Katy Perry Charts Her Biggest Hit On One List In More Than Half A Decade

Katy Perry’s last several albums have not produced the kind of globe-dominating single she racked up with apparent ease with her first few full-lengths, but somehow her most successful project is still churning out global successes well over a decade after it was first released. “The One That Got Away,” the sixth official single from the Grammy-nominated singer’s album Teenage Dream, has been rising on charts all around the world for weeks after going viral on TikTok. Perry and her team have embraced the unexpected surge, sharing a new director’s cut of the official music video not long ago, and seemingly doing what they can to turn “The One That Got Away” into a smash again.

This week, “The One That Got Away” returns to the most important songs chart in the U.K., nearly becoming a top 40 win once more. At the same time, the cut debuts on another tally, earning the superstar her biggest hit in years.

Katy Perry’s “The One That Got Away” Debuts

On the current edition of the Official Streaming chart, the U.K.’s look at the most-played songs of any style via platforms like Spotify in that nation, “The One That Got Away” debuts at No. 73. Perry scores her seventeenth career smash, a figure she has added to regularly since first appearing on the list in July 2014, when “Birthday,” “Roar” and “Dark Horse” with Juicy J debuted at the same time.

Katy Perry Scores Her Highest-Rising Hit in Years

No. 73 is a fairly low starting point, but nonetheless, it marks Perry’s highest-rising hit in quite a while. The last time one of the pop icon’s tunes launched in a loftier position was back in the fall of 2019, more than half a decade ago. That month, “Harleys in Hawaii” spent one frame at No. 70 before slipping away.

Since then, both “Daisies” and “Woman’s World” – big singles from two different albums – have spent just one stint on the roster. “Daisies” debuted at No. 74, while “Woman’s World” only managed a single spot at No. 85.

Katy Perry Has So Far Charted a Trio of Top 10s

Despite being one of the most reliable hitmakers for a decade of pop music history, Perry has only claimed three top 10s on the Official Streaming chart. The list was introduced after many of her most successful cuts enjoyed their moment in the sun, and many of her career-defining smashes – “I Kissed a Girl,” “Hot N Cold,” “California Gurls” with Snoop Dogg and “Firework,” for example – have yet to appear on the list.

Perry has climbed highest with “Chained to the Rhythm” with Skip Marley, which peaked at No. 4. Her team-up with Calvin Harris, Pharrell and Big Sean, the catchy “Feels,” rose to No. 6, while “Swish Swish,” which features a verse by Nicki Minaj, topped out at No. 7.

“The One That Got Away” Reappears on the Main Singles Chart

As “The One That Got Away” becomes a streaming win for the first time in the U.K., the song also finds its way back to one additional roster. The Teenage Dream hit rebounds onto the Official Singles chart, a weekly ranking that uses both sales and streaming data to rank the most-consumed cuts in the U.K. “The One That Got Away” breaks back in at No. 41.

“The One That Got Away” Returns After 14 Years

“The One That Got Away” has now spent a total of 30 weeks on the Official Singles chart, and this latest moment on the rundown marks its first visit in 14 years. The track was last seen on the roster in May 2012, when it climbed slightly to No. 94 and then disappeared. Perry’s song debuted in October 2011 and by the following January, peaked at No. 18.

ForbesKaty Perry Sees Both A Single And An Album Climb To New Chart PeaksBy Hugh McIntyre