Katy Perry is officially in "new album mode" after announcing her new single, "Woman's World," will be dropping on July 11.
Rolling Stone has learned that the soon-to-be former American Idol judge is returning to the producers who made her a top tier pop star with 2010's Teenage Dream. Among the names she has reportedly worked with in the studio on the new album is Max Martin, Stargate and in a very interesting move, Dr. Luke.
“Katy knew exactly the album she wanted to make and put together the team to make it happen,” a source from Capitol Records tells Rolling Stone. “And that includes previous collaborators including Luke, Stargate, Max Martin, and Sarah Hudson, and some new heavy hitters such as Vaughn Oliver, Rocco Valdes, and Theron Thomas.”
While it should come as no surprise that Perry would choose proven hitmakers like Martin and Stargate (Tor E. Hermansen and Mikkel S. Eriksen), the revelation that she has gone back to working with Dr. Luke has caught her fans, the KatyCats, off guard.
The star producer (real name Łukasz Gottwald) was accused of sexual assault by Kesha back in 2014. The two spent the better part of a decade in court, with Kesha suing him for sexual assault and battery, sexual harassment, gender violence, emotional abuse and violation of California business practices. Gottwald countered with his own defamation suit, which Kesha was forced to settle out of court last year.
Since the news dropped, the internet has blown up with accusations and protests, with Kesha also weighing in on the collaboration, simply tweeting out "lol." However, it has since come to attention that Perry has been legally obligated to work with Gottwald since 2013's Prism, meaning there isn't much she can do about it.