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Originally posted by IAmFree
I wonder if the GP stil lthinks Dark Horse is her "new song".
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The target GP definitely knew about "Birthday" and "This Is How We Do."
The bottom line is that her usual demos didn't like it as much as they liked any of the previous singles. They liked hearing "Birthday" on the radio. MScores were great, and callout after a few weeks wasn't bad at all. They streamed it, and when she performed it, they purchased it. It definitely took a backseat to "Dark Horse," and because it never had the opportunity to grow, and it had a nine minute video, digital sales and streaming weren't as strong as they could have been.
Clearly people liked the video for "This Is How We Do," but the relevant demographics weren't inclined to stream the song as much on Spotify or purchase it. As for radio, while it took KIIS and Z100 forever to test, they did eventually give it the benefit of the doubt--and it didn't test well. Radio isn't going to play a song its listeners don't like because they risk losing ad revenue. Contrary to what some bitter radio fans online think, even Katy Perry isn't immune to the repercussions of an audience really not liking a song.
As for Capitol's involvement, it was pushed harder to radio than "Dark Horse" and "Birthday" combined through both traditional and guerilla marketing.
Sam, we get that you like it. We get that you think it should have been a hit. That's irrelevant, though. There were a very small but very vocal part of her fanbase that wanted this as a single.Other fans, who may or may not enjoy the song in the context of the album, thought the public was over Katy catering to the lowest common denominator. Everyone likes guilty pleasures, but Katy set the bar a lot higher with "Dark Horse" (and even "Birthday," which, while a bit similar in style to the Teenage Dream era, was definitely more mature). Also, like slw84 mentioned, it did kind of cater to a more niche, narrow audience.
Slw84, keeping you in my thoughts and payers for a reworking of "Numbers," or, alternatively, your coming to terms with "G'air"'s viability, even if begrudgingly.
