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Katy Perry is explaining her split with Orlando Bloom.
This year, the singer went from her long-term relationship with Bloom to flaunting PDA with Justin Trudeau.
How did it happen?
Perry is now using song (and the accompanying music video) to tell a sad story of the slow decline of a relationship.
Does ‘Bandaids’ explain Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom’s breakup?
In June, Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom broke up after nearly a decade together.
They share one child, Daisy, who turned 5 years old earlier this autumn.
On Thursday, November 6, Perry released a new song, “Bandaids.”
She also included a fairly unsubtle music video.
Both the lyrics to the song and the video itself describe a withering relationship, and the steps of trying — but failing — to salvage things before it all came to an end.
“Hand to God, I promise I tried / There’s no stone left unturned,” Perry sings in “Bandaids.”
“It’s not what you did / It’s what you didn’t,” her lyrics accuse. “You were there, but you weren’t.”
Perry’s lyrics describe: “Got so used to you letting me down / No use tryna send flowers now.”
She reflects: “Telling myself you’ll change, you don’t / Band-Aids over a broken heart.”
Perry’s lyrics go on to mention having “tried all the medications” and “lowered my expectations.” Ultimately, to no avail.
The ‘Bandaids’ music video is more eventful, if just as sad as the lyrics
As for the music video, we don’t see Katy Perry in a state of domestic despair.
That would have been the most literal interpretation. It would also have resembled a commercial for SSRIs.
Instead, the “Bandaids” music video, as you can see above, shows the singer having a miserable day. The events are borderline Final Destination.
We see her lacerated with glass shards, stuck to train tracks in the face of an oncoming train, doing some very distracted driving, and ultimately, exploded (though not undeservedly) while lighting up a cigarette at a gas station.
However, there is clear symbolism in the imagery, the series of events, and a somewhat NSFW nod to a relationship frustration that Perry has expressed before.
The end of the song emphasizes not having regrets, vowing that she “would still do it all over again.”
In the video, she sees a daisy — a wildly unsubtle nod to their 5-year-old daughter, Daisy Bloom.
Overall, the video shows her persevering despite misfortune, pain, and misery. Obviously, this represents pushing yourself to stay in a relationship that is no longer making you happy.
(The best advice to follow if a relationship feels bad is to determine whether you believe that this is a temporary, one-time problem, or something that will be ongoing or recurring. The former can be saved, if you truly believe that it is worth it — but the latter cannot)
And the start of the music video shows Perry fishing for a ring in the kitchen sink. This is a miserable task — but is a reminder of how, in past interviews, she has vowed that she would repay kitchen chores with oral sex. To her, simply doing the dishes (when the housekeeper isn’t there) is a way to show love to her.
Of course, this is only one side of things
If your married relationship uses either sex or simple household duties as rare or transactional, it is possible that there are already underlying problems.
(Obviously, every relationship is different — normally having housekeepers)
This is not a salacious breakup tale. Katy Perry doesn’t seem to be accusing Orlando Bloom of cheating (or worse).
Growing distant and having declining affection isn’t as salacious as, say, breaking up with someone because of their cringe PR disaster following their Blue Origin flight.
That said, this is only Perry’s side of the story. Bloom seems less likely to reenact the decline of their romance through his art form, so it’s unclear if we’ll ever hear his version of events.
Katy Perry & Orlando Bloom Breakup Explained in ‘Bandaids’ Music Video, … was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.