Celebrities

Katy Perry Faces Tour Setback After Space Flight Backlash

Published 18 hours ago on Apr 25, 2025

Katy Perry Faces Tour Turmoil After Space Flight Backlash and Ticket Woes.

Katy Perry, once hailed as one of pop music’s most flamboyant and commercially successful performers, is facing an unexpected career low. Just days after making history aboard Blue Origin’s first all-female space flight, the 40-year-old singer is now battling disappointing ticket sales, canceled concert dates, and mounting criticism over her recent public moves.

The California Gurls hitmaker kicked off her Lifetimes Tour in Mexico this week to support her seventh studio album 143, released in September 2024. While the album was expected to reignite Perry’s global pop dominance, it was largely panned by critics and has since become her lowest-scoring project on Metacritic since 2011. The album's underwhelming performance has seemingly translated to her tour’s slow ticket sales across the United States.

According to official seat maps on Ticketmaster, multiple U.S. dates remain widely unsold just two weeks before Perry is set to begin the North American leg of the tour. Concerts in cities such as Minneapolis, Denver, and even the kickoff event in Houston on May 7 are still offering entire rows of available seats. Prices for tickets start at around $50, while some VIP packages are listed at over $200. Resale tickets on certain dates are exceeding $1000—yet still aren't moving quickly.

“There were already concerns about poor ticket sales even before the Blue Origin space flight,” an insider told DailyMail.com. “They were pretty dismal. Katy truly believed her tour would take off like Taylor’s.”

The source also noted that some executives at Live Nation were skeptical from the start, adding, “There are talks about what to do if the venues don’t fill up further.”

Perry had hoped to follow in the footsteps of Taylor Swift, whose Eras Tour shattered records and exceeded $1 billion in revenue, making it the highest-grossing tour of all time. Swift’s extravagant performances spanning her 17-year career became a cultural phenomenon. Similarly, Madonna’s Celebration Tour earned a commendable $77 million in ticket sales, despite her lengthy absence from touring.

Perry’s tour, on the other hand, has already been marred by complications. Two shows scheduled for Guadalajara, Mexico, on May 1 and 2 were abruptly canceled due to construction delays at the venue. “I wish I could fix this but it is beyond my control,” Perry told disappointed fans. “I’ll create something special for the fans in Guadalajara in the future.”

While several U.S. dates remain a concern, there is hope in other markets. Her shows in Chicago (May 12) appear close to selling out, and demand in Canada has been strong, with venues in Edmonton, Montreal, and Toronto showing significant ticket movement. International stops in Europe and Australia have also fared better, prompting the addition of extra dates.

However, Perry’s recent PR strategy involving space travel may have backfired. On April 20, she boarded Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin flight alongside Gayle King, Lauren Sanchez, NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, and others, making history as part of the first all-female civilian crew to travel to space. The symbolic mission was meant to celebrate female empowerment and innovation.

Perry, in a nod to her four-year-old daughter Daisy, was seen floating inside the capsule holding a daisy flower. Upon landing, she dramatically fell to her knees, kissed the ground, and raised the flower skyward—a moment that quickly went viral for all the wrong reasons.

“It’s not about singing my songs,” Perry said in a post-flight interview. “It’s about making space for future women and belonging. And it’s about this wonderful world we see out there and appreciating it. This is all for the benefit of Earth.”

Despite the heartfelt message, critics accused her of being “tone deaf” and “dramatic,” especially since her trip came shortly after two NASA astronauts returned from being stranded in orbit for over nine months. The juxtaposition made her 11-minute excursion seem less like a pioneering effort and more like a self-promotional stunt.

“She regrets making such a public spectacle out of it,” another insider shared. “She thought the space flight would be good PR for her tour, but it’s only intensified the backlash.”

In fact, Perry’s choice to work with music producer Dr. Luke on 143 had already drawn heavy criticism even before the album’s release. Dr. Luke, 50, was at the center of a high-profile legal dispute with singer Kesha, who accused him of sexual, physical, and emotional abuse—claims he denied. Kesha also once alleged that Perry had been a victim, which Perry firmly denied. The two parties settled in 2023, but Perry’s decision to collaborate with Dr. Luke reignited public debate.

“Katy’s feeling the pressure right now and has been trying to calm her doubts by focusing on her family,” the second source revealed. “She genuinely wants to deliver the best possible show for her fans, but she’s very aware of the uphill battle she’s facing.”

Despite the controversy and commercial setbacks, Perry remains optimistic. She encouraged fans to “come as YOUR favorite timeline” from her decades-long career, hinting that audience members “miiiiiight be joining me on stage at the show.”

The Lifetimes Tour is currently slated to span 81 dates across North and South America, Europe, Canada, Australia, and Asia, concluding in Abu Dhabi on December 7. The pop star hopes to recapture the magic that once made her a household name, with hits like “Firework,” “Teenage Dream,” and “Roar” dominating the charts in the early 2010s.

Still, as Perry attempts to pivot back into the global spotlight, it’s clear that her road to reinvention is proving more turbulent than anticipated. Whether she can course-correct remains to be seen—but if her career history proves anything, it’s that she’s no stranger to a comeback.

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