Katy Perry
“I think people can appreciate a songwriter who shows different sides,” says Katy Perry. “The whole angst thing is cool, but if that’s all you’ve got, it’s just boring. Everything I write, whether it’s happy or sad, has a sense of humor to it. Someone told me the other day that I’m a bit like Lucille Ball. They said, ‘You look pretty put together on the outside, but inside there’s just something a bit wrong.’”
Comparisons to Lucille Ball only tell half the story. Now if Lucille Ball had a secret love child with Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, it would look, sound, and behave like Katy Perry. The L.A-based singer-songwriter’s sassy confidence and feisty confessional songs have already had fans and savvy media singing her praises, even before her new EP, Ur So Gay, is released by Capitol Records on November 20th, 2007. Blender Magazine called her “The Next Big Thing” while Teen People dubbed her “One to Watch.” And no less a harbinger of ‘what’s hot’ than celeb blogger Perez Hilton wrote of Perry on his website: “If Avril Lavigne were actually talented, pretty, and had an appealing personality, she’d be Katy Perry. She’s got the whole package!”
“I don’t care who I’m compared to as long as people listen to the music,” Perry says. “Usually I find it funny to say I’m like a skinnier version of Lily Allen and a fatter version of Amy Winehouse. It always renders a good chuckle.” It’s that sort of cheeky comment that encapsulates Perry’s irrepressible sense of humor, which shines through on songs like “Ur So Gay” (a hilarious kiss-off to an ex) and “Waking Up in Vegas,” which is about doing just that. Her upcoming debut album for Capitol Records, due in Spring 2008, will also feature several honest, searching ballads, like “Lost,” (about trying to find yourself after losing your way) and the regretful, emotional “Thinking of You,” both of which display a more vulnerable side to this talented, multi-dimensional artist. Perhaps that dichotomy stems in part from Perry’s upbringing. The middle child of two pastors, Perry grew up listening to gospel music and singing in church in Santa Barbara, CA. “My dad would give me ten dollars, which is a lot of money when you’re nine, to sing at church, on tables at restaurants, at family functions, just about anywhere,” she says. Perry was raised on a strict diet of church music; “secular music,” as her mother put it, was “not allowed.” But one night during a slumber party, Perry happened upon a Queen record “and the heavens opened and saved me. From then on, they have been my biggest influence,” she says. “Their musicality and lyrics were so flamboyant and real. I’d never heard anything like it.”
