Katy Perry recently revisited a memorable costume from her past, wearing an outfit she first donned 17 years ago for a sold-out performance at Cardiff Castle in Wales. The 41-year-old singer performed in the red and white polka dot ensemble, which she originally wore in July 2009 at London's Capital Summertime Ball.
For the Cardiff show, Perry updated the look, pairing the two-piece outfit with white thigh-high stockings and black leather Mary Jane shoes, a departure from the sparkly tights and ballet flats worn in 2009. Her hairstyle also differed, with long curls and a large hair bow replacing her signature pinup style from over a decade ago. Perry shared a video of herself in the costume on Instagram before taking the stage, captioning it, 'WATCH IT BURN CARDIFF,' referencing her recently released single.
This throwback look is part of a trend on Perry's current European tour, where she has been re-wearing nostalgic costumes from her early career. These outfits are being auctioned off to benefit her Firework Foundation, an organization dedicated to providing arts programs for children in underserved communities.
Despite the energetic performance for a capacity crowd, Perry's new single, "Watch It Burn," has struggled commercially since its release. The song did not enter the top 200 of Spotify's global or U.S. streaming charts, with its highest reported peak being No. 127 in Brazil. This performance follows promotional efforts including a music video and festival appearances at Rock in Rio Lisboa and O Son do Camiño in Spain.
Fans have expressed surprise at the song's lack of chart success, with some noting a perceived decline in Perry's mainstream appeal since her peak period of consecutive hits. "Watch It Burn" has reportedly underperformed compared to her previous single, "Bandaids," which charted lower on the Spotify global chart before dropping off.
Perry has spoken about the personal themes behind "Watch It Burn," describing it as an exploration of her "darkness" and a way to process anger she has historically suppressed. This introspective approach comes after a period where her recent studio albums, "Smile" (2020) and "143" (2024), did not achieve significant chart success. Her last few singles have also failed to reach the Billboard Hot 100, with "Woman's World" in 2024 being a notable exception that peaked briefly at No. 63.
In contrast to her new material, several of Perry's older songs have experienced resurgences in popularity, driven by social media platforms like TikTok. Her 2011 single "The One That Got Away" has garnered over 1.6 billion streams on Spotify, and "Last Friday Night" from the "Teenage Dream" album is also seeing renewed chart activity.
Separately, Perry was scheduled to perform at the Werchter Boutique music festival in Belgium on Saturday but was forced to cancel her set hours before it was due to begin. The cancellation was attributed to government-mandated safety concerns due to predicted severe thunderstorms. Perry stated she had no choice but to pull out of the show, emphasizing that the safety of attendees was paramount. She had planned to wear the same 2009 outfit for that festival as well, expressing her disappointment to fans about the unavoidable weather-related cancellation.