Daily Reviews » Katy

Katy Perry – ‘Firework’

Admin — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 17:40:00 +0000

What is up with Katy Perry’s sense of timing? First she releases an album and a single on the same day, undermining the chart position of one with the success of the other; and now she’s jumpstarted the release of this, the third single to be taken from that self-same album, by appearing on the X Factor and FORCING people to go out and buy it in droves, before the video is even FINISHED!

Now she’s heading up the charts, as you would expect – the X Factor is quite a big show for promoting music, y’know – and the single’s official release date isn’t until November 15th. That’s a MONTH from now.

I suggest we all ignore the song for the next few weeks. Just pretend it isn’t there, no matter how hard Katy bellows in our ears. She has to sit back and wait for our attention, at the appropriate moment. She made the appointment in the first place, so we are just going to very calmly keep it, and not let her interrupt herself for once. She has to learn not to go off half-cocked.

You can go ahead and insert your own joke here, if you like.

(Here’s the preview of the video. It’s stately.)

When the time is right, we shall commend Katy on her enjoyable dance-pop direction. We shall say that her decision to work with the Stargate production team has been a good one. We shall point out that ‘Firework’ is uplifting and joyous in the best possible way, and note that her trademark whinnymoo has been channelled into the choral enormity of the, erm, chorus rather well.

We shall also note that, for all that she is capable of writing popular silly songs, like the one about popsicles, it’s the heart that rules music, not the funny bone. So we will be pleased to note how well sincerity suits her.

Oh, and on that issue of rushing things out before they’re properly finished…would some kind of ending have been too much to ask? A repetitive fadeout, maybe, or a build-up towards a peak of some kind. What happens is the song just…stops. It was there, and now it’s gone, leaving nothing behind but a planet filled with people who were dancing, and now suddenly are not.

It’s like a global game of musical statues, only there’s no prize.

And it begs the question; what if everyone was to take a similarly slapdash approach to their work? What if we were all in such a rush to get things out there that they didn’t really bother to finish things off properly? What if we all promised a rocket ship ride to the stars, before suddenly dropping everyone off at the moon?

Yeah, I know, it’d be brilliant. Bad example. OK, let’s call this one a draw.

Download: Out now

www.katyperry.com
BBC Music page

(Fraser McAlpine)

Neon Limelight says: “A song about letting your inner awesomeness shoot across.”

Kayleya’s Blog says: “It’s hard to find a reason not to like her”

View full post on BBC Audio & Music | Radio 1 Chart Blog

Magnetic Man ft. Katy B – ‘Perfect Stranger’

Admin — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 13:44:59 +0000

When we are all old, and in our dotage, meeting for afternoon socials with a cup of space tea and some laser snaps, we won’t be listening to the stuff old people listen to now. It might seem like an obvious point, but today’s pensioners will have fond memories of Acker Bilk and Alma Cogan, ours will be Biffy Clyro and Britney Spears…and Katy B.

Oh sure, by then she’ll have changed her name to Katherine Beesly (or something similar), and she’ll be in the House of Lords – Lady B of Dubstepfordshire, taking her seat alongside Lady Gaga and Lord Professor of Greenwich – but we’ll remember her because of delicious songs like this.

“Hey Keisha!”, we’ll croak across the gravitables, “turn up the radio. THAT’S more like it. You can’t beat a good breakbeat, can you?”

“You’re not wrong, Jordan”, will come the reply, “this was the first dance at our wedding you know. The DJ made it last for half an hour…”

“Aye, they had proper remixers in those days. Not like the rubbish you get now. Sme of them can’t even crossfade properly.”

(Here’s the video. It’s hot.)

And we’ll be right too. You CAN’T beat a good breakbeat. Pounding bass drums are great, dropouts are lovely, whooshy noises are wonderful, but jam a really ripe breakbeat underneath and magical things happen. People start air-drumming with their forefingers, the head starts to hang looser and nod more, and arms suddenly develop a tendency to rise into the air.

Best of all, you can do all of these things from the comfort of your armchair, should you feel the need.

One question I do have to ask though. Why does Katy, a girl with a voice which is all wide-eyed, vinegary innocence and clarity, feel the need to sing “there’s thrumpthing in your heart” in the choruses? It’s not like she can’t sing the word “something”, cos she does it elsewhere in the song. But there it is, clear as day, in every chorus: “thrumpthing”. Weird, eh?

Of course, when we’re old, we won’t care about such things, or indeed be able to tell the difference any more. Spacecake, anyone?

