Katy Perry Only Listened to 2 Iconic Albums for ‘2 Years Straight’

Katy Perry couldn’t listen to much secular music as a child, but she began to discover new albums as she grew up. Perry said Queen helped expand her taste in music. When she discovered two other classic artists, she said she couldn’t listen to anything but their albums.

Katy Perry said she had two albums on repeat 

When Perry was a teenager, she began to pursue a music career. She grew up in a strict religious household and had listened to little secular music at this point in her life.

“It wasn’t until I started to make my gospel record when I was around 14 or 15 that I started to be exposed to more outside influences,” she told Kristen Wiig in a conversation for Interview Magazine. “Before that, I was actually really into Christian music. I knew all about the Christian music scene, which was a very small kind of sect. But I knew all about that world … But as I started to hear different kinds of music, my world got bigger.”

Queen became one of the first bands she loved. When she heard The Beatles’ “White Album” and The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds, though, she could hardly listen to anything else.

“I got all the Beatles’ records, like the ‘White’ album [1968], which was really important to me along with Pet Sounds [1966] by the Beach Boys. Those two records were the only things I listened to for probably two years straight,” she said. “Then I discovered Patty Griffin, Joni Mitchell, Carole King, Jonatha Brooke — a little bit of the Lilith Fair–esque stuff. And then I got into more electronic music. But I’m just open to everything these days.”

Katy Perry revealed her favorite albums by female musicians

Perry also fell for several albums by female artists. While performing at Los Angeles’ Hotel Café, she discovered Patty Griffin, who became one of her favorite artists. She listed albums by Alanis Morissette and Fiona Apple as among her favorites as well. She wanted Griffin’s work to inspire her own.

“Yes, [Fiona Apple’s Tidal] and Alanis Morrisette’s Jagged Little Pill [1995] and [Patty Griffin’s] Flaming Red are my all-time faves,” she said. “I definitely want to do a Patty Griffin–esque thing at some point. I do some acoustic stuff in my show, a couple of songs. But it’s something that I’m really excited about because I know I can do it and I haven’t really played that card yet. I’ve been thinking about my future and what the next move is in terms of what I need to do.”

Her parents banned 1 artist from her household while growing up

Perry said her mother played artists like Édith Piaf, Billie Holiday, and Etta James throughout her childhood. The family avoided most other secular music, though. Some artists, like Madonna, were completely off-limits.

“I was not even allowed to mention the name Madonna in my household — just because I think the ’80s and ’90s were so Madonna-filled,” Perry said. “She was going through so many evolutions at that time. One day she was doing a sex book, and the next day she was doing Ray of Light [1998]. She left so many huge visual impressions on people, and I think for my parents, with their belief systems, the idea that I would be influenced by that at such a young age was very scary. But, of course, when you can’t have something, then that’s all you want, so whenever I was at my friends’ houses, I would be like, ‘Turn on MTV!’”