Katy Perry Wanted to Make Music Based on Her ‘All-Time Favorite Female Record’
Katy Perry has been releasing pop music for years, but she once said she hoped to emulate a slightly different sound. In a conversation with Kristen Wiig, Perry discussed some of her favorite women in the music industry. She said that she had three all-time favorite albums by female artists, and she felt inspired by one in particular.
Katy Perry revealed the record that she hoped to emulate with her own music
Early in Perry’s career, she played acoustic shows at the Hotel Café in Los Angeles.
“There’s this little place that I would go to in Los Angeles called the Hotel Café that a lot of acoustic acts come out of,” she told Wiig in a conversation for Interview Magazine. “There’s a girl named Sara Bareilles who came out of there. I haven’t been there for a couple of years, but that’s where I started out playing.”
She said playing the Hotel Café made her want to make an album like some of her favorite artists.
“I’ve actually always wanted to make something like an acoustic record,” she said. “My favorite record is a Patty Griffin record that I discovered while I was in Nashville called Flaming Red [1998] … That’s my all-time favorite female record — that and the Fiona Apple ‘Criminal’ one [Tidal].”
While Flaming Red is an electrified album in which Griffin leans into a rock sound, Perry hoped to make an album inspired by Griffin’s Americana and folk sounds.
“Yes, [Tidal] and Alanis Morrisette’s Jagged Little Pill [1995] and Flaming Red are my all-time faves. I definitely want to do a Patty Griffin–esque thing at some point,” she said. “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. I think it would be pretty stupid to try and redo this last record that had all of this success … Maybe it’s time to do something that’s different that can’t be compared.”
She said she hoped to change the direction of her career
Perry told Wiig she was hoping to “try something different” following the success of her album Teenage Dream.
“Well, if you keep on doing the same role, you’ll be typecast,” she told Wiig. “I just feel like I’m going to be criticized regardless of what I do next, so I might as well do something that I feel really passionate about.”
She believed her instincts were strong enough that she would be able to find success even if she changed up her sound.
“I mean, when I first came to L.A., I used to audition, and I had such fear because nobody really believed in my music. I couldn’t get anyone on my bandwagon,” she said. “Now I have a confidence because my research shows that I should just really trust my instincts.”
Katy Perry released new music this month
On July 11, Perry released “Woman’s World,” her latest single. It has not gone over well with critics or fans. Many have criticized the milquetoast, reductive brand of feminism Perry peddles in the song and accompanying music video. People have also pointed to the irony of trying to put out a women’s empowerment anthem while working with Dr. Luke, who singer Kesha accused of drugging and sexually assaulting her.
Perry has responded to some of the criticism by calling the song satire. She is set to release her album 143 in September following the tepid-at-best response to its lead single.