Download: Out now

www.magneticman.net
BBC Music page

(Fraser McAlpine)

Plugged Not Thugged says: “I can’t get enough of their fresh new take on bass music which blends dubstep, UK garage and drum and bass.”

Southern Hospitality says: “Magnetic Man (that’s Benga, Skream and Artwork) and our number one British female vocalist Katy B hit us with yet another example of what now sounds like in London, England.”

Viva La Mainstream says: “The fratboys who got into KoL by drunkenly shouting the chorus to ‘Sex on Fire’ will hate it.”

View full post on BBC Audio & Music | Radio 1 Chart Blog

Katy Perry To Perform At 2010 MTV Movie Awards

Admin — Mon, 17 May 2010 16:15:50 +0000

Pop star will sing ‘California Gurls’ at the show, airing live on June 6 at 9 p.m. ET.
By Eric Ditzian

src="http://www.mtv.com/shared/promoimages/bands/p/perry_katy/ma_051710/281x211.jpg"/>

Katy Perry

Photo: Chelsea Lauren/ FilmMagic

The last time Katy Perry performed at an MTV awards show, things worked out pretty well. At the VMAs in September, she busted out a bone-shaking rendition of Queen’s “We Will Rock You” to open to the evening. Then she fell for — and got engaged to — VMA host Russell Brand. Is it any surprise that she wants to do it all over again?

Perry is set to perform live at the 2010 MTV Movie Awards on June 6. The singer will play “California Gurls,” the first single off her upcoming album, Teenage Dream. She joins previously announced performer Christina Aguilera at this year’s show.

“I’m proud to represent the West Coast at the MTV Movie Awards in the magical glow of the Hollywood sign with my new single ‘California Gurls,’ ” Perry said in a statement. “I hope it will be the theme song to a lot of summer loving; I know it will in my house!”

We can also announce a new group of high-profile presenters for this year’s show. The cast of the upcoming comedy “Grown Ups” — Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, Kevin James, Rob Schneider and David Spade — as well as Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, Anna Kendrick, Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Aubrey Plaza will all be on-hand to dole out Golden Popcorns to winners.

These folks join previously revealed presenters Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz, Zac Efron, Jonah Hill, Jessica Biel, Bradley Cooper, Steve Carell, Miranda Cosgrove, Shaun White, Vanessa Hudgens, Sean “Diddy” Combs and Russell Brand.

Hosted by Aziz Ansari, the 2010 Movie Awards air live on Sunday, June 6, at 9 p.m. ET. Voting is currently under way at MovieAwards.MTV.com, where fans can choose their favorite films and actors in categories like Best Kiss, Best Villain and Best Scared-As-S**t Performance. “The Hangover” is leading the pack with six nominations, followed by five for both “New Moon” and “Avatar.”

Don’t miss the MTV Movie Awards, airing Sunday, June 6 at 9 p.m. ET on MTV!

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

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Katy Perry And Russell Brand Planning A ‘Small’ Wedding

Admin — Tue, 11 May 2010 08:09:02 +0000

But they will host ‘a big, fat reception for the people who can’t make it,’ Perry tells People.
By Josh Wigler

src="http://www.mtv.com/shared/promoimages/bands/p/perry_katy/with_russell_brand/281x211.jpg"/>

Katy Perry and Russell Brand

Photo: Jeff Vespa/ Getty Images

Planning a wedding with the hilarious but unpredictable Russell Brand can’t be an easy task, but the “Get Him to the Greek” actor’s fiancée, Katy Perry, already has a few ideas for how to turn the couple’s big day into the perfect day.

In an interview with People, the “I Kissed a Girl” singer revealed that she intends to keep the wedding a small affair. “I always have a ton of people around me, and I think the people that are going to share this moment with us are the people we want to integrate into each other’s lives,” said Perry, who added that she and Brand are planning to host “a big, fat reception for the people who can’t make it” to the ceremony.

Perry, recently named the hottest of the hot on Maxim‘s 2010 Hot 100, is already thinking about some of the wedding’s other important details, such as who will design her wedding dress. “We have been kind of talking to [John] Galliano, because that was the first [fashion] show in Paris that we kind of came out as a couple,” Perry said. “So if we did Galliano, it would make it full circle.”

She’s also considering breaking away from her longtime plan to host the wedding in her hometown of Santa Barbara, California. “We don’t necessarily want it to be a drunk fest of people just, you know, one night and then forgetting about it,” Perry said. “We want it to be about the love. So sometimes to be about the love, we have to take them out of their comfort zone.”

