[opus]

http://blender.com/g...es.aspx?id=1061

My fave quotes:

[kebbie]

as i said on the other message board where this appeared--poor thing. poor, poor thing.

[Clint M]

I liked how one person on the Derek Webb board put it:

From CCM to slutty attention-whore in two short years!

But yeah, this is pretty sad. At first I thought it was someone different, until I saw an older picture of her and then realized it was the same girl.

Sheese. I'm hoping she'll wake up at some point and realize what she's doing to herself.

[run]

I don't think she is doing a 360.
It is not much different than selling an image for the CCM industry.
She likes extremes.
Yeah, does Top 40 really need another Avril/Kelly Clarkson/Evanescence wannabee though?
But on the other hand, any time someone leaves CCM, I applaud no matter what their intentions are for their future...uhhh...expect for Jessica Simpson.

Katy Amazon Sample Tracks

This post has been edited by run: 01 July 2005 - 11:32 AM

[Christian]

Did anyone here actually listen to her CCM disc? I barely made it through the disc -- and I usually like her type of music. Painful.

[wendelah]

this makes me so so sad...

who are we to judge?
and its so funny that on little to no evidence some people are so quick to make comments about our fellow sister-in-christ's life...

take the plank out of your own eye before you dare look at the sliver in katy's.


i've known katy personally for more than 6 years now and yes, she is full of energy and excitement and loves life to the fullest, she is not any of the things you all are saying.

i'm sad for you fellow brothers and sisters in christ.
so so sad.

[SZPT]

i've known katy personally for more than 6 years now and yes, she is full of energy and excitement and loves life to the fullest, she is not any of the things you all are saying.

From the Blender article (linked to in the first post), Katy in her own words:

“I’m completely outrageous and I’ll do anything for attention!”

...

She spent her adolescence not being “your typical Christian,” she says. “I’ve done a lot of bad things. Use your imagination.”

...

A total unknown working with the biggest names, Perry must have talent to burn. “No, I’ve just got really big boobs,” she says. “And my sweater gets tighter every week…”

...

RECOMMENDED ACTIVITY WHILE LISTENING:  “Drinking, drugs and other forms of substance abuse”

Now Wendelah, obviously I'm not one of this thread's original posters, I know nothing of Katy as a person, and perhaps she was quoted out of context in all 4 instances that I have listed above, but c'mon... should none of that gives me pause? And to clarify, I am reacting here to the public persona she has chosen to show the world - her marketing gimmick, if you will. To help sell her music she is basically putting out there the rather cliched "PK gone wild" image.

And honestly, in many respects, good for her. I also had to find myself after leaving home. Many do. But what is rubbing me the wrong way, and possibly others who have commented in this thread is that she is obviously using it as a marketing ploy. At least she did when the article was first published. So I personally am not reacting to her statements and her persona as anything other than a consumer and supporter of the arts. And as sad as this may seem to you, as a consumer I make a judgement on whose art I will support.

Rather than attack those on this thread for reacting to Katy's own words, please feel free to offer better evidence of her intentions to the contrary (apart from simply being friends with her - some of my own best friends also don't make the best choices).

[MissAlyss06]

It's almost sickening how she duped a lot of people. I thought she was fake, seriously. You look back at what she said, did, and wore while a "Christian" artist and it's no surprise that she did a 180.
It's also no surprise that she changed her name. I think if I wanted to leave my integrity behind (and my clothes) I'd change my name too.
The truth is, she's probably someone who cries herself to sleep at night and wonders who she really is. I feel bad for her. The fact that she dresses immodestly makes the point that she lacks self confidence in her talent. The fact that she made such a huge life swap in two short years shows that she had to grow up way to fast in the spotlight.
I hope that one day she really does find God.

[The Baptist Death Ray]

So she came from a home that equated music with sin, went into the CCM circuit, discovered that image was everything (as opposed to substance of spirit) and figured if that was the case then she might as well go all out. That's hardly surprising.

[Rich Kennedy]

I agree. Also, if her description of her growing up is not hyperbole and exaggeration, then this is a matter of going from one extreme to another and I can sympathise with that. I did it myself.

