Katy Perry: On Top, On Tour

She "kissed a girl" and the rest is history. Singer/songwriter Katy Perry lights up a room. Whether it's her colorful, retro-wardrobe or her outspoken, "risque" lyrics that make you take notice, this music artist is in your face....in a good way. Katy has said that popstars Cyndi Lauper, Pat Benatar, Cher and Joan Jett were influences and none of these ladies is the type to sit down and shut up. Was "Kissed a Girl" a gimmick? Maybe, but who cares? The tune launched the artist after a long struggle, several failed record deals and a round of self-postings of her tunes on the net.

Having kicked off her tour in Seattle, and with her Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "I Kissed a Girl" putting her on a high, Katy sat down with press to spill on her signature tune, her influences, her background in gospel and Christian music and... all things Katy. Read on.....

TeenMusic: Okay, for those who aren't aware, how did "I Kissed a Girl" come about?

Katy: Well, 'I Kissed A Girl' was an idea that actually popped into my head. I'd always heard about artists having a notepad on the side of their bed or, you know, something they can record on if they were to have dreams of lyrics or an idea for a song in the middle of the night, and I thought that never really happened but it actually happened to me. I woke up one morning and I had this song literally pop into my head, the chorus of it, 'I kissed a girl and I liked it; the taste of her cherry chap stick; I kissed a girl just to try it out; my boyfriend don't mind it'. I thought, 'what a peculiar little idea'.

TeenMusic: Were you wondering where the heck that came from?

Katy: I knew it spawned from some curiosity that I had growing up but it was one of those things where I put it in my back pocket for a while and I presented it a couple of times to different people and they didn't really understand it fully so I thought, 'well okay, so that was just like a fluke accident of an idea and nothing will ever happen with that' until, the last two days in the studio. It was like a pebble in my shoe, and I just decided, 'okay, well maybe since it's still so prevalent in the back of my mind after a year and a half since dreaming it up, I should probably finish this song'.

TeenMusic: Were you blown away when it became outrageously popular all over the world?

Katy: Well (being on) the pop hot 100 chart was a big deal so I felt really proud about that. But, I traveled all around the world from Australia to Mexico to Japan to Belgium to all kinds of different places in Europe and it didn't matter. Anywhere I went, everybody was singing along. I never realized that it would be like a worldwide sing-along.

TeenMusic: How do you feel about the Grammy nomination? You've already won a ton of awards.

Katy: Well, I've only had my record out for nine months. And so I feel like I've crossed some life goals off already in this small period of time. It's really amazing to be able to do so many things with your first record. People are seeing all of this work I put into this record. It was not in vain. The Grammys is like the end-all, be-all. It's like the most respect, I guess, you can get from the industry. All of the other awards were fantastic; I mean from MTV to People's Choice and very much so appreciated, but the Grammys are something like you dream about when you're nine years old, when you start singing and you watch people go and accept awards on stage; you know bawling their eyes out or freaking out, and that like sticks with you your whole life. So, when this really important nomination happened to me, I was like 'holy crap! I got recognized by a classic, amazing, industry'.

TeenMusic: Okay, let's get it out of the way. If you could kiss one female celebrity and like it, which one would it be?

Katy: Okay, yes, I have kissed a girl. I know you're chuckling right now and that was a bonus question. I really stopped telling everybody who I thought was hot because it becomes next day's news 'holy s**t, she wants to make out with Scarlett Johansson' and I'm like, 'well not really'.

TeenMusic: Who or what has influenced your style the most?

Katy: Well, I mean it's a bit of a concoction of different things. I started swing dancing, lindy hop and jitterbug. I would go to the Santa Barbara rec hall and I would learn how to dance there and I would be taught by some of the more seasoned dancers. It was a little bit like rockabilly but not as annoying. These girls would get out of their old vintage Cadillacs with their pencil skirts and their tight little cardigans and their bullet bras and I thought it was just so unique and different. I love details. I love different colors. I love funny things. I have this one shirt that's like got smiley faces as shoulders so it's really cute and it's quite humorous. It's an instant smile and so that makes me feel really good. I like to make people laugh. I love a good sense of humor in clothes. I guess you would say it's a mixture between like Dita Von Teese and Agnes Den.

TeenMusic: Who are you listening to a lot right now?

Katy: I love that new Paramour song; it's so good, the one that she did for Twilight. I love the new Antony and the Johnsons record. It's very sad but it's very beautiful. I'm a really big fan of a group called Stars. They're a husband and wife duo; I could be wrong. And John Legend, Evolver and I'm always listening to Jonatha Brooke. it's very, very eclectic. I like everything. It just has to be really good or different.

TeenMusic: You have a strong religious background. Are your family members supportive of your music?

Katy: Well, yes, my family definitely are very supportive. I have, I guess, pushed their envelope from the day I was born. I was always the kid who, if there was a line you shouldn't cross, I took a big leap over it. There's never really been like an edit button on my keyboard of life. And I guess my parents are a different breed of Christians. My dad has four tattoos. He's almost like a modern rock and roll pastor himself. I definitely think that we agree to disagree on some things but I don't think that is unusual with a kid and their parents' relationship. So they're very, very supportive and they are always telling me they're praying for me and I appreciate it.

TeenMusic: Are you thinking about your next album yet? Are you writing?

Katy: It's a bit premature so not too much. I mean I think it's going to be exciting to start making the next record. I think I'll start really thinking about that at the end of summer. I've just released 'Thinking Of You', which is a ballad that I wrote by myself, you know, just like a week ago, so that's the next single and we may squeeze one more single out of this but I think it's going to be exciting when I do get to make that next record. Everybody's probably wondering, 'hey, can she do it again or was she just lucky?' This record that I made was a long time span; it went from age 17 to 23 and so, you know, a lot changes so when I go to make my next record, hopefully it'll be made in less time than that.