What celebs will make Katy and Russell’s wedding short list? Let us know in the comments!

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Katy Perry Debuts New Single ‘California Gurls’

Admin — Sun, 09 May 2010 05:26:43 +0000

‘SUMMER STARTS NOW!’ she tweets about the sunshiney new track.
By James Montgomery

src="http://www.mtv.com/shared/promoimages/bands/p/perry_katy/calif_gurls_drops_050710/281x211.jpg"/>

Katy Perry’s cover art for “California Gurls”

Photo: Capitol

With a single tweet, Katy Perry entered the summer-jam sweepstakes, unveiling her brand-new single, “California Gurls,” to the masses. And, oh, don’t think she didn’t know it.

“SUMMER STARTS NOW!,” Perry shouted … er … wrote on her Twitter page. “WHO’S READY TO HEAR MY SINGLE ‘CALIFORNIA GURLS’ ?”

She then posted a link to her website, which now bears the slogan “Summer Starts Now!” and features a promotional image of a blue-haired Perry reclining on the beach in a bejeweled bikini. Although you can hear “California Gurls” on the site, within minutes of Perry announcing the track, it was practically everywhere on the Net, including Perez Hilton’s site and Ryan Seacrest’s blog.

Perry wasn’t exaggerating when she said the summer starts now, either. “Gurls” is a big, bright, decidedly beach-friendly pop tune, full of sunshiney synthesizers, starry, electronic whooshes and loose, funky, wah-wah guitar flourishes. As if all that weren’t enough to guarantee it instant summer-jam success, well, then wait until you hear the positively massive chorus, on which Perry sings about Daisy Dukes-wearing California gurls with “sun-kissed skin so hot [it'll] melt your popsicle.” Oh, and Snoop Dogg also shows up midway through to contribute a verse dedicated to the “toned, tanned, fit and ready” Cali girls he loves.

In short: Welcome to your favorite sun-tanning song of 2010.

Co-written by Perry and hitmakers Dr. Luke, Max Martin and Benny Blanco, “Gurls” will hit radio May 25. The tune’s debut comes just one day after snippets of it — and two other songs, “E.T.” and “In Between” — leaked online. There’s still no word on what Perry is planning to call the follow-up to her breakthrough One of the Boys album or when it will hit stores.

What do you think of “California Gurls”? Let us know in the comments!

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Katy Perry Debuts New Single ‘California Gurls’

Admin — Sun, 09 May 2010 05:26:43 +0000

‘SUMMER STARTS NOW!’ she tweets about the sunshiney new track.
By James Montgomery

src="http://www.mtv.com/shared/promoimages/bands/p/perry_katy/calif_gurls_drops_050710/281x211.jpg"/>

Katy Perry’s cover art for “California Gurls”

Photo: Capitol

With a single tweet, Katy Perry entered the summer-jam sweepstakes, unveiling her brand-new single, “California Gurls,” to the masses. And, oh, don’t think she didn’t know it.

“SUMMER STARTS NOW!,” Perry shouted … er … wrote on her Twitter page. “WHO’S READY TO HEAR MY SINGLE ‘CALIFORNIA GURLS’ ?”

She then posted a link to her website, which now bears the slogan “Summer Starts Now!” and features a promotional image of a blue-haired Perry reclining on the beach in a bejeweled bikini. Although you can hear “California Gurls” on the site, within minutes of Perry announcing the track, it was practically everywhere on the Net, including Perez Hilton’s site and Ryan Seacrest’s blog.

Perry wasn’t exaggerating when she said the summer starts now, either. “Gurls” is a big, bright, decidedly beach-friendly pop tune, full of sunshiney synthesizers, starry, electronic whooshes and loose, funky, wah-wah guitar flourishes. As if all that weren’t enough to guarantee it instant summer-jam success, well, then wait until you hear the positively massive chorus, on which Perry sings about Daisy Dukes-wearing California gurls with “sun-kissed skin so hot [it'll] melt your popsicle.” Oh, and Snoop Dogg also shows up midway through to contribute a verse dedicated to the “toned, tanned, fit and ready” Cali girls he loves.

In short: Welcome to your favorite sun-tanning song of 2010.

