Iggy Azalea’s “Black Widow” Was Originally A Katy Perry Song

Christina Lee | May 23, 2014 10:55 am

Iggy Azalea‘s Rita Ora collaboration was originally a Katy Perry song.

When Azalea revealed “Black Widow” off her debut The New Classic, fans could immediately tell that Perry helped write the song. Between the ominous steel drum rhythm and the dramatic hook (“You should have known better than to mess with me harder,” Ora sings), the song played out as a more vindictive version of Perry’s own “Dark Horse.”

Now, the similarities between the two make even more sense than before. Turns out, “Black Widow” was written immediately after Prism dropped. “She had just put her album out,”Azalea said to Ryan Seacrest. “So I said, ‘Hey, Katy, why don’t you let me take this and do something for it? I have an album that’s just about to drop. And I would love to see it kind of come out for the world to hear ASAP.’ And she said ‘Alright.’”

As is, “Black Widow” plays out as a surprisingly thrilling, high-stakes moment in the “Fancy” femcee’s debut album. But, imagine what might have happened if all three stars – that is, Azalea, Ora and Perry – managed to cut the song together, like a posse pop anthem. At the very least, between the two inspired by Clueless and Cleopatra, the costumes for its live debut would have been amazing.

Hear Iggy Azalea talk Katy Perry’s role in “Black Widow” below.

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