Competitive Katy Perry talks new album and her pop rivals

Life must be hard for Katy Perry. The pastors daughter-turned-pop tart burst onto the scene in 2008 and was heralded as the wild, stylish party girl who shocked conservative Christians with her controversial faux-lesbo anthem  ”I Kissed a Girl”, eventually going on to sell over five million copies of her album One of the Boys.

Fast forward two years to 2010 and a whole new crop of girls like Ke$ha and Lady GaGa are out shocking people (by mainstream standards) by peeing in sinks and bleeding on stage, leaving Katy at the risk of becoming a one-album-wonder. Well nobody knows that better than Katy herself, and during a new interview with Nylon she bared her teeth and said that she’s ready to switch things up in order to stay one step ahead of the competition.

“You’ve got Lady Gaga, who’s like, from outer space; you’ve got Ke$ha, who’s the beer-drinking, house-party girl; and then you’ve got Rihanna, who’s transforming the urban world into her own outer space,” she explains. “But I feel like you’re missing an Alanis Morissette, 2010. I love how she was a voice for a lot of people who couldn’t explain their feelings. But it’s not like I’m not gonna compete. I love a good dose of healthy competition. It’s not going to be the same thing that they’re doing.”

“Sometimes I feel like I’m more of a Taylor Swift. She tells stories, and I think that’s what resonated with a lot of people.”

“Some of the kid shit I’ve grown out of completely,” Perry announces. “I feel like when I explain my transition visually, people understand. I’m taking it out of the Shirley Temple, Betty Boop, Lichtenstein kind of thing. It’s still fun, but it’s a bit darker. It’s not as annoying. Sometimes I feel like a big strawberry with a face on it. If you do something over and over again it’s like Chinese water torture. If it hits your head enough times, you want to die. You have to just evolve.”

Part of Katy’s evolution will include her new album which she describes as “a roller-disco ‘Lovefool’ by the Cardigans meets ‘I Saw the Sign’ by Ace of Base.”

“I think what will be most important is not the club bangers, but the songs that people want to put on the inside of their wedding rings-that lyrics, that inscription they want to use as their lifelong motto.” {source}

Katy’s album is due this Summer and will feature production from The-Dream & Tricky, Ryan Tedder, Calvin Harris, Greg Kurstin, Max Martin & Dr Luke and many more.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 24th, 2010 at 12:25 am and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

  • http://cosmicbreeze.tumblr.com Dave

    Hmm… Interesting

  • Lisa

    She really has a clear understanding of the music scene. I can’t stand Ke$ha and really don’t care for GaGa, but Katy is my favorite. I loved her last album and her music isn’t that cheesy like Ke$ha and GaGa.

  • blink_blind

    it depends on what route her label wants her to go. i think katy’s known as the quirky girl so they may not want her to write anything that’s “heavy” just stick with fun, silly songs. it’s really difficult for a sophomore album to do well. especially when people already kinda stereotyped your sound as gimmicky. i think the only song she had that was serious was her ballad “when i’m with you” but that one didn’t do as well as her other singles. we’ll see. it’ll be interesting to hear her follow up.

  • TheEmpress

    “a roller-disco ‘Lovefool’ by the Cardigans meets ‘I Saw the Sign’ by Ace of Base.” – this line made my interest for her second album peak a bit. I love her music (lyrics wise) but always thought of her as a gimmick and something to point at and laugh. But you can tell she is aware of her public perception by reading this. “a strawberry with a face” is a perfect description Katy. Now all you need is practice what you preach and switch it up.

  • Steveroni

    I like her. She may seem like a dumb chick singing about kissing girls but actually she is quite classy and knows how to work hard.

    She never seems arrogant to me. Plus her music videos are always very visual and colorful which I like.

  • Ethan

    I can’t stand her voice.

  • Pete

    i’m not a far, but at least she has a vision that she can articulate. good for her.

  • marymag

    thats so funny, yesterday i was thinkin how similar kesha is to avril. the whole party,idgaf persona…except that 4 avrils more punk and shitsa more pop.i dont think kesha can ever get a fanbase as huge as the cult like following avril has though

    itll be an over-saturation of wild girls. why cant she just stick to being her normal self and make music?? is it cuz she has no talent and writes corny songs? lolz im still a fan and will buy the next album

  • marymag

    some of these ppl she didnt even need to mention. she will never be on lady gagas level, and rihanna came out back when you did christian songs. her only real competition is kesha

  • Brad

    The biggest gimmick I see is Lady GaGa. Funny how people only want to point out Katy, when GaGa is the most over-the-top. GaGa can’t even do a performance without a bunch of unnecessary props and still doesn’t impress me. She had a million things going on with her Grammy performance and even got Elton John on the stage, but couldn’t even get a standing ovation. She was standing there at the end of her performance like she deserved a standing o and she didn’t at all. She plays the piano like my 4 year old niece and her voice is ratchet. I’ve watched several performances of people saying she can sing and I just don’t hear what is supposed to be so great. She sounds good for a gremlin, I guess. Check yourself before you try to downgrade Katy. I will give GaGa her visuals for her image and videos, but her songs don’t even match the quality of her videos. What makes GaGa the biggest gimmick is that she’s done everything an artist could possibly do in just a year and a half, what’s left for her? There really isn’t much left for her to do and she still hasn’t impressed me. Madonna, Janet, Cher, Christina and even Britney to an extent have made gradual changes with their careers, GaGa does everything in 18 months. Now tell me who’s the biggest gimmick?

