Let’s talk about Swish Swish

BY HAYDN HICKSON

Katy Perry has gotten herself into a predicament which is seemingly impossible to get out of. If it wasn’t hard enough that she needed to whip out a lead single that would better that of ‘Roar’ and ‘Dark Horse’ (both of which are hovering the two billion mark on YouTube), fans almost demanded a “response” to Taylor Swift’s basic-ass “beef” in ‘Bad Blood’.

If we fast-forward through the unfortunate flops of ‘Chained to the Rhythm’ and the Migos-aided dance track ‘Bon Appetit’, ‘Swish Swish’ comes into the game as Katy Perry’s last shot at staying relevant. So, for a brief second, let’s forget the awkward-mess that was the SNL performance and really focus on the track, because this may be Katy Perry’s best song to friggen date.

Firstly, the sample is incredible. Taken from the Fatboy Slim single ‘Star 69’, the line “They know what is what, But they don’t know what is what, They just strut, What the fuck?” elevates the single to a whole new level. Not only does this sample allow Katy Perry the perfect entry-point to deep house clubs around the world, but it attacks Taylor-Swift’s-White-Feminism squad at their core. Well played Katy, well played.

Secondly, the production on this track is nothing short of delicious. Produced by Duke Dumont, this danceable banger throws away basic, empty melodic synths in exchange for room-filling, layered production. I swear to you, if Duke Dumont got a non-celebrity for the hook, this would be spinning on Triple J, all night long.

Finally, Nicki Minaj. Holy shit. The queen of rap goes in on Remy Ma here. Switching up flows and demonstrating her advanced singing ability in a matter of seconds, Minaj uses her small feature on this song to her full advantage.

Somehow, a track with two of the world’s biggest pop stars is the underdog single of the year. I thoroughly encourage you to give this single a chance, because honestly, it’s her best song yet. ‘Swish Swish’ fundamentally demonstrates Katy Perry’s immense growth as a pop artist, so don’t let Ruby Rose’s irrelevant sidelining commentary distract you from that.