Bandaids

Katy Perry dropped "Bandaids" on November 6, 2025 as the lead single from her upcoming compilation album The Ones That Got the Plays. This release marked her first new music since the 2024 studio album 143. The track strips away glossy production layers for an acoustic guitar-driven arrangement that highlights lyrical confession and vocal maturity. Perry co-wrote the piece with Amanda Ibanez while Justin Tranter, Sean Cook, Russ Chell, and Eren Cannata handled production duties.

Lyrically the song employs a stark metaphor of applying a bandage to a bullet wound to describe the futility of superficial fixes after a traumatic breakup. Critics offered mixed but generally appreciative reviews. Rolling Stone highlighted the track as Perry's most mature vocal performance in years whereas Pitchfork praised its return to substantive songwriting. The Guardian gave a tempered three-star review noting that while the central metaphor stretches credibility the melody remains catchy and effective.

Commercially the single achieved moderate success internationally by entering the top 40 charts in Australia Canada Ireland the United Kingdom and Venezuela. It notably failed to enter the US Billboard Hot 100. In Brazil the single earned Gold certification for moving 20,000 units according to Pro-Música Brasil. The accompanying music video directed by Perry and Christian Breslauer premiered shortly after release with a horror-comedy aesthetic inspired by the Final Destination franchise where Perry survives absurd accidents including a falling air conditioner and a runaway shopping cart. [modifier]