In the latest marriage-disdaining cover story in the Sunday newspaper supplement Parade Magazine, pop star Katy Perry wore a glittery Uncle Sam hat and blue blouse over the words “Yankee Doodle Katy: Katy Perry Celebrates Her Independence.” They're touting independence, as in her divorce from tawdry British actor/comedian Russell Brand after a whole 14 months of marriage. Apparently, he's the British autocrat in this analogy.
Somehow, Parade lunged to associate pride in America with gay rights and Barack Obama:
Through all the globe-trotting, Perry has come to realize how fortunate she is to call the United States home. “Not to sound overly cheesy,” she says, “but I really appreciate the freedom we have in America—especially as a female.” Asked how she reacted to President Obama’s support of same-sex marriage, she says, “I was really happy; I probably went down to West Hollywood and had a shot. I came from a different mind-set growing up, and my mind has changed. My viewpoint on all these things—equality for women, the choice to love anyone you want—hopefully, we will look back at this moment and think like we do now concerning [other] civil rights issues. We’ll just shake our heads in disbelief, saying, ‘Thank God we’ve evolved.’ That would be my prayer for the future.”
As for her own future, Perry says she’ll one day step back from performing to have a family or be out of the limelight; for anything more introspective, you’ll have to listen to her songs. In “Wide Awake,” she sings, “I picked up every piece /And landed on my feet … /I’m wide awake /Yeah — I am born again.”
To Parade, the only “Christian” that matters now are Katy’s “sky-high Christian Louboutins.” Her Christian upbringing was “weird,” since resisting raunchy secular pop music (like the kind Perry now makes) is beyond strange:
Perry is proud of the fact that she’s “a bit weirder than the average pop star,” as she puts it. Her parents, Keith and Mary Hudson, are born-again Christian ministers, and she and her two siblings were raised in Santa Barbara, Calif., in a strict household. Perry, who changed her name professionally from Katheryn Hudson because of potential confusion with the actress Kate Hudson, was prohibited from listening to what her mother called “secular music” growing up. Instead, the same woman who would later don a cupcake bra in her video for “California Gurls” sang gospel classics like “Oh, Happy Day.”
The cupcake bra isn't "weird," the gospel music is. Yet somehow, her Christian upbringing made her a better pop star because she resisting changing for record companies:
It’s no wonder Perry, who will perform on Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular (NBC, 9 p.m. ET), loves the holiday: She’s full of spark, just like the explosions referenced in her hit “Firework.” But her success hasn’t come as easily as one might think. Prior to earning her status as a pop princess, Perry was an unknown singer-songwriter on the Christian music circuit. Before she became the first woman in Billboard history to claim five No. 1 singles from one album, 2010’s Teenage Dream, she was dropped by several labels. It’s all part of the story chronicled in the concert documentary.
“There are certain themes you see in the movie: coming out of a constricting, sheltered atmosphere,” Perry says, tucking a lock of purple hair behind her ear. “Not changing when every record label told me that I should be like this other artist who was successful. Overcoming obstacles in so many different ways.”
Earlier on the not-married beat: Gov. Andrew Cuomo's Live-In Gal Pal Sandra Lee Hailed by Parade Magazine
