Kiss and Tell

By Erik Philbrook

Katy Perry Photo by Michael Elins

While her titillating pop song “I Kissed a Girl” addressed the thrill of a same sex smooch and became one of the biggest radio hits of the summer, Katy Perry was electrifying all genders with her performances on the Vans Warped Tour stage throughout the season, proving she is one of the most exciting talents to emerge into the mainstream this year. She talked to Playback Editor Erik Philbrook about her sudden surge of success.

Has the great success of “I Kissed a Girl” taken you by surprise?
I think there are two answers to this question - yes and no. Yes because it's crazy that construction workers and grandmothers alike are singing along. The other day, I was in the middle of a small town in Montana, and a big pick-up truck pulled up to a red light. As I was crossing, I overheard them all singing IKAG at the top of their lungs. I wanted to tap on their window, but I enjoyed the moment instead. The reason I put a no in there though, is that the fact of the matter is, hard work pays off. If you set your mind to something and keep inching forward in the sea of a thousand no's, you will get a chance to step up to bat and swing. Lucky for me, I swung and hit a home run.

Katy Perry after performing at the ASCAP Acoustic Showcase at SXSW Photo by Jon Bahr

As a singer-songwriter, are you concerned that the success of “I Kiss a Girl” will overshadow your other work, which reveals you to have many different sides and abilities?
Being in the business for years before I had the opportunity to put out the debut, I was able to learn a lot about other people's careers and their launches, record labels and their motives, etc. I knew IKAG was the catchiest song on the record, so it was the obvious first choice. Sure, the song is kind of an "Oh no she didn't/Oh yes she did" cheeky-type song. I knew it would turn some heads, but I also knew I was okay with putting a song like this out there first because I felt I have other cards in the deck left to show. I would've been scared, and tried to deter the song if I thought it was the only thing I had up my sleeve. I had the time to craft together 12 songs that all fought to be on the record. There were no filler songs for this record.

To most people who are just discovering your music, you may come across as an overnight success. But you have a lot of experience under your belt, not only as a songwriter, but as someone who has had to deal with the fickleness of the music industry. How has your past experience shaped your attitude toward two things: 1). your craft and 2). this business of music?
I'm finally at a home I can call home. I have felt a little bit like a stepchild in the past, bouncing from label to label with their hands in the air not getting the vision. Although it seems like there were so many false starts, I am really so happy I didn't put out what I thought I should've put out back when I was a bit fresh off the bus. I feel like there's more of a point now to everything I am saying. It's very me and not anyone else. I was just a tadpole on the music industry food chain back then. I think a lot of the changes were things completely out of my control and more corporate changes of climate. I did have to play ball a few times with my past record labels and try things that weren't my favorite idea, but I understand it is the name of the game. I understand the industry will always be changing and hopefully I can keep up with the musical chairs. I know that it's a business. I am happy to be with EMI Records, though - overjoyed. They got the vision and never tried to change me or make me sit down and write "Complicated" five times left, right and backwards. They heard my true voice and helped me dig deeper for it. I respect them and I believe it's mutual. I do understand, though, that success has a thousand friends and failure, none. I am always aware of my business.

There is an infectious fun-loving element to your music. To what do you attribute this quality in your music?
My life! I love to have fun. I love to be spontaneous. I love to jump into a car full of friends and flip a coin and go to Vegas on heads. Humor is the thread that keeps my life together, from my friends to my relationships. I am a serious musician, but I don't feel like I have to go shout that at every corner, sulking over my ballads or try to prove how deep I am. If you listen to the record, you will see many different shades. I think I was influenced by a couple of key records for this record in particular - No Doubt's "Tragic Kingdom" and Alanis Morissette's "Jagged Little Pill." Both fun and with a point. It's definitely the tales of a 23-year-old California girl with an opinion. :)

You have been on the Vans Warped Tour this summer. How would you describe the experience? Do you feel like you are reaching new fans who may not have taken the time to discover your music before?
I definitely will be taking home a few cuts and bruises from keeping up with the Warped circus, but the best thing for me to do was to be out there every day, 9 weeks straight proving to the kids that I want it. Otherwise I would be at home, maybe attending this event or that event, and that would be the way I would be getting out there. I'd rather be known for that girl who was on Warped Tour busting her butt (with bruises to prove it) than that girl that was at the new club. Yes, I also agree that I get to be in front of people who maybe wouldn't think to come to a Katy Perry show. I get the oppertunity to broaden their perception of me or change their minds.

Your debut album, one of the boys, is getting such a great response with music fans and critics alike. What are you most proud of about the album?
Thank you. I'm happy I just never gave up. Happy that I could turn every disappointment into a lesson learned. Happy that I took the time to figure out what I really wanted to say and how to say it. I think the best thing about this record is that, yes, it's all pop songs, but a lot of them at the core are songs I started in my apartment on my acoustic guitar that can be stripped down to that place if needed and still have legs to stand on their own.

Although you are a relatively young artist, you have had a lot of experience that informs your music. Do you think you could have made such an accomplished album as this even two or three years ago? Why or why not?
Well I think when you're 17,  you feel like you know everything. I remember coming from Santa Barbara to LA and having a pretty put-together life that was very comfy. When things didn't go as planned, it was kinda pulled from me, and I think I had to hit bottom to know that the top is a place to be worked for. No one should come to Los Angeles with a sense of entitlement because they will have the rug pulled from under them when they least expect it. I am happy that it took five years. I think I have a competent record, one that I may not have had 3 years ago. It's really a lot about timing, the right timing.

You worked with Dr. Luke on your  new album. What was it like working with him? And what was the best part of the collaboration?
Well at first I wouldn't take the meeting. I was like, I'm so over writing with every group in town that calls themselves a writing troop. It was getting cheese. I was like, if you're not a real Dr. then I don't want to work with Mr. New-Name Alias. But then, I found out he wrote the best pop song of all time, "Since You've Been Gone." We had a meeting, worked here and there, but it was on hold for a bit since I was changing labels. I love working with Luke. He's a bitch of a businessman and a hell of a writer. I think he's come into something special lately signing kids like the young Benny Blanco as a writer, and myself. He's brought me into other projects as well and believes in me as a writer. We've become really good friends and I LOVE working with him and anyone he has me write with. He is so dedicated and will get the job done and deserves all the success he has had and more. I can't wait to get some down time, cause I'll be right back in the studio writing and passing the hookah.

What are your internal rules or benchmarks when writing a song that help guide you to a finished work with which you are happy?
Well, I rewrite things 2 to 3 times before I am satisfied lyrically. I like to have a main chorus, then write a few different verses each, and see which story makes more sense. It's an editing progression really. I also like to write on my guitar and have the melody figured out before I add the lyrical layer, but I'm not stuck to that one specific way of writing. I will always try anything.