The True Meaning Of When I'm Gone By Katy Perry And Alesso

KatyCats, rejoice — Katy Perry has returned to music on the new single "When I'm Gone" with Alesso. Perry first teased the new song on Instagram with a clip featuring herself and the DJ in a sleek, futuristic setting communicating via phone booth. "You know, I just think it's time to give them everything they want," the pop star announced in the video. "Let's do it," Alesso agreed.

The new dance track is Perry's first single since she released her 2020 album "Smile." Prior to that album, the singer announced she was taking a leave from the music spotlight for a while. "I've been on the road for like 10 years, so I'm just going to chill," Perry told Footwear News in 2018. "I feel like I've done a lot. I feel like I've rung the bell of being a pop star very loudly, and I'm very grateful for that." In her time off, Perry prioritized her mental health that had taken a hit since becoming a superstar. "It was so important for me to be broken," Perry told "Q on CBC" (via Billboard), "so that I could find my wholeness in a whole different way, and be more dimensional than just living my life like a thirsty pop star all the time."

After taking the time to find herself again, Perry is back and ready to show off her self-confidence on "When I'm Gone."

On "When I'm Gone," Katy Perry serenades a lover, who can't get her out of their head after they call it quits. "Thought it would be easy / Easy to forget me / Let go of the memories (Ah-ah-ah-ah) / Now your bed is empty / And you're wakin' up sweating / I'm still in your wild dreams," Perry sings.

It seems Perry's beau, actor Orlando Bloom, had second thoughts about his breakup from the singer in 2017 when they reunited about a year later, according to Cosmopolitan U.K. The pair got engaged in 2019, and in March 2020, the sweet couple announced they would be having a child together after Perry revealed a baby bump in her "Never Worn White" music video. With the arrival of their daughter Daisy Dove, Perry and Bloom are closer than ever. "Yes, we have problems," Perry told People about overcoming their breakup. "Everybody has challenges in a relationship," she said. "If it's a real relationship, it's going to challenge you into your best self."

Perry recalls staying in her lover's memory on the latest song, singing, "When I'm gonе, I'm never really gonе / You think you're movin' on / But it won't be for long, you'll see."

Katy Perry boasts her uniqueness on "When I'm Gone." She sings, "Look for me in strangers (Ah-ah-ah-ah) / All these pretty faces / No one can replace it / I'm always your favorite."

As she made an unforgettable impression on her now-fiance, so too did Perry leave her mark on the music industry. Her hit songs like "California Gurls" and "Teenage Dream" took over radio waves a decade ago and she went on to rock the national stage at the Super Bowl XLIX halftime show in 2015. For all her success, Perry has yet to earn a Grammy Award — but that isn't something the platinum-selling singer loses sleep over. "​​To be honest, I always go by numbers, and they don't lie," she told Variety. "And I'm good with that."

Now, Perry is following in the footsteps of other pop music greats and headlining her own residency show, "Katy Perry: Play," in Las Vegas. In an interview on "Good Morning America," Perry teased that her new show won't disappoint fans looking for a spectacle. "A lot of my shows have been figuratively larger than life, but I play a doll in this show, so everything is, like, three times the size of me," she said.