Co-written by Perry and hitmakers Dr. Luke, Max Martin and Benny Blanco, “Gurls” will hit radio May 25. The tune’s debut comes just one day after snippets of it — and two other songs, “E.T.” and “In Between” — leaked online. There’s still no word on what Perry is planning to call the follow-up to her breakthrough One of the Boys album or when it will hit stores.

What do you think of “California Gurls”? Let us know in the comments!

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href="http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/perry_katy/artist.jhtml">Katy Perry

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Ryan Tedder Writing ‘Roller-Rink Skating Party’ Songs For Katy Perry

Admin — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 19:45:16 +0000

‘I feel really good about it, and Katy, I hope you like it,’ OneRepublic frontman says of tunes for Perry’s next album.
By James Montgomery, with reporting by Akshay Bhansali

src="http://www.mtv.com/shared/promoimages/bands/o/one_republic/katy_perry_040910/281x211.jpg"/>

OneRepublic

Photo: MTV News

When your band has a single that refuses to drop off the charts, life is pretty good. Unless, of course, you’re OneRepublic frontman Ryan Tedder, and you’ve got a lucrative side career going as an in-demand songwriter for some of the biggest acts in the business. Then things get complicated.

See, OR’s “All The Right Moves” — the first single from their Waking Up album — continues to hang around on the pop charts even though it was released last September and its success has forced Tedder to put his other endeavors on hold. That means he’s had to keep Katy Perry, who’s been waiting for his contributions to her new album, on hold. And she can’t hold for much longer.

“She and I have actually been trading text messages for, like, the last five months about this album, trying to lock our schedules in. And she was going to come to Denver for, like, two weeks, but because of our schedule I had to cancel on her, unfortunately,” Tedder told MTV News. “And it was, like, the last available time I had to work with her. … I have three songs that I think are dead-on, incredible songs for her that are just started, they’re ideas that I want to finish with her. So, literally, in the next three days, I travel with a microphone and studio stuff, so I’m going to be trading e-mails with her and hopefully get one of them on the album at the last minute.

“I’m literally the last guy to come onboard, and I was one of the first people she talked to [about working on the album],” he continued. “That’s what happens when you’re in a band … most of the time, the people I want to work with, we can figure something out. But her and my schedule, literally, at every possible juncture, has just conflicted.”

And to hear Tedder tell it, it would be a real shame if the songs he’s written for Perry don’t end up on her new album. After all, they’re tailor-made for what she’s going for on the disc, an over-the-top ode to the Cardigans and Ace of Base — “songs that people want to hold hands and roller-skate to,” as she put it.

“The stuff that I’m doing for Katy Perry … it connects to the first album. One song is, like, the evolution of ‘Hot N Cold,’ that kind of thing. The next step from that,” Tedder said. “The other two literally sound like something you would hear in the mid-’90s at a roller-rink skating party — like, a birthday party at a skating rink. I would describe it as guilty-pleasure music, straight up. A chorus where, guy or girl, you’re like, ‘Oh crap.’ You find yourself singing it and singing it.

“I’ve had the melodies and the choruses in these songs stuck in my head for, like, a week. So I feel really good about it, and Katy, I hope you like it,” he added. “But it just comes down to time. I’m married and so when I do get home, I can only work so much before I end up with all kinds of conflict I don’t want.”

Are you excited to hear a potential Ryan Tedder/Katy Perry collaboration? Let us know in the comments below!

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Katy Perry Calls Fiance Russell Brand A ‘Bridezilla’

Admin — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 20:24:54 +0000

‘He’s always buying bride magazines,’ Perry reveals about Brand.
By Jocelyn Vena, with reporting By Matt Elias

src="http://www.mtv.com/shared/promoimages/news/k/kids_choice_2010/perry_bridezilla_032910/article/281x211.jpg"/>

Katy Perry

Photo: MTV News

Katy Perry and Russell Brand got engaged in December, and several months into the wedding planning, it seems that one of the pair has emerged as the bridezilla. It might not be the one you’re expecting …

“Well, I have to plan my [new album, due this summer] first and then I’m going to get to my wedding,” she told MTV News on the orange carpet at the Kids’ Choice Awards — before she was extravagantly slimed at the show
— over the weekend. “But I’m really excited about that, too.”

