Scoreboard: Katy Perry, Summer Singles

This week’s Scoreboard spotlights Katy Perry’s new album and new summer singles from Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez

Billboard Artist Top 10

For the magazine dated July 1, 2017

See the full chart at http://www.billboard.com/charts/artist-100

Last week the Billboard 200 chart-topper was Halsey and her second album Hopeless Fountain Kingdom. While @iamhalsey represents an emerging pop voice, this week’s winner is seasoned pop queen Katy Perry and her fifth album Witness. She takes #1 on both the Billboard 200 and the Artist 100. Over on the Hot 100, “Despacito (Remix)” by Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee, and Justin Bieber stays on top for sixth week in a row. It’s also a big week for former pop power couple Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez, who have new singles in the top 40.

Country’s Lady Antebellum are back from a three-year hiatus this week with new release Heart Break

Katy Perry, the Star Witness

Katheryn Hudson is a long way from her teenage gospel recordings. She is now Super Bowl-headlining pop superstar Katy Perry with 9 number ones on the Hot 100. For her latest album, Perry has focused on bringing fans “purposeful pop.” What does that mean? Well, first we had “Chained To The Rhythm” feat. Skip Marley, on which Perry sang about the “bubble, bubble” in which party people live while ignoring the “trouble, trouble” in the world. Now we get Witness the album, with more #woke songs such as “Power,” an angrier update of “Roar.” What’s challenging is that @katyperry has not been known for her Joan Baez activism. Most of her enduring hits are escapist party jams (see: “Waking Up In Vegas,” “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)“) and her interest in being a witness may alienate old fans while not recruiting new ones. Her singles so far have struggled on the Hot 100. Nonetheless, “Swish Swish” ft. Nicki Minaj has a chance, currently at #62 on the chart. The track is a response to Taylor Swift‘s “Bad Blood” and has Katy and Nicki ready to beef. Perhaps that’s what Katy’s fans want to witness most.

Katy Perry’s “Eye Opening Pop” has done well on the Billboard 200, but not on the Hot 100

“Jelena” Release New Summer Singles

Justin Bieber (#5 on this week’s Artist 100) and Selena Gomez (#9) have gone their separate ways after dating from 2011 to 2014. Nonetheless, as long as the two continue making hits, “Jelena” will be on the charts and this week it’s especially noticeable with new singles from both entering the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100. Bieber is already having the summer of his life, with no album out, at #1 on the “Despacito (Remix)” and at #2 on DJ Khaled‘s “I’m The One.” Adding to the mix is a new David Guetta collaboration titled “2U,” debuting at #16. For the music video, Guetta paired with Victoria’s Secret who provided the models to lip-sync the song in the music video. The video concept may not be groundbreaking (see George Michael‘s “Freedom ’90“), but it does allow for “2U” to accrue massive views with no Bieber present and follows other huge no-Bieber videos for “Sorry” and “Love Yourself,” which have reached nearly 4 million views combined on YouTube.

For Selena Gomez, multiple hits are also becoming the norm. At #17 on this week’s chart is Kygo collaboration “It Ain’t Me” that peaked at #10 earlier this year. Although Gomez is absent in the music video for “It Ain’t Me,” she put in the hours for new single “Bad Liar” that goes from #45 to #23 this week on the Hot 100. In the song, Gomez samples The Talking Heads, and in the music video she plays multiple characters recalling the 1970’s and 1993 film Dazed & Confused that inspired some of the costumes. Check out the video below and check Scoreboard every week to see if these new summer singles can make it to #1.