An apocalyptic music video directed by duo Similar But Different was released on the same day as the single. It features a group of blue-skinned aliens who worship Perry and want to kidnap her but mistakenly abduct American actressZooey Deschanel due to her resemblance to the singer. She is not recognized, and in order to save the planet, she plays along pretending to be Perry by putting her outfits on and performing at the end. The song soundtracked Perry's post encouraging people to vote during the2020 United States elections. "Not the End of the World" was performed during the T Mall Double 11 Gala and theconcert residencyPlay (2021–2023).
WhenKaty Perry's fifth studio album,Witness, was released in 2017,[4] it was met with a lukewarm reception. Due to that, the singer developedsituational depression.[5] Her experience with the condition influenced her next record,[6] with "Not the End of the World" being an attempt to address her depression.[7] After announcing in July 2020 how her then-upcoming album would be calledSmile,[8] she started the "Smile Sundays" livestream series leading up to its release.[9] During the broadcasts, she unveiled various album tracks, including "Not the End of the World".[2][10][11] The album was released on August 28, with "Not the End of the World" being its sixth track.[12][13] A few days ahead of thegreat conjunction of 2020, Perrysurprise-released her fifth compilationextended playCosmic Energy on December 18, with "Not the End of the World" serving as its opening track.[14][15] Three days later, she issued the song as the third single fromSmile, coinciding with the release of its music video.[16][17][18][19]
The 17-second sample of "Not the End of the World" following the end ofstaccato verse, when the interpolation of "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" can be heard. Perry decided to use elements of it after writing lyrics first.
"Not the End of the World" was written by Perry,Michael Pollack,Madison Love,Jacob Kasher Hindlin, andAndrew Goldstein. Production has been held byOscar Görres and Goldstein, who also provided the track's instrumentation withkeyboards andprogramming.[20] The song's recording took place in Los Angeles-based Unsub Studios and Orange Grove Studio, with an additional session in House Mouse Studios in Stockholm, Sweden.[1]
During the writing of "Not the End of the World", Perry matched its lyrics with a hook ofpop rock bandSteam's "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" (1969).[21][22] The song is built over adisco andtechno beats with atrap-influenced production.[23][24][25] Compared to Perry's previous effortsPrism (2013) andWitness,[26] especially to the former's third single "Dark Horse",[27] it is aminor-keytechno-pop and trap-pop song.[24][28][29] The track features "anthemic" and "soaring"chorus followed by a drop and verses performed instaccato.[7][30] Perry begins the track proclaiming "It's not the end of the world",[23] and "pseudo-rap[s]" about positivity, detachment from criticism, staying strong, and not losing hope in the verses.[7][24][31][32]
"Not the End of the World" received mixed reviews from music critics.Idolator's Mike Wass called "Not the End of the World" a "Smile highlight" with an "addictive" use of melody from "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye".[33][34] Aynslee Darmon fromEntertainment Tonight Canada said that the song is "perfect track to end 2020".[35] Adriana Darcy ofYoung Hollywood praised how the song's "strong techno beats perfectly" complements its lyrics.[24] In another positive review,MusicOMH's Chloe Johnson pairs it withthe album's title track, she says that it is "easy to ignore the re-done theme", hence "euphoria chasing, action movie vibe" of the track is "deliciously attractive".[30] Following the release of theCosmic Energy EP, "Not the End of the World" was called one of her "most enlightening" songs in an article published byPinkvilla, alongside "E.T." (2010) and "Wide Awake" (2012).[36]
The lyrics were dubbed as "relat[able]" by Mike DeWald ofRiff Magazine[26] and "some of the most memorable onSmile" byBillboard's Jason Lipshutz.[25]The News International reported that the fans endorsed the song's message during theCOVID-19 pandemic.[32] However, Joe Muggs fromi newspaper made an argument that the track's "enjoy the ride" narrative is "out of place".[37]Insider's Courteney Larocca commented: "I understand this song was probably made pre-pandemic, but that still doesn't excuse the decision to release it."[12] Writing forPopMatters, Nick Malone described the lyrics as "too saccharine to hold any pathos", when he called whole "Not the End of the World" an "overly ambitious sister" of "Dark Horse".[7]
Lindsay Zoladz ofThe New York Times called the single a "try-hard anthem",[22] withThe Guardian's Emily Mackay opining that it "feels forgettable and anonymous".[29] Writing forVulture, Craig Jenkins commented that "Not the End of the World" is one of many songs fromSmile which "sell motivational boilerplate, waving away passing clouds but never describing what the storm felt like".[38] Leah Greenblatt fromEntertainment Weekly paired the song with its preceding album track "Resilient", saying that they "offer turn-that-frown-upside-down bromides for the mildly depressed".[39]The Independent's Helen Brown called "Not the End of the World" one of "low points" of an album,[27] whileUSA Today's Patrick Ryan labelled it as its "filler" which is full of "empowerment clichés".[5]
Hannah Mylrea fromNME criticized the song for being a "radio fodder, adopting trendy production techniques to gloss over a lack of substance".[40] On a similar note, Callie Ahlgrim ofInsider wrote that the song is "supremely tone-deaf", "more formulaic than fun and more radio-thirsty than compelling", and that the interpolation of "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" is "confusing".[12] Alexa Camp ofSlant Magazine stated that the single's "success" only comes from its similarities to "Dark Horse" and interpolation in its hook.[41] In his ranking ofSmile tracks, Lipshutz placed the song at the last, twelfth place, arguing that its production and usage of melody from "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" does not fit the record.[25]
The physical similarities between Katy Perry (left) andZooey Deschanel (right) served as a basis for the "Not the End of the World" music video.