[BBBCanada]

I hope that one day she really does find God.

That seems like a slightly uncalled for statement. Maybe MissAlyss06 should trying reading the scriptures. Because in there she will find that some of those whom the religious establishment thought were far away from God were closer than those who were normally considered closet.

[MissAlyss06]

That was not meant in a judgmental way. That was sincere. If she really did know God, how faithful He is, how merciful and satisfying He is, she wouldn't be working so hard to chase down the things of the world. I'm sorry if that came off harsh, but it was purely sincere.
As for me reading the scriptures, I do, everyday, and I honestly believe that she wouldn't be in the state she's in if she knew the Jesus I read about. He's so genuine, which is something that everyone is searching for, no?

[mrmando]

No one doubts your sincerity, MissAlyss, but you seem to be passing judgment on things you couldn't possibly know. Unless you are Katy's roommate, you don't know whether she cries herself to sleep at night. Unless you are her therapist or her performance coach, you don't know whether she lacks confidence in her talent. (Madonna dressed like a sleaze too, but I doubt anyone would say it was because she lacked confidence.) Unless you are Katy's manager, you don't know why she left Christian music. Unless you are her spiritual confidante, you don't know the status of her relationship with God.

If, instead of trying to infer Katy's motives, you confine your remarks to observable phenomena, you won't come across as so judgmental.

I sure wish wendelah would drop back in and give SZPT some good answers.

This post has been edited by mrmando: 29 July 2005 - 01:21 PM

[Rich Kennedy]

That was not meant in a judgmental way. That was sincere. If she really did know God, how faithful He is, how merciful and satisfying He is, she wouldn't be working so hard to chase down the things of the world.

Right here. This is just about the toughest aspect of one's relationship to God to get right. After more than 30 years of struggle, I have begun to understand what you are talking about here. Perry's just a kid. Give her time.

[PrivateStorm]

Katy Perry has a song on the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants soundtrack.

[openmind]

I know this is an extremely old thread, but I feel inclined to offer my own 2 cents. After reading everyone's responses, I have to say that I am personally ashamed of the judgements I've made on other artists--Christian and non-Christian. Sadly, I never realized the extent of my own judgementalism until it hit close to home.
None of you has the right to judge Katy--based on an article or things she's done or said or her music, etc. It's not your place to judge--PERIOD. You don't know what her life has been like or what she's gone through or what she's seen. At a very young age she was exposed to things that you probably never have--or at least perhaps never were at her age. Certain decisions (like the name change) have absolutely *nothing* to do with her shame or an image that is being created for her. (incidentally, she went from Katy Hudson to Katy Perry because of confusion between her name and that of Kate Hudson, the actress--Katy has also dabbled in acting, btw). You might be shocked to find that many of the Christian artists that you approve of actually lead "double" lives. You never know what is going on in someone's heart--that is between them and God.
I hope that you take a close look at your own hypocrisy before you point fingers at others.

[mrmando]

Welcome to the board, openmind. I hope this isn't a drive-by on your part.

None of you has the right to judge Katy--based on an article or things she's done or said or her music, etc.

I guess that depends on what you mean by judgment. Yes, we should try to avoid drawing inferences about Katy or her motives on the basis of one article, but we absolutely do have the right to evaluate what she says in the article.

It's not your place to judge--PERIOD.

Well, then it's not your place to judge us, PERIOD, either. But obviously it's not as simple as that.

You don't know what her life has been like or what she's gone through or what she's seen. At a very young age she was exposed to things that you probably never have--or at least perhaps never were at her age.

Then we should all hope and pray for her healing, while suggesting that acting out through a "wild child" persona is not generally known to be a good way to achieve such healing. Having gone through a lot of crap might explain bad behavior, but it doesn't excuse it.

You might be shocked to find that many of the Christian artists that you approve of actually lead "double" lives.

Someone on this board approved of a Christian artist? I must have missed that. But anyway, to quote a line from a favorite play, See How They Run, "We might be shocked, but we wouldn't be surprised."

