Katy Perry Panned for Performance of The Beatles' "Yesterday" on CBS Special—Was It Really That Bad?!

For starters, some purists didn't like that she changed "man" to "girl" in the line "suddenly, I'm not half the man I used to be"

By Natalie Finn Feb 10, 2014 9:38 PMTags
Katy PerryKevin Winter/Getty Images for NARAS

Is Katy Perry now regretting what aired yesterday?

The pop star was tapped to sing the classic "Yesterday" on the CBS special The Beatles: The Night That Changed America—A Grammy Salute, and though she seemingly did the song justice, she rubbed some Fab Four fans the wrong way. 

Why?

Well, for starters, there's a contingent out there that can't stand when an artist changes the line "suddenly, I'm not half the man I used to be" to "I'm not half the girl I used to be"—a change-up that happens pretty much every time a woman covers the Lennon-McCartney classic.

"Seriously pissed off that Katy Perry changed the lyrics to Yesterday," tweeted @homozarry. "It's disrespectful to pay a tribute and change their lyrics."

"I used to like Katy Perry. Right up until the moment she destroyed 'Yesterday' #Beatles50," tweeted concerned viewer Dave Lavery (who admittedly does refer to himself as a "curmudgeon" in his bio).

Check out a few more critical tweets:

(FYI, that's not the actual vice president's wife.)

And New York Times music critic Jon Pareles wrote in his review of the special that Perry "delivered 'Yesterday' like an American Idol contestant, hyping each verse as an escalation from breathy beginning to tearful, melismatic fluorishes."

Not exactly a ringing endorsement. 

But Perry's performance certainly didn't seem to bother the adoring live audience—including Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, Adam Levine (who performed with Maroon 5) and fiance Behati Prinsloo, and Yoko Ono and son Sean Lennon—who stood up and danced during the uptempo numbers and mouthed the worlds along with the slower tunes.

Perry's beau John Mayer was also one of the night's headliners, jamming with Keith Urban on "Don't Let Me Down."

Tellingly, a poll on Boston.com asks viewers who "did it best" on last night's Beatles tribute: Mayer and Urban scored the most clicks, with 36.84 percent of respondents picking them. Perry had 4.05 percent of the vote.

She at least created a memorable fashion moment in a dramatic floral-print gown and cape by Dolce & Gabbana!

Perry has not commented on her less-than-favorable reception via Twitter or otherwise—but we wouldn't be surprised if on-again tweeter Mayer comes to her defense at some point.