KortneyKaty Perry spoke with regional media in Singapore, including The Straits Times, and some fans over a Zoom call about going through hell to get her smile back, her upcoming album “SMILE,” how Orlando’s son Flynn helped her chose “Never Really Over” to release, the new perspective she’s been gifted through motherhood, and more.
“Music has always been there for me in my darkest times, especially when I was younger. When I was so overwhelmed with emotions and didn’t know how to organise them, if I turned on the right song, I felt understood, I felt seen.”
Her fans can rest assured that the album is still “pure pop” and sonically more in the style of Prism (2013) and Teenage Dream (2010). All the songs are upbeat except for the album closer, the mid-tempo What Makes A Woman.
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During the Howard Stern interview, Perry said Bloom was instrumental in getting her through her dark period and that he is perfect for her.
She also has his nine-year-old son Flynn- from his previous marriage to model Miranda Kerr – to thank for picking out the first single from Smile, released in May last year.
“He loves music and TikTok and knows what’s going on in the world, so I played him three songs last year and asked him which one to put out first. He chose Never Really Over ,” she said, adding that he was among the first people to listen to songs off the record.
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But motherhood has also gifted her a new perspective that has strengthened her resolve both personally and professionally.
“The needs of a newborn and preparing to bring a life that is so vulnerable and delicate (into the world)are way beyond what I imagined,” she said.
A United Nations Children’s Fund Goodwill Ambassador since 2013, her focus has been on children and adolescents who are most vulnerable. Having a child, Perry added, “blows my mind and gives me this fire in my belly, which I think will translate into being active in… supporting and standing up for children, mothers and women”.
“I’ve always had this sense of wanting justice to prevail, and as I turn into mama bear, it’s going to get even bolder,” she said.
“I’m excited to take that newfound fire and apply it in all aspects of my life – even in songwriting, and in being unafraid to tell the stories… whether they’re pretty or not.”
She wants it to be okay to talk about real life, even if she is a pop star.
“There’s some humanity and stigma taken off when people talk about the hard times… Life isn’t a perfect Instagram post, it’s all of the things.”