  • MakeHimFeelGood

    @ Brad. I agree. If GaGa wasn’t a gimmick why does she constantly have to have all these props to distract fans from her lack of piano and vocal skills. GaGa’s got two voices, the ugly belting or the talking she does. She’s good at creating melodies, but she doesn’t live up to the hype. Is that why she has to release an album every year, because she really doesn’t have any talent at all? I’m seriously laughing at these people thinking she’s making avant-garde music. Her music has to be the most watered down-cheesy pop in the industry today, even moreso than Ke$ha.

  • xGg

    @Brad exactly!

    can’t wait for Katy’s new album!

  • goons

    honestly i dnt she will get the same success as her last album..katy is just to timid to survive the game..she also seems too preoccupied with russell..the route she wants to take will help but dnt think she will be as huge as her first album..

    anyways, i feel she has more to worry about..the OG’s will be back this year..britney, christina..rihanna is hardly any competion..even beyaki will be back so good luck katy!!

  • blink_blind

    this year is shaping up to be an epic year for music so many familiar faces coming back in the game with all these new artists… i love that these are all girls by the way! girl power!! there will definitely be a change in music. hopefully away from the auto-tune, half ass, overly produced crap that’s been on radio for the past 3 or 4 years.

  • J2201987

    Um, Lady CaCa is a f*cking annoying albeit talented parasite from outerspace. Ke$sha or whaterthefionaappleripoff she’s called is everything that I hate about America now, and Golden RIH-triever isn’t transforming ANYTHING in anyone’s world. It’s just PC at best because everyone’s afraid to speak their minds.

    But good luck to the fake lesbian.

  • http://devon@gmail.com DEVON

    Lady GaGa is a HUGE gimmick, but don’t take away her talent. She is talented and can sing laps around Katy Perry. Katy cannot sing, I don’t care. She’s beautiful and has great songs and energy, but she is not a good singer, sorry.

    Lady GaGa’s emergence on the pop scene is good and bad. For me, she ups the ante and makes everyone shoot for something fresh and different to, like Katy says, “out compete” but at the same time, she also is forcing all these artists to become shadows of their former selves. They need to realize that you don’t NEED to be like GaGa to be successful. Have good pop music and put on a quality show, don’t try to out theatric someone else for the sake of doing it.

    As for this album, the inclusion of Dr. Luke, Calvin Harris, and Max Martin has me very excited. I love Calvin Harris’ music and Dr. Luke is my favorite producer. It’s sure to have one of the songs of the summer on it!

  • Pingback: Wish List: Five People Katy Perry Should Work With On Her Next Album | GossipO

  • Pingback: Wish List: Five People Katy Perry Should Work With On Her Next Album | latestmusicheadlines.com

  • can’tthinkofone

    Sorry but didn’t Katy come out the same way Kesha did? Singing about wild ish(kissing girls) and having that party/dumb girl image? Now she wants to preach? ok. Both Gaga and Kesha(whom I can’t stand btw) are much more talented than Katy, even with the unnecessary gimmicks.

  • YouPutTheLimeInTheCoconut

    They’re ALL gimmicks, every single one of them! It just depends on what gimmick you’re more into.

    I wish Katy well, and I hope she blows lady GagOnADick out of the fucking water!

  • http://www.drugo.ch live musik

    I really love Katy Perry she is just amazing, I would love to see a life concert of her, do you know when there will be a show in Switzerland?

  • Nicole

    @can’tthinkofone, to be fair to Katy, she originally wanted “Thinking of You” to be the first single so its not really her fault she appeared the same way Ke$ha has. And Katy didn’t come out as the wild party girl, like Ke$ha.
    While Katy can be slightly gimmicky, she is no where near as bad as GaGa and Ke$ha. GaGa does have talent, but she isn’t phenomenal as many people are claiming her to be. Ke$ha, from what I’ve seen of her live, isn’t very good at all, but Katy is brilliant live.
    I can’t wait for Katy’s next album and I’m certain it will be just as good as One of the Boys!

  • asdfghjkl;l;;

    You know, even though Gaga maybe “over the top” she still has potential. I mean Cyndi Lauper and Madonna love her. And Michael Jackson wanted to go on tour with her. Why do you think that was? Katy is just a shit talking prep girl who doesn’t know what to do to get attention. At this rate she might as well start signing up to be another Tila Tequila. And Ke$ha is crap, Tik Tok was her only hit and everyone is getting over it. Katy’s only hit was that lesbo song. Unless her new album is something close to audible, I don’t think people should waste their time ordering her music. Period.

  • http://bestphotoeditingsoftware.info/ best photo retouching software

    Cyndi Lauper is now fifty seven and she about to let loose another album, she is magnificent !