet buzzing with talk of more music. That month, Perry shared with Access Hollywood that KP6 will be her “happiest” record yet. “I just have yet to make a record from a place of feeling really happy and whole and full of love,” she explained. “Sometimes artists are like, ‘Oh, that’s boring, you want to make music from kind of like a tougher place,’ but actually it’s very bright and joyful, like pure joy and fun and playful and celebratory and a party.”
Then on May 8th, two days after the 2024 Met Gala, Perry seemingly suggested that her upcoming project might be coming in the fall. The pop star tweeted, “wow ppl are STILL texting me that they can’t believe they missed me at The Met or OMG you killed it etc etc… welp, hold on to your common sense hat cause we in for a ride this fall…” In fact, her teasing the album dates as far back as 2023. Early that August, at one of her Las Vegas residency shows, Perry said from the stage, “If you couldn’t love me in my Witness (2017) and Smile (2020) eras, then you can’t love me in my KP6 era.”
Before “Woman’s World,” the last time Perry released music was in 2020. In recent years, she has shifted her focus to being a judge on American Idol for seven seasons. But after retiring from the singing competition show at the end of its 22nd season in May 2024, Perry seems to be preparing to gear back into full pop stardom.
Katy Perry announced her new album, “143,” will arrive on September 20. The album’s lead single, “Woman’s World,” will be released Thursday. Katy Perry has officially opened the portal to her new musical era. Perry announced on Tuesday that her new album, “143,” will be released on September 20. “I set out to create a bold, exuberant, celebratory dance-pop album with the symbolic 143 numerical expression of love as a throughline message,” Perry said in a press release distributed by her label, Capitol Records.
The press release also bills “143” as a “sexy, fearless return to form” for Perry, who hasn’t released a full-length project since 2020. That album, “Smile,” was met with largely negative reviews and lackluster sales; it debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 and its top-charting single, “Daisies,” peaked at No. 40 on the Billboard Hot 100. (Her previous three albums, “Teenage Dream,” “Prism,” and “Witness,” all went to No. 1.)
Since then, Perry has delivered a small handful of duets and commercial singles, including a cover of “All You Need Is Love” for a Gap holiday campaign and the pop song “Electric” for a Pokémon soundtrack album. “143” will be Perry’s sixth major-label release — seventh overall, including her sparsely heard debut “Katy Hudson,” a Christian music album released in 2001.
The new album’s lead single, “Woman’s World,” is set to arrive on Thursday after more than a month of teasers. The upbeat track will contain themes of freedom and female empowerment, with Perry belting in the chorus, “Celebrate / We ain’t going away / It’s a woman’s world and you’re lucky to be living in it.” Although teasers for “Woman’s World” were initially met with disappointment online (and a clip of the music video has received similarly mixed reactions), it does offer a peek into the tone of Perry’s hopeful pop comeback.
“‘143’ IS A PARTY AND THE WORLD IS INVITED!” reads the album description in Perry’s online store. “Get ready for Singalong, Heart Opening, Empowering, Sexy, Provocative Pop Anthems!” Perry worked with major pop producers like Dr. Luke, Max Martin, and Stargate. Perry reunited with familiar faces to create “143,” a label source told Rolling Stone. Perry previously worked with Dr. Luke, Martin, and Stargate to craft No. 1 hits like “I Kissed a Girl” (2008), “Teenage Dream” (2010), “Firework” (2010), and “Roar” (2013).
However, Perry has not worked with Dr. Luke since he was sued by Kesha, his former teen protégé, in 2014. Kesha accused Dr. Luke, whose real name is Lukasz Gottwald, of sexual, physical, and emotional abuse. He denied all of Kesha’s claims and countersued for defamation. “The abuse I suffered from Luke was a decade long, every day, every moment of every day,” Kesha said during sworn questioning in 2017. Kesha’s battle to escape her contract with Dr. Luke’s label, Kemosabe Records, earned her support from fellow pop stars like Adele, Halsey, Lady Gaga, and Taylor Swift, who donated $250,000 to help cover Kesha’s legal fees.
The parties reached an undisclosed settlement last year. Shortly after, Kesha announced that she had fulfilled her contractual obligation to Kemosabe and released her first song as an independent artist, “Joyride,” earlier this month. Given Dr. Luke’s embattled reputation among artists and fans alike, Perry’s decision to reunite with him sparked backlash. However, the Capitol Records source told Rolling Stone that Perry personally assembled her team for the album. “Katy knew exactly the album she wanted to make and put together the team to make it happen,” the source said.
Perry also reconnected with Sarah Hudson, who cowrote Perry’s diamond-certified hit “Dark Horse,” as well as several tracks from her 2017 album “Witness.” Newcomers to Perry’s orbit include Vaughn Oliver, Rocco Valdes, and Theron Thomas, according to the label source. Oliver is an up-and-coming pop producer who has teamed up with Gottwald multiple times, coproducing hits like Latto’s “Big Energy” and Nicki Minaj’s “Super Freaky Girl.” Valdes — better known by his stage name Rocco Did It Again! — is another member of Gottwald’s inner circle. The two share production credits on songs by Doja Cat, Kim Petras, Minaj, and more. Thomas is a Grammy-winning songwriter who signed with Kemosabe in 2014. More recently, he has written songs with Beyoncé (“All Night”), Lizzo (“Juice,” “Tempo,” “About Damn Time”), and Usher (“No Limit,” “Bad Habits”).
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Source: Variety, Rolling Stone, Apple Music
