Katy Perry is setting her past ablaze on new single “Watch It Burn,” which dropped Thursday night (June 25) alongside a cinematic new music video.
As previewed in teasers shared by the pop star leading up to its release, the visual finds her wreaking havoc as a monstrous scorpion-human hybrid. On the cathartic pop-rock banger — which Perry performed before its release at both O Son do Camiño in Spain and Rock in Rio Lisboa — she sings about reclaiming her life by saying goodbye to a long-term relationship.
“Tonight’s the night, I light a match/ Throw it hard behind my back,” she sings on the track. “Gonna try to forgive and forget/ Light a cigarette, and watch it burn.”
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The hitmaker adds in the lyrics, “I’m gonna get what I deserve … Finally I put myself first.”
“Watch It Burn” marks Perry’s first release since November single “Bandaids.” Before that came 2024 album 143, which reached No. 6 on the Billboard 200.
The new song’s lyrics seemingly nod to the singer’s breakup last year from fiancé Orlando Bloom, with whom she shares daughter Daisy. While speaking with cowriter Justin Tranter on his Unfamous podcast, Perry said, “In ‘Watch It Burn,’ I am wrestling with my darkness, but last year was pretty tough.”
“I have not given myself permission to be angry my whole life over things where I should be f—king angry about,” she continued. “What I’ve done is I pushed it down, but I should be f—king angry. I’m allowed to be angry for a f—king moment.”
Perry is now in a relationship with Justin Trudeau, whom she called “the love of my life” during a Q&A at the premiere of her Lifetimes Tour concert film in New York earlier in June. “I fly super high,” she added at the time. “Sometimes I need to be anchored. To have that anchor finally makes me feel really whole.”
