Katy Perry opens up

LOS ANGELES – Katy Perry, looking like a cross between Demi Moore and Brooke Shields, and with her brown hair streaked with purple, made an eye-catching entrance into a hotel meeting room.

The doe-eyed singer is smart and articulate. She answered all questions thrown at her – from being raised by parents who are both church ministers, to her heartbreak over her divorce from actor Russell Brand. That drama involving Russell, while glimpsed only from the sidelines, sparks “Part of Me,” a documentary that follows Katy in her “California Dreams” tour.

Excerpts from our interview:

When you asked the two filmmakers to tag along, you didn’t know how the world tour would go or how your personal life would turn out. Did you have any regrets, at any point, about doing this film?

With my songs, I try and keep it very honest even though sometimes it hurts to say the words out loud. It’s very therapeutic. I know that people respond and connect to that. So I wanted to be able to do that in my film as well. I always wanted to catch everything because it’s better to have it than not to have it. It was mostly me on the road for the whole eight or 10 months that I was on the road. It felt like forever. It was 124 shows and over 300 hours of footage.

The guys that I asked to come out on the road from England are like these chump kids who shower maybe once every five days in order to maintain their English hair and that kind of East London look. They’re just cool.

I knew that something big was coming, especially when I was planning the tour with my managers. People wanted more tickets. So I had to expand the venues. I had never played arenas before, nor did I think I could play arenas on my second record. I thought, OK, I’m going to bet on myself as I always have. I’m either going to go completely mental, bankrupt, or have the best success of my life.

Did the filmmakers back off when it became too personal?

No, because they were my friends. But I kept some things off-limits. I didn’t film at home. I didn’t take them when I was on vacation or during my relationship times because I was focusing on that. But when I was working, I was always being filmed.

What did you discover about yourself in handling the heartbreak?

In the first couple of edits, there were things that made my tummy turn. When I saw them, I had already lived them and, really, I didn’t want to live them again but I thought, maybe if I shared the example that I got through the problem, other people wouldn’t feel so alone in theirs. We all feel very unique when we have problems but we all go through a lot of the same things. It’s not about the problem; it’s about how you solve it.

The whole movie is about me overcoming obstacles—my upbringing, the guys in the suits from the record labels, and then my personal struggle, landing on my feet, going through it and knowing that the message to all the people who are watching is that, yes, if you want to choose something great, there may be curve balls. But you have to learn to get through them and not lie down and die for them.

What did you learn about marriage?

I talk about fairy tales. It’s a very simple idea for so many people to understand. But for me right now, it’s a very modern fairy tale. It’s the fact that I still have this fairy tale but I don’t need the Prince Charming to have the happy ending. I can make the happy ending myself.

How do you overcome certain issues?

I just keep around me the same people who have been my support system. I brought them in even closer, like my sister who is my warden, best friend and sounding board.

What holds you up?

Focus, determination and this incredible ambition that hasn’t subsided. Ask me in my 30s if it has subsided. Maybe it will, but I know I have a certain responsibility now. I have been given something great. I have to make good choices.

You talked about your personal relationship with God. Can you put that in the context of growing up in a very strict environment?

When I was young, my mother would warn me about this type of thinking—the way I think now. She would categorize it as a little bit New Age. She was not for it. She said, “This is the way.” Both my parents were very matter-of-fact, very black-and-white. I always wanted to know what was beyond black-and-white. I was always a child asking the questions. It was not always appropriate to ask questions but I needed answers. I’m still continuing to look for those answers.

I hope to evolve and hope every single day to be a better version of who I was yesterday. My parents are more tolerant than they have ever been. They see that I’m on my own journey. That’s all it ever is for every individual—it’s his own journey. I know that they pray for me. I am very happy for that. Along the way, I will find more answers and continue to search.

At the age of 9, you looked up to the late singer Selena as your inspiration. How did you nurture the dream to be a musician someday?

I applied myself with different lessons —vocal and others. I sought friends who played the guitar. I put myself in the atmosphere of music anywhere, everywhere there was music playing. I tested out my little songs in different places, whether it was open-mike nights or cafes. When I was younger, at 13, I started playing in open-air farmers markets. In one corner, I would put my guitar case out and I would just play.

What about Selena inspired you?

Selena was one of the females who inspired me but I would say the most inspirational female to me was Alanis Morissette as a songwriter. Alanis made me feel like she penned the most important record, “Jagged Little Pill,” for me and that I was not the only loner in the world. She really did it unfiltered, with complete honesty. She took so many different chances and she’s still such a wise woman.

I ran into Alanis recently and she gave me a piece of advice that I’ve been heeding lately: “Transparency is the new mystery.” I love that. I used to say mystery is history—you know, having a little mysterious air about you, not giving it all away. But these days, people come off too flawless, too intangible, not connected with their audience. It’s time for transparency.

There are fun aspects of you on display in the movie. Where does that confidence come from and how did you make sure you didn’t go too far?

Too far isn’t in my vocabulary. I just have fun. I get close but…I am kind of a big tease. When I was growing up, I started to cultivate my own style. I was really inspired by pin-up girls by this illustrator named Gil Elvgren, his books and pictures of girls in different positions that are kind of hilariously compromising, like with a leash caught underneath a leg. You see the garter and everything but it’s like an innocent wink. I don’t want to give it all away because then you can never get it all back.

I have moments but I don’t put them all on display. I keep them for myself. I like to have fun and to get crazy but I do that in my private time. I keep such an incredible support system around me of good people, not just yes people, but folks who will literally yank me back to the ground. I try to be professional when I’m working.

What makes you happy?

Kittens, innocent things, children. I love children. They are big-eyed and totally ready for the world. I have a dark, sick sense of humor so things like those make me smile.

How do you stay in shape?

I haven’t been as aggressive with it lately because I’m coming to the end of this record process. I’m stressed out so if I want a Taco Bell, damn it, I’m going to eat Taco Bell.

Is acting something that you would like to pursue?

I don’t want to be so entitled that I can think I can just switch gears and be actually good at it. I’ve seen a lot of those things happen in the past and I hate failing. I hate it, so if I were to do something in the future, I would have to study well for it. It would have to be great and I’d be able to control it because I’m a control freak.

How do you think you will evolve 20 years down the road?

I will probably get wider as time goes on. I may not fit into my spinning peppermint dress. But I will always fit behind my guitar. I will always be a songwriter, maybe not always for myself. I like to collaborate with other people for their records. I want to do more of that in the future. I try and keep a moral compass about me with everything I do and ask the karma gods if something is going to turn me into something hideous if I do it, or if it’s going to be good for me.

For me, it’s been a long journey of learning more tolerance, more acceptance and that’s just because I’ve met different people, traveled a lot and educated myself instead of just wandering around aimlessly ignorant. As you get older, you try different things that maybe you wouldn’t have been that open-minded to do at 13. But that is life.

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