MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR
KATY PERRY
"You think maybe you might have success in the States and be a hometown hero," says Katy Perry on the eve of her return home to Los Angeles after touring relentlessly to promote her new album, One of the Boys. "But you never realize the whole world would actually sing along, you know?" Despite the record's international leap up the charts, the whole world didn't sing along to its two queerest tracks: "Ur So Gay," a tongue-in-cheek send-off to Perry's ex-boyfriend, and the bi-curious number 1 summer smash "I Kissed a Girl."The Santa Barbara, Calif.–born daughter of two pastors took a lashing from both Christian conservatives who claimed she was an abomination and gay activists who castigated her for reinforcing stereotypes and trivializing lesbianism. Yet even after a year of fielding tough questions about the divisive singles, Perry maintains she is simply espousing self-exploration and open-mindedness. "I think certain parts of the world—especially in the U.S.—are just dying to be offended," she says. "I get a lot of journalists in Europe who are like, ‘What's the big deal? People are OK with hip-hop videos, where there are strippers and drugs and gangs and guns, when you're singing about an innocent kiss?' I'm aware of people's opinions, but it won't change how I express myself as an artist."
