this article originally published last wednesday in
the weekender.
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It’s not easy being Katy Perry.
The “I Kissed a Girl” singer is currently on the Vans Warped Tour, which arrived at Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain last Sunday. Conveniently enough, her boyfriend, Gym Class Heroes front-man Travis McCoy, also performs on the tour. Her infectious summer jam just registered its fifth consecutive week atop the charts. Perry’s backers include Internet giants like MySpace and Perez Hilton. Her LP, One Of The Boys, sold 115,000 copies in a mere three weeks, powered mostly by the strength of her aforementioned hit.
But, as Ben Parker told his nephew Peter in Spiderman, “With great power comes great responsibility.”
“I’m on Warped Tour, we’re six weeks in, and I’m not dead,” a relieved Perry told me on her tour bus.
After nagging her manager throughout the day, I received an invitation to jump on board and speak with Katy for a minute. Dressed in an oversized white shirt and pajama pants, Perry gently sipped green tea in an attempt to recoup her voice and energy level. While most artists on the tour would bus it to the next stop – Perry’s next stop was a top-notch hotel in Manhattan and an appearance on ABC’s The View.
“Fuck! I’m meeting Barbara Walters tomorrow. Hi mom!” Perry exclaimed in a sudden burst of revelation that maybe she has in fact “made it” – to a degree. Minutes before, Katy wouldn’t acknowledge her success as much, simply insisting that while she’s had fun, she’s also made her fair share of sacrifices.
Now those sacrifices are yielding dividends, although life isn’t all celebrity encounters and rock shows. Perry and her manager both explained their dilemma in Sunday alone: With Perry’s throat feeling a little under the weather, she cancelled a MySpace acoustic performance in order to perform the Warped Tour set and save her voice for the following day’s TV appearance. All this happens within the current demands of Perry’s schedule – one that awakes the singer as early as 7 a.m. daily for hair and makeup, followed by photo shoots (MySpace and Rolling Stone occurred within days of her arrival in Scranton), interviews, and performances.
Yet, despite all this, Perry still made time for a staple Warped Tour tradition – stopping by her merchandise table to sign autographs for over 100 people.
“I think I definitely (have) been given a great opportunity, and people seem to be really responding,” said Perry. “I worked really hard, and I continue to work really hard.”
No one knows Perry’s staying power. But one-hit wonder or not, it’s evident that the singer work ethic will be unscathed, possibly taking a cue from both her parents, who were traveling ministers, and her beau, who helped GCH launch from a small town in Central New York to international success.
McCoy and Perry began dating a few years ago. Both openly talk about the relationship – those who walked in by the busses in the VIP parking area to the stages were even treated to a quick PDA by the couple as Perry returned from her autograph session.
“We’re on the same plane,” Perry gushed.The singer of “Cupid’s Chokehold” is feeling the clutch as well.“It’s a beautiful situation,” McCoy told me, his younger brother within earshot. “Honestly, not to sound cheesy; I just don’t think I’ve ever been this in love with someone before.”
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