Could Kamala Harris’ presidential run resuscitate Katy Perry’s ‘Woman’s World?’

Katy Perry’s latest single, “Woman’s World,” flopped hard among listeners and critics when it premiered this month. Could Kamala Harris’ presidential run be the song’s saving grace?

When it debuted, critics quickly compared the pop track to something straight from the 2016 Hillary Clinton “girl boss” era. It’s a glossy number with simplistic lyrics about how women are strong, cool, and great.

Perry’s music video for the track also received flack, prompting the artist to explain that the storyline is intended to be “sarcastic.” Still, viewers slammed Perry and her cast’s revealing outfits and weak feminist message for a song that’s supposed to be empowering. The song is also co-produced and co-written by Dr. Luke, whom Kesha sued for sexual misconduct. The case was settled and the producer denied the claims. Still, some have criticized Perry for continuing to work with Dr. Luke and have brought up the irony of writing a song purported as a women’s anthem with him.

While the song has largely performed poorly — failing to break into the Billboard Hot 100 — some internet sleuths have tried to connect the dots with how things went so awry. On TikTok, some fans theorized that the song was a vault track from the 2010s, when Perry was at the height of her anthem game with songs like “Firework,” “Roar,” and “Rise” (the latter two of which she performed for Clinton at the Democratic National Convention).

Others are convinced that the song was intended for Greta Gerwig’s Barbie movie but scrapped. On TikTok, a viral fan video with nearly 5 million views swaps Lizzo’s “Pink” with “Woman’s World” on top of the film’s opening credits scene. In the comments section, viewers remark over how well the song fits.

Still, Perry’s single came out when Harris was still taking the back seat of President Joe Biden’s reelection ticket. Was her step into the spotlight the context needed to elevate the otherwise seemingly-doomed song?

On social media, Perry endorsed Harris on Sunday shortly after the news broke that Biden was dropping out of the race. In her post, she sang the chorus of “Woman’s World” a capella while sipping on a cocktail.

Fans have taken the endorsement a step further, using “Woman’s World” as the backing track for Harris hype videos.

In one that’s been viewed more than 145,000 times, the chorus plays while clips show Harris dancing, fanning herself, and laughing.

Fans have also speculated that Perry could go on to perform “Woman’s World” at the DNC, which begins Aug. 19 in Chicago, calling back to her 2016 appearance and performance for Clinton, and that Harris could use the track on the campaign trail.

“Kamala Harris using Woman’s World as a walk-out song is the only thing that can save Katy Perry,” one user wrote on X.

Nothing’s set in stone yet, though. And as far as Harris’ rapid response team is concerned, it’s still a “Brat summer” with references to Charli XCX’s album sprinkled throughout the campaign imagery so far.