An old Katy Perry song is having a viral moment, and it says a lot about what fans want to hear from her. Perry has released seven studio albums, but her last three didn’t see the same success as her earlier music did. Music fans have not been shy about their opinions on Katy Perry’s career trajectory, often being brutally honest about their disdain.

However, despite the recent criticism, Perry’s early music defined the 2010s. At the 2011 American Music Awards, Katy Perry received the Special Achievement Award for becoming the first woman to match Michael Jackson’s record of having five number-one singles on one album. Unfortunately, her recent career failures have fans reminiscing about her older music, which is why one 17-year-old song is now going viral.

Katy Perry Fans Miss The “Thinking Of You” Era

Perry’s 2008 Ballad Is Some Of Her Best Work

Katy Perry was one of the biggest pop stars in the 2010s, but her breakout album, One Of The Boys, was actually pop-rock-inspired. The album’s third single, “Thinking Of You,” showcased a side of Perry that she hasn’t explored in years, and fans really miss it. Perry’s last #1 song on Billboard’s Hot 100 was her 2013 Juicy J collaboration, “Dark Horse.” While she’s been releasing music since, her songs haven’t resonated with fans the way her older work did. Unfortunately, the “California Gurls” singer has also had a few controversies lately.

In July 2024, she released “Woman’s World,” which received criticism for being out of touch – especially because she worked with producer Dr. Luke, who was famously accused of sexual assault by singer Kesha. Later, in April 2025, Katy Perry was accused of being out of touch again for going on Jeff Bezos’ space mission. All the controversies got fans thinking about what Katy Perry used to be like and what her music used to sound like. “Thinking Of You” is arguably the strongest song she’s ever written.

Cause when I’m with him, I am

Thinking of you, thinking of you

What you would do if

You were the one who was

Spending the night

Oh, I wish that I

Was looking into your eyes.

While she may have gone on to work with writers and producers like Dr. Luke, Perry is credited as the sole songwriter on her One Of The Boys track. The song tells the story of a relationship that the singer is struggling to move on from. However, there’s one specific part of the ballad that TikTok users feel called to. In the second verse, Perry compares her former lover to “an Indian summer in the middle of winter” and “a hard candy with a surprise center.“

TikTok users are especially fixated on Perry’s enunciation of the lyrics, though they are also impressed by her clever lyricism. They’re equally confused about how she went from writing such sharp and emotional lyrics to putting out an album like 143, with no stand-out songs.

The reason “Thinking Of You” works better than some of Perry’s other music is because it’s so authentic. She channeled what acclaimed singer-songwriters like Taylor Swift or Olivia Rodrigo channel in their music. While Katy Perry has always been more of a pop star than a singer-songwriter, she’s clearly capable of impressive writing, and it could benefit her to tap back into that style of songwriting again.

Could Katy Perry Make Another Song Like “Thinking Of You?”

Perry Has Penned A Handful Of Ballads

While “Thinking Of You” is currently going viral on TikTok, the song wasn’t the last time Katy Perry wrote a heartbreak ballad. Her third studio album, Teenage Dream, included the popular single “The One That Got Away.” Like the One Of The Boys song, “The One That Got Away” is about Perry mourning a former relationship that she can’t seem to get over. It’s also filled with deep emotion and feels very authentic to the star.

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She also has lesser-known emotional ballads like “Pearl” and a love song for her partner Orlando Bloom, called “Never Worn White.” Katy Perry has proven that she’s able to write heartfelt ballads, and since fans are loving “Thinking Of You” so much, it would benefit the singer to tap into her older sound the next time she’s in the studio working on music.