You never know what is going on in someone's heart--that is between them and God.

Ah, but we do know what is going on in the Blender article. If you have evidence that the article misrepresented Katy, feel free to set the record straight.

I hope that you take a close look at your own hypocrisy before you point fingers at others.

But how do you know that anyone posting in this thread is a hypocrite? Aren't you being judgmental when you say that?

And anyway, what's wrong with one hypocrite calling out another hypocrite? Doesn't it take one to recognize one?

This post has been edited by mrmando: 13 January 2007 - 04:45 AM

[openmind]

Mr. Mando,

Being a former journalist myself, I know how easy it is for others to misread what is written about the subject of interviews. It's just as easy as it is to misread what people write on the internet, or in letters, etc. You don't know Katy. I think that people were misreading some of the things she said--such as, "I'll do anything for attention." Above all, Katy is an extremely outgoing, effervescent person. She's "the life of the party" and I mean that in the best way. She's ALWAYS been like that. It has nothing to do with her "acting out" as some have suggested. She's a NORMAL girl. I don't know what you all expect of her, but like I said--you don't know anything about her personal life, and a couple of quotes from Blender can't tell you her personal story. Incidentally, for those that have said that she's using the whole "PK gone wild" angle for publicity, did you ever stop to think that she was only responding to questions asked of her? It's known that she was a Christian artist, and the media is going to question her about that, and about her upbringing. I don't think she was just offering information to be controversial. You also don't understand her humor. She's sarcastic and witty. I'm sure she was being funny in some of her responses, but that doesn't come across in black and white print the same way it would in person. She's a great girl. Give her a break.

[mrmando]

I think that people were misreading some of the things she said--such as, "I'll do anything for attention."

That's the sort of statement that leaves itself open to almost any reading! Just like "I've done a lot of bad stuff ... use your imagination."

I don't know what you all expect of her,

A more salient question might be what she expects of us. By that I mean, when one poses for certain types of pictures for a Blender article, and then gives flippant, open-ended answers to interview questions, what sort of conclusions does one honestly expect the public to draw?

but like I said--you don't know anything about her personal life, and a couple of quotes from Blender can't tell you her personal story.

I agree. You see, then, how important it becomes to honestly represent oneself when talking to the media, and not to blow off the interview by giving answers that are not serious and don't show who one really is. An article like that will give thousands of people their first impression of Katy ... and if it's an impression they don't like, they probably won't bother to learn anything else about her. The end result is a bunch of people walking around with a mistaken impression. Now, if her personal life is something she thinks we need to know about, she can write about it on her MySpace page or something. If, on the other hand, she doesn't care what people think of her, then the question becomes why you care so much about it.

Incidentally, for those that have said that she's using the whole "PK gone wild" angle for publicity, did you ever stop to think that she was only responding to questions asked of her?

Um, answering interview questions is part of doing publicity; it's one of the ways musicians project a certain image. If Katy didn't understand that when she did the Blender interview, perhaps she understands it better now.

You also don't understand her humor. She's sarcastic and witty. I'm sure she was being funny in some of her responses, but that doesn't come across in black and white print the same way it would in person.

Yes, if one reads the interview with that in mind, one can put a sort of sarcastic construction on nearly everything she says. You're right, that doesn't necessarily come across in print. One more reason she should perhaps spend some time learning how to approach interviews more seriously. I'm sure her PR people can help her with that. Or, if they're the ones telling her to say such things in interviews, then perhaps she needs a new agency.

[openmind]

I care because I think that a lot of posters on this thread are being unreasonably judgemental and harsh based on a very, very small and edited article in Blender. (the pictures were tasteful, btw). I don't think you really understand how interviews go. The journalist asks pointed questions, the interviewee answers, the journalist then edits the interview and composes an article giving it the slant that THEY want it to have. The artist/interviewee has no artistic control over what the journalist writes or what the end result will be. Also, basing one's impression of somebody on one article is pretty narrow-minded, imo.
& Frankly, if she's in a time of exploring herself and her freedom as a young adult, then why are some of you so put off by that?