About “Swish Swish”

“Swish Swish” is the third single from Katy Perry’s fifth studio album, Witness and marks the first song featuring vocals from both Katy Perry and Nicki Minaj. It is a self-empowerment anthem that calls out haters. Katy has mentioned that her album is about a “360° liberation” and this song is about escaping pointless negativity. The central hook uses the image of a basketball player consistently scoring points, imitating the ‘swish’ sound of the hoop’s net.

Fans speculated the song to be a response to Taylor Swift’s 2014 hit “Bad Blood,” citing many lyrical references.

This was later confirmed when she starred in James Corden’s Carpool Karaoke interview. Katy explained:

She started it and it’s time for her to finish it. Now, there is the law of cause and effect. You do something, there’s going to be a reaction, and trust me, daddy, there’s going to be a reaction.

The song was indirectly confirmed days prior by EDM artist and ex-Taylor flame Calvin Harris, who said he “wasn’t involved” in a now-deleted tweet.