Katy Perry divides fans with jean outfits for 2022 Country Music Awards: ‘Denim nightmare’

Singer previously paid homage to Britney Spears when she wore an all-denim outfit to 2014 MTV Video Music Awards

Katy Perry took inspiration from Britney Spears’ iconic 2001 denim dress with her outfit choices for the Country Music Awards.

On Wednesday, the singer, 38, arrived on the red carpet in Nashville, Tennessee in an all-denim Marques’ Almeida look, which consisted of light-wash wide-leg jeans with a large bow and frayed bottoms, and an off-the-shoulder denim top in the same wash. She completed the look with a diamond choker necklace, dangling earrings, and a pair of stilettos.

Perry then changed into another jean outfit, with the singer taking to the stage at the awards show to perform with Thomas Rhett in a dark-wash strapless denim dress with yellow fringe detailing. The dress featured an interesting detail, as it appeared to be made from a collared denim shirt, which wrapped around Perry’s waist.

On social media, fans were divided over the jean ensembles, with some applauding the looks.

“Yess Katy ate tonight. Took blue jeans to a whole other level,” one person tweeted, while another said: “@KatyPerry please wear all denim more often you look so GOOD.”

However, others were less enthusiastic about Perry’s outfit choices, with one person claiming the singer’s red carpet look was the “ugliest outfit” they’d ever seen, while another described it as a “denim nightmare”.

According to someone else, Perry’s fashion choice was a “bit on-the-nose,” as they claimed she was the only woman to wear denim and a cowboy hat to the Country Music Awards.

“Of course Katy Perry, the ‘non-country’ star at the CMAs, is the only woman so far to wear denim and a cowboy hat. I mean, she looks great no matter what! It’s just a bit on-the-nose,” they wrote.

Others suggested that Perry was in her “Republican era” with the outfits, a reference to recent backlash the singer faced after revealing she was voting for controversial Los Angeles mayoral candidate Rick Caruso on Election Day.

“We love our Republican goddess,” one person tweeted, while another said: “Who said Republicans can’t serve?”

“Our Republican queen looks stunning,” someone else sarcastically wrote in response to Perry’s outfit.

The sartorial choices also prompted various comparisons to the entirely denim dress Spears wore to the 2001 American Music Awards alongside then-boyfriend Justin Timberlake.

“Katy Perry is dressed like Britney Spears in that denim dress,” one person pointed out.

Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake wore all-denim ensembles to American Music Awards in 2001 (AFP via Getty Images)

This is not the first time that Perry has paid tribute to Spears’ all-denim ensemble, as the “Dark Horse” singer also wore a patchwork denim dress on the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards red carpet, where she matched with then-boyfriend Riff Raff.

Katy Perry has paid tribute to Spears’ denim dress before (Getty Images for MTV)

Of the 2014 outfit choice, Perry recently told Mo Heart on the Amazon Music series The Walk In that she had wanted to pay homage to Spears with the jean outfit.

“I asked Riff Raff to come with me and we both wore matching Versace that actually pays homage to Justin and Britney,” she explained. “That moment Britney gave us was the moment, and I wanted to pay my respects.”

As for the thought process behind her latest take on all-denim, the singer revealed in an Instagram caption that it was country inspired. “Katy goes,” she wrote along with a cowboy hat emoji.