Katy Perry’s cringe-worthy publicity stunt: ‘Buy my new song!’

HER new single’s fallen off the charts, so Katy Perry’s taking desperate measures — but this painful stunt’s going viral for all the wrong reasons.

IN the pop world, you’re only as hot as your last hit — and Katy Perry’s latest single has been met with a surprisingly muted response.

Two weeks after release, Bon Appetit currently sits outside the top 40 both here in Australia and in the UK. In her biggest market, the US — where she’s enjoyed nine number one singles — it has dropped out of the top 100 after a week at number 76.

Clearly, drastic action needs to be taken — but we’re not sure this odd publicity stunt will be enough to reverse her fortunes.

On the latest episode of Vanity Fair magazine’s web series Derek Does Stuff with a Friend, host Derek Blasberg guides unsuspecting art lovers to a ‘special exhibition’ at New York’s Whitney Museum.

Before them, a table scattered with food, a serving platter covering the main dish.

The serving platter is lifted — and there’s Katy Perry:

tfw your new single hasn't cracked the top 40

Perhaps they should have shipped in some superfans for the stunt, because the reactions from these art lovers are about as muted as the responses to Perry’s new single. Most don’t seem to realise that one of the most famous women in music is crouched before them, poking her head through a tablecloth.

If you have to ask, the publicity stunt's probably not working.

The host tries to steer the ship as the gallery patrons engage in awkward small talk with Perry.

“Oh, it’s a person,” says one.

“It is a person — Katherine Hudson from Santa Barbara,” he says, using Perry’s real name.

Having been told that the ‘artist’ they’re standing in front of is Katy Perry, one older woman still doesn’t twig that she’s holding court with a pop star, instead assuming that Perry’s a featured artist in the gallery.

Katy Perry and friends.

“So what are your themes that you’re developing?” she asks.

“I don’t think they’ve connected the dots,” sighs Blasberg.

Just so we’re all clear why exactly she’s doing this, Perry gives an instruction to her bemused onlookers:

“Buy my new song! It’s called Bon Appetit!”

The stunt’s YouTube comments sum up the general reaction: “No one knew who she was,” writes one viewer.

“This is kinda awkward ... like what sort of reaction were they expecting?” asks another.

Perry’s upcoming fifth studio album, Witness, is set for release next month.

Perry suffered another awkward moment earlier this week during an interview on The Ellen Show, when the host completely forgot about the singer’s high-profile marriage to comedian Russell Brand.