"Lifetimes" is a song by American singer Katy Perry from her seventh studio album, 143 (2024). It was released as the second single through Capitol Records alongside an accompanying music video on August 8, 2024.[3][4][5] The Italo housedance song was inspired by Perry's love for her daughter.
The music video was shot in the Balearic Islands in Spain, whose provincial government said that filming had been conducted without authorization and could have caused environmental damage to the highly protected dunes of S'Espalmador. Capitol Records insisted that approval had previously been given to record footage there. "Lifetimes" respectively reached numbers 1 in Hungary, 40 in the Czech Republic, 42 in Venezuela, 45 in Panama, and 89 in the United Kingdom.
Composition
Perry co-wrote "Lifetimes" with LunchMoney Lewis, Rocco Valdes, Ryan Ogren, Sarah Hudson, Theron Thomas, and its producers Vaughn Oliver and Dr. Luke.[6] The singer explained that it is inspired by her daughter Daisy Dove Bloom: "It is funny how sometimes you're looking for your soulmate in a partner. [...] For me it came in the form of Daisy. I wrote 'Lifetimes' about her. Every night, before we go to sleep, I say, 'I love you,' and then I ask, 'Will you find me in every lifetime?' and she says, 'Yes'."[7][8] The song is primarily an Italo house track[9] with elements of pop[10] and dance music.[4][11]
Critical reception
Billboard author Rania Aniftos found "Lifetimes" to be "the ultimate track for a beach club in the Mediterranean", highlighting its ecstatic, romantic theme.[12]Slant Magazine's Tom Williams believed that even though the track is "built around a generic house beat", its melodic hook is "relatively strong", serving as a reminder that Perry and her team "are still capable of writing some earworms".[13] According to Slate's Carl Wilson, "Lifetimes" is a "passable" song, albeit "seems several years too late to catch the same wave as Dua Lipa and Beyoncé's tributes to house and disco".[14]The New York Times's Lindsay Zoladz found it a "blithe" single.[15]
The New Yorker's Amanda Petrusich considered the track to be "fine", though "it also sounds like a song that will soon be playing—endlessly, loudly—at a club without a bouncer, a club at an all-inclusive island resort (off-season), a club that serves chicken fingers."[16] Callie Ahlgrim of Business Insider described "Lifetimes" as a generic and formulaic song with repetitive lyrics, seeing Perry attempt to emulate the sound of Teenage Dream (2010).[17]The Arts Desk's Guy Oddy called the song "rather anonymous" and over-reliant on Auto-Tune.[18] Rich Juzwiak of Pitchfork believed the lyrics "I'll love you for life," "I'm gonna love you till the end," and "Baby you and me for infinity" were redundant and wrote: "The tension-and-release low end of the track yields not drops but gentle puts. This is kiddie-coaster EDM."[19]The Daily Telegraph's Helen Brown felt the song "simply flatlines".[20]
Music video
Synopsis
The music video, which was released alongside the song, was directed by Stillz and shot in the Balearic Islands of Spain.[21] It features Perry riding a boat off the coast of Ibiza, being driven by a biker across Formentera, and playing water sports with a group of people in a bikini on a beach before dancing with a DJ at a nightclub. During the video, she revealed the track list for 143.[22][23]
Investigation
On August 13, 2024, the Department of Environment and Mobility of the Government of the Balearic Islands opened an investigation on Perry to determine whether the music video caused environmental damage to the highly protected dunes of S'Espalmador; claiming her production crew did not obtain proper authorization to film on the ecologically rich area.[24] A spokesperson for Perry's record label, Capitol Records, told Variety that her video crew secured filming permits before production and received "verbal approval" from the Directorate-General for the Coast and the Sea to film on the dunes. Capitol stressed they "adhered to all regulations associated with filming in this area and have the utmost respect for this location and the officials tasked with protecting it."[25] Although the music video is not necessarily a "crime against the environment", it is being treated as an infringement, as filming can be authorized with the proper permits.[26]
↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 34. týden 2024 in the date selector. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
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