Editors Blog
Katy Perry
More Editors' Blogs:
>> In Defense of Tender Man Love
>> An Open Letter to Bruce Springsteen
>> Lost in the 'Twilight' Zone
"Why I Hate Katy Perry"
The Christian music girl gone wild has a lot of fans -- and I can't figure out why, says SPIN's Ellen Carpenter.
By Ellen Carpenter 11.12.08 2:34 PM
Katy Perry
Here's what I know about Katy Perry: Her album One of the Boys went gold, her single "I Kissed a Girl" went double-platinum, and her boyfriend is Gym Class Heroes cutie Travis McCoy.
Here's what I don't know about Katy Perry: How any of this is remotely possible.
I know I'm not alone in my antipathy for Ms. Perry. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of allmusic.com wrote that she "distills every reprehensible thing about the age of The Hills into one pop album."
My favorite blog, Go Fug Yourself, regularly berates her for deeming ensembles like a 1950s bathing suit and fishnets appropriate eveningwear.
And I'm sure Zooey Deschanel must hate Perry for taking her wide-eyed stare, raven locks, and pinup figure so far down market. How often must look-alike shots in Us Weekly or In Touch force Zooey to call up friends to say, "That wasn't me! I would never wear purple stonewash jeans!"
More Editors' Blogs:
>> In Defense of Tender Man Love
>> An Open Letter to Bruce Springsteen
>> Lost in the 'Twilight' Zone
But I can claim to be an old-school Perry hater. It began in 2004, when she told another music magazine, "I'm completely outrageous and I'll do anything for attention!" This from the daughter of two pastors, who had already attempted to be a contemporary Christian music star, but whose debut didn't skyrocket her to Michael W. Smith heights (despite Christianity Today calling her song "Growing Pains" "pure ear candy with the message that we're being molded perpetually into Christ's image").
After that, she decided to give shock-pop a try -- with or without Jesus's help -- and become "outrageous."
Her dream came true in 2007 when she lit up Perez Hilton's life with her texty single "Ur So Gay," which some people who actually were gay found offensive and others who weren't clueless found moronic. (H&M is "gay"? LOL!) In interviews, she tried to redeem herself with a Sarah Palin-ish claim to having tons of homosexual friends and then gave a writer for thenewgay.net the cryptic assurance, "I know gay men that are more of a man than some of the men I slept with." This, in an interview in which she also compared her confessional writing to that of Holocaust victim Anne Frank.
Naturally, the follow-up to "Ur So Gay" would be "I Kissed a Girl." Which was so shocking. Totally taboo. At least if you discount Jill Sobule's same-titled song of 1995, which, unlike Perry's, was both good and credible. Of course, after its release, Perry clarified that she has only smooched dudes -- that her single was, in effect, a straight-up-the-middle "Girls Gone Wild" pitch to girl-on-girl fans across this great nation of ours.
I know this kind of thing is nothing new. Perry is almost designed to be a blip on the pop radar, and with luck she'll be here and gone with the speed of an IM. But still I must ask, in Perry's parlance, WTF? Why is she popular? Why did MTV ask her host the Europe Music Awards last week? And, more importantly, why did they let her wear a red football uniform and straddle an atomic bomb-size tube of cherry Chapstick? Why are people buying her album and not Zooey Deschanel's?
I'm serious. Tell me. I'd like to know.
Watch: Katy Perry falling at the MTV Latin American Awards
she's a D-O-L-L, literally - cute, plastic, empty, and only good until the next best thing.
Oh Ellen, don't be such a h8tur. (Incidentally, aren't you a regular on ONTD? Could've sworn I once saw an "Ellen Carpenter" post there once. Hmmm...) Also, I just HAVE to wonder about the cred of an [*COUGH!*] "editor" whose favorite blog is "Go Fug Yourself." Oh well, 'nuf of that.
So!... you want to know why Katy Perry is so popular?... How any of this is remotely possible? Well lessee... Let's make it a Top-10, shall we?
1. Howard Stern likes her. :)
2. Unlike most "blips on the pop radar," the girl actually has some talent (e.g. writes most of her stuff, plays the guitar, above average vocalist).
3. She's VERY friendly and open with her fans.
4. She's on record as saying that she likes to "toy" with the press by saying outragrous things just so see their reaction (seems to be working, if we're to go by this and other [*AHEM!*] "editorials").
5. Her blogs are insanely entertaining, especially the ones on Vimeo.
6. 32D's :P
7. LLLLLEGZZZZZZ!
8. Unlike most of the crap that passes for music these days, he CD is actually good. (Yes, I bought it... and I liked it.)
9. She has an oddball sense of humor and doesn't take life seriously (unlike you, apparently).
10. What else... Oh yeah! She's f***in' HAWT!!!
:)
There. Satisfied?
Now then, to answer a few more of your questions:
-"Perry clarified that she has only smooched dudes"
(Not really a question, but...) She HAS on several occasions admitted to having "smooched" girls in the past.
-"Why did MTV ask her host the Europe Music Awards last week?"
Hey, here's a thought, why not ask them yourself? Personally, I thought she did a bangin' job for a first-timer (as host).
-"And, more importantly, why did they let her wear a red football uniform and straddle an atomic bomb-size tube of cherry Chapstick?"
Because it's the friggin' MTV awards, not the Grammys. Geez!
-"Why are people buying her album and not Zooey Deschanel's?"
And how many songs does Bones' little sis have in the top-10? Why does a mediocre "artist" like Brit sell a bagillion records? Why ask why? :)
And that's it. That's all he wrote.
~WOJ
P.S. Ellen! Don't give into hate! That leads to the Dark Side! ;)
i think it's obvious why she's popular. its just so sad that she is because it speaks volumes about how immoral the world has become. i mean let's face it. it's obvious that this church girl won't be getting into heaven at the rate she's going.
Jealousy and envy are a funny, yet ugly thing.
Grab yourself a bottle of Hatorade.
You'll need it, 'cause this girl's gonna be around for a loooong time yet.
Unlike you, she has talent.
Get over it.
I don't like Katy too, and I like Zooey, too. Ellen, do you have a list of your favorite artists somewhere on the web? I would check it out.
hahahah. its pretty sad how offended people get about someone like her.
katy sucks. you're right, how does someone like her become famous?
"don't give into hate. it leads to the dark side!" hahahahahahahahahahah
"drr.lee: its pretty sad how offended people get about someone like her. katy sucks."
"drr.lee-About Me: i hate shitty music and people who like shitty music"
LOL! It's pretty sad how offended people get about Katy Perry and people who like Katy Perry. :)
The psychology of h8trz never ceases to amaze me. One could write a thesis.
She sings like Hayley Williams. No thanks!
haha im not going to react on most point because i believe they have been answered enough by woj5150.
Just going to react on the last 2 points. 1. I have no idea why Zooey Deschanels and Katy Perry's record sales are related in anyway, they just look alike. So people are probably not buying her records because she is dull and Katy is fun and REFRESHING(exclamation points and underlining) not like the endless love songs or bad RnB music.
2. Why she was riding a giant cherry chapstick in a football outfit, just because she's fun, weird and once again refreshing. I think people are finally wanting to see something different and not the same stuff OVER AND OVER again
Man, too funny. I just wanna know what YOU look like so I can figure out if its more of a physical insecurity.
She probably doesn't even know and/or remember you. And you feel so strongly about her, how sad.
I don't even know her but right now shes got more points than you lady.
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