TeenMusic: Isn't "Thinking of You" less upbeat and more of a power ballad?

Katy: I'm really excited. I think it's a grower, not a shower. You know, 'Hot N Cold' and 'I Kissed A Girl' were always just like boom! and 'Thinking Of You' to me is something where you want to listen to the lyrics and hear the storyline. It's very important to me because I'm now showing the different side of me. When I started, I was playing open mike nights with my guitar, playing coffee houses so while I was playing those really like intimate places, I wrote the song, 'Thinking of You'. And it's a very regretful song about a relationship that ended. I didn't know how to move on so it talks about how when you're moving on, you meet other people but you're still in love. So, the chorus says "When I'm with him I'm thinking of you." And I think that is a very honest statement that a lot of people probably have been through. Hopefully, people appreciate it.

TeenMusic: Any specific sound you want to make the next time out?

Katy: Well I think I still want to make a pop record. I want to make maybe a sonically more current pop record. I think maybe I want to make people move a little bit more and, yes, I'm still driving along on the pop freeway of life. but I think, in the farther future, I definitely want to make an acoustic record. I want to try lots of different things. Why not?

TeenMusic: You are on tour so do you have any regimen to stay in shape and healthy?

Katy: When I'm on the road, my metabolism is up and already full throttle and I'm getting a bit of a workout being on stage for 45 minutes to an hour every night. So I don't have to really do a whole lot. I mean drinking water is like the easiest trick in the game; I mean drinking tons and tons of water. I drink maybe eight bottles a day sometimes when I can. Sometimes, I'll add a little bit of apple cider vinegar. Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar; I drink that a lot. It helps with my throat, if I have any congestion, and with my whole circulation. And also one thing I can swear by is jumping rope. I hate working out, but I love jumping rope. I think it's like dancing. There's a rhythm. And I love going out dancing. I'm a really good rope jumper. I can double jump, I can cross, I can do all of it. I look like Rocky when I jump rope.

TeenMusic: That's a great mental picture. How has your life changed with all this success?

Katy: You know, I was really gearing up for it. I was preparing myself for it. I was preparing to catch my lucky star and hold on tightly. I really don't think I would have been able to handle it at 17, 18, 19. Because there's a lot that people in the public eye deal with rather than just making music. I mean the whole world is a big, fat kitchen with a gazillion cooks. And everybody is always commenting so you have to definitely be strong or learn how to sift in the good and keep out the bad. I mean I definitely prepared myself for this. And living in Hollywood for eight years; man, that will prepare you whether you like it or not. I had the luxury of watching other people get famous, like some of my friends and seeing some of them fail pretty miserably at it. Then, I'd sit back and take notes and say 'okay, I'm not going to do that if I ever have the opportunity'. I'm just trying to continually make good music and hopefully take my career to the next level.

TeenMusic: How have you handled any negative things said about you?

Katy: I'm very approachable, I pride myself as being very approachable. I love people, and I have a big personality. So you know I guess I get a little bit bulls-eye targeted more than other people, but you know I've turned my Google alerts off. And I think that is something you have to do if you can't read your own press. If you read your own press, it'll ruin you because everybody has an opinion, and you don't understand sometimes why they have their opinions. I'm just going to continue to be myself. I'm just going to stay focused on trying to be more like Freddie Mercury or something like that.

TeenMusic: What are some important lessons that you've learned that you hope will help you on tour? And what are you excited about as it starts?

Katy: Well, I'm definitely not d**king around on this tour. For the past two weeks, I have been straight to bed. Fortunately, I'm working out the details of all the ins and outs from the merchandise to what the boys are wearing in my band to what I'm wearing, to what it's sounding like, to making it sound bigger and brighter and making it be a real entertaining show. I mean I don't think it's going to be a perfect first show off, maybe. I think maybe there are some kinks to work out but I'm really excited because, last year it was very fast. Like you'd only ever see me like 20 to 30 minutes. And so you would get the "Hot N Cold" and the "I Kissed a Girl" and a couple of the other, you know, "Ur So Gay" and some of the other faster songs. But I don't think that people really got to see my range. And so I'll be able to play the whole record from the fast songs to the sad songs. It'll be exciting to see people go on that personality rollercoaster with me.

TeenMusic: So what tour destinations are you most excited to visit?

Katy: Well, there's going to be some exciting places. I'm real excited to play The Fillmore and San Francisco. I'm really excited to play like three sold-out nights at Irving Plaza in New York City. That's huge to me. And even in my home town at The Wiltern where I've seen so many shows, to be able to sell that out and play that. And then my final show in Santa Barbara; a coming home show, I guess you would say. And hopefully, I'll be well-seasoned by that time and put on a really kick-ass show for everyone back home in Santa Barbara.

TeenMusic: I believe you made your own outfit for the MTV Awards. What are you planning to wear to the Grammys?

Katy: Well, I don't have everything specifically ready for it, but I'm getting ready for it. There's a group that I work with a lot called The Blondes. And they're fantastic. They sketched out an amazing fruity concoction of a number for my performance for the Grammys, and so it'll be very exciting to reveal that.

TeenMusic: Valentine's Day is coming up. What is your favorite love song?

Katy: How about I give you an old one and a new one? The new one I love right now is a song by John Legend off of Evolver, and I believe it's called 'This Time'. It's beautiful. I guess one of the older songs that I love is by Paul Simon called 'Can't Get Used to Something So Right'. I think it's a little bit like a love song. How I related to it was sometimes you get into a relationship with a person, they have a lot of layers, and you have to almost go through all those layers to get to the heart of really who they are. And when you finally get to the heart, it definitely is a big payoff. And I think that is a very true love song for me.