“I can’t run from where I came from, nobody can,” says Katy Perry.
When it came time to make her exhilarating second album “Teenage Dream,”
Katy found herself increasingly drawn back home to Santa Barbara,
Calif. Back to where they knew her before she became a superstar. Before
she kissed a girl and liked it. And, certainly, before she sold 5
million copies of her Capitol Records blockbuster, “One of the Boys.”
“I love the vibe that Santa Barbara gives off and I wanted to really
tap into the purity of my childhood and that feeling,” says the two-time
Grammy nominated singer. “It was really fun to get away and walk into
the studio with no make-up on.”
“Teenage Dream,” out Aug. 24, will move you, both emotionally and
physically. “When I was touring, I wanted people to dance more,” Katy
says. “So I wrote an album that made people move, yet didn’t sacrifice
the story substance that I had on the last record.”
The album, whose producers include Max Martin, Tricky Stewart,
Stargate, Dr. Luke and Greg Wells, is a glorious evolution from “One of
The Boys,” It showcases an artist who dares us to join her as she
experiences every facet of life.
“I’m giving everyone the full spectrum on this record,” Katy says.
“You’re getting the sugary sweet, but you’re also getting the ‘Oh my
goodness, she had to sit down for a minute and let some things off her
chest’.”
Fun first single, “California Gurls,” declared by Entertainment
Weekly as “unforgettable,” is the undeniable summer anthem of 2010.
Featuring Snoop Dogg, “Gurls” is a sizzling salute to sun-kissed days
spent in Daisy Dukes and a bikini top. Other album highlights include
the heartbreakingly wistful “The One that Got Away,” the naughty,
playful strut of “Peacock,” the uplifting “Firework,” the pulsing,
stinging “Circle the Drain,” and the spiritual quest of “Who Am I Living
For.”
And then, of course, there’s the passionate, thumping title track. “I
called the album ‘Teenage Dream’ because I feel like I will always want
to be that pin-up poster,” Katy says. “I definitely want to be in
everybody’s dreams at all times until I get to Liz Taylor’s age when I’m
not in your dreams anymore, and I’m just a diva!”
It’s irreverent statements like this that have branded Katy a true
American original. She’s the extremely talented girl next door with
slyly captivating charm. After Katy topped Maxim’s Hot 100 this Spring,
Maxim editor-in-chief Joe Levy mused of her appeal: “It’s that feeling
you get when you suddenly realize that the smartest, funniest, coolest
girl you know also happens to the best looking and a pretty good
skateboarder, too. All of sudden, your crush goes supernova, and this is
Katy’s supernova moment.”
She’s the face most likely to adorn the bedroom walls of young girls
who adore Katy not only for her musical brio, but for her playful yet
sophisticated fashion sense (Who else could wear a blinking dress that
lights up to the Metropolitan Museum Costume Institute’s Gala?) “I
don’t ever really want to come off as trashy,” she says. ‘But I want
people to know I’m definitely having fun.”
Of that, there’s no doubt. Seldom has an artist catapulted onto the
world scene and captured not only people’s ears, but their hearts as
well. Since the 2008 release of “One of the Boys,” Katy has taken a
jet-fueled rocket pack to the top, wowing fans with her often whimsical,
irresistible pop songs. Katy topped charts in more than 25 countries
with cultural phenomenon “I Kissed a Girl,” “Hot N Cold,” “Thinking Of
You” and “Waking Up in Vegas,” and has sold more than 22 million digital
tracks and mobile products worldwide.
Katy erases any barrier between pop star and audience by writing all
her own material. “You’re getting a pure connection to the artist,” Katy
says. “You’re not getting some idea of what that artist should be,
you’re getting a direct voice.”
Nowhere is Katy’s voice and vision clearer than in concert. She is a
relentless road warrior, albeit one who comes complete with gigantic,
blow up plastic strawberries to toss into the audience. As a newcomer,
she stormed the Warped Tour stage for 47 dates in 2008, immediately
winning over hardened rock fans with her ceaselessly energetic live
show. Since then, she has steadily built audiences across the planet by
touching down in more than two dozen countries and filling increasingly
larger venues each time she returned to a city. 2009’s headlining “One
of the Boys” tour was a phenomenal success, selling out around the
world.
She’s also a popular television draw, appearing on countless talk
shows, presenting and performing on the Grammys living out her lifelong
dream of being lowered from the ceiling in a 600 lb. banana, serving as a
guest judge on “American Idol,” a celebrity contestant on “Who Wants to
Be a Millionaire?” for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and
hosting MTV’s Europe Music Awards twice. More often than not she’s
adding to her trophy case at each stop, winning Best New Act at the
Europe Music Awards, Best Pop Video at the MTV Japan Awards and
International Female Solo Artist at the Brit Awards.
As much as her life seems to play itself out in the press—she’s
appeared on the cover of more than 15 magazines–she reminds us the real
Katy is in every note and every word of her music. “If you ever want an
answer about how I felt about something or what I was going through or
what I believe or my convictions or my love,” she says, “You just have
to listen to the lyrics.” We can’t wait to hear every word she has to
say.