Following the release ofSmile, Perry recalled the demand for a "Not the End of the World" video from her fans. However, due to the recent birth of her daughter, the singer was unable to take part in any shooting.[42] During her maternity leave, she envisioned a visual starring herdoppelgänger, American actress and singerZooey Deschanel.[43] The music video was directed by duo Similar but Different and filmed in October 2020.[42][44] Perry announced it a day before its release by sharing a two-second snippet of the video.[45] The clip debuted on her officialYouTube channel on December 21.[44] The following day, fellow American singer-songwriterTaylor Swift called the clip "genius".[46]
To further promote the video's release, Perry went live on Instagram, where she was joined by Deschanel.[47][48][49] She talked with Deschanel about how she took advantage of their similar appearances after moving to Los Angeles in 2002. She recalled: "When I came to LA, I was pretty much a nobody, and you were like just getting so huge at that time, it was like Zooey Deschanel ran the world at that particular moment. Your star was really being born. You have always been everything to me, but in that moment, I was so complimented to look like you. But I have to admit something to you on a Live: When I first got to L.A., I went to the club a lot. And I wanted to get into the club, and I had no money, and I had no clout, I had nothing, and sometimes I would pose as you to get into the club."[50] During the end of the live,Bob Roth ofDavid Lynch Foundation joined it to discuss transcendental meditation and mental health.[49]
In the video, the Earth is set to be destroyed.[18] The clip begins with a scene in which Deschanel reads a newspaper while Perry passes by with baby pram in anUnsub Records cap.[51] Blue-skinned aliens, who are obsessed with the singer, want to abduct her to save her from the planet's destruction.[18] Deschanel is mistakenly taken by aliens, who think that she is Perry, even though she is unsuccessfully trying to explain to them that she is not.[52] She is teleported to their flying vessel,[53] where she is introduced to the alien's captain.[51] Later on, she is getting dressed in Perry's outfits from her earlier eras, including costumes fromTeenage Dream era. Additionally, outfits taken from "California Gurls" (2010) and "Roar" (2013) music videos, as well as theSmile photoshoot can be seen in the background.[54] Deschanel later asks the two aliens who abducted her to help her save the Earth.[55] This is accomplished at the end of the video by unplugging the Earth's internet.[52] The video ends with Deschanel wearing a blonde wig, lip syncing the last chorus of the song for a crowd of aliens.[16][51]
Perry performing "Not the End of the World" during herPlay concert residency in December 2021
"Not the End of the World" was performed for the first time by Perry during the Chinese online shopping festival T Mall Double 11 Gala in November 2020, alongside "Never Really Over" and "Roar".[44] Wass praised the gig, saying she "serv[ed] vocals and elaborate green-screen effects", adding that the singer is not receiving "enough" recognition for her "cutting-edge quarantine performances".[33] Next year, she embarked on her firstconcert residency atResorts World Las Vegas entitledPlay (2021–23), and on the night before the first show she announced its set list, including "Not the End of the World".[56] It was placed as the concluding track of the first act calledHenry the Horror.[57]
Coinciding with the2020 MTV Video Music Awards ceremony on August 30, Perry shared a mirrorselfie with her posing in a breast pumping bra and disposable postpartum underwear with "Not the End of the World" playing in the background.[58] In November, she used the song in anInstagram post encouraging people to vote in the2020 United States elections.[59]
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