Since Perry is so focused on her career, it’s a good thing that Brand is into the whole wedding process. “He’s a total bridezilla. He’s like a freak, man,” she shared about her fiancés hands-on wedding planning. “You should see — he’s always, like, buying bride magazines. Every time we go out for breakfast he’s like, ‘Can we just stop and get a bride magazine?’ ”

Earlier this year, the happy couple spoke to MTV News about their engagement, where they comically debunked pregnancy rumors, and Perry admitted there were times she was a bit overwhelmed by being betrothed to the English funnyman. “Enough! It’s not about the ring,” she said, adding that living with Brand, who she started dating after the VMAs last year, is quite wacky. “Right, hello! My crazy-ass life! What am I doing? Whenever I freak out, I go, ‘This is what I wanted!’”

What do you think of Russell Brand’s status as a bridezilla? Tell us in the comments!

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Kids’ Choice Awards Fashion: Justin Bieber, Katy Perry Rock The Orange Carpet

Admin — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 03:31:29 +0000

Taylor Lautner, Miranda Cosgrove and Rihanna also stand out at the Nickelodeon awards show.
By Jocelyn Vena

src="http://www.mtv.com/shared/promoimages/news/b/bieber_justin/kids_choice_awards_2010/281x211.jpg"/>

Justin Bieber arrives at the Kids’ Choice Awards on Saturday

Photo: Michael Buckner/Getty Images

On Saturday night (March 27) in Los Angeles, the hottest place to be was the orange carpet at the Kids’ Choice Awards, where everyone from Nickelodeon stars to Justin Bieber and Taylor Lautner rubbed elbows. While no one was slimed on the orange carpet, there were some notable fashion choices.

Kids’ Choice Awards Red Carpet

Bieber hit the show in a black vest, black jeans, black T-shirt and dog tags and fittingly wore slime-green high-tops. Fellow performer Rihanna kept her ensemble light in a beige, draped dress.

“Twilight” was definitely represented at the show. Lautner was looking funkier than usual in a relaxed white T-shirt, black blazer and jeans. Meanwhile, Nikki Reed looked fresh in a pastel, floral-print tiered dress.

The Jonas Brothers went with their usual red-carpet attire. Joe donned a gray suit ,white T-shirt and light-blue boat shoes; Nick had on a khaki suit and red bow tie; and oldest brother Kevin opted for a black, pinstripe suit but funked it up with sneakers and a striped tie. They were joined by little brother Frankie in a fedora, plaid shirt and orange cast and Joe’s lady, Demi Lovato, who wore big hoop earrings and a black dress with corseted detailing.

The Nick stars were out in full force. “Victorious” star Victoria Justice wore a teal dress with peep-toe ankle boots. “iCarly” star Miranda Cosgrove looked adorable in a purple-satin strapless dress with a ruffled hemline. Keeping the color alive was Keke Palmer in an abstract floral-print dress in a pastel color with lavender peep-toes.

Katy Perry wore her signature bangs and a very mini black, teal and purple sequined flapper dress accessorized with turquoise pumps. Selena Gomez looked cool in a deep-yellow, Grecian-style dress belted at her waist with a funky, loosely done braid.

Who looked best on the orange carpet? Let us know in the comments below! Stick with MTVNews.com all night for more from the Kids’ Choice Awards.

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Katy Perry Gets Slimed At Kids’ Choice Awards

Admin — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 10:36:40 +0000

‘Why does it taste like boogers?’ singer jokes onstage.
By Amy Wilkinson

src="http://www.mtv.com/shared/promoimages/news/k/kids_choice_2010/katy_perry/281x211.jpg"/>

Katy Perry backstage at the Kids’ Choice Awards on Saturday

Photo: Chris Polk/KCA2010/Getty Images

During Saturday’s (March 27) 23rd annual Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards, singer Katy Perry joined an elite and very exclusive group whose members include Johnny Depp, Harrison Ford and Sandra Bullock. In other words, she was slimed.

Clad in a skintight yellow dress and a bright blue wig, Perry took the KCA stage along with actor Jonah Hill to present the award for Favorite Movie Actress. As Perry opened the box to reveal the winner’s name, she was met instead by a forceful green geyser of slime, which sent her flying to the floor and coated her face, outfit and fake hair.

“I can’t see anything,” she exclaimed after emerging from a puddle of the slimy goo and hugging Hill. “Why does it taste like boogers?”

“You look great,” Hill reassured her.

When winner Miley Cyrus’ name was finally announced for the acting award, Perry made a move to hug the winner as she reached for her orange blimp.

“Don’t you dare,” Cyrus warned.

After dodging the singer stealthily, Cyrus joked, “Luckily, we both wear wigs, so it’s OK.”

Prior to Saturday’s ceremony, Perry tweeted, “Hope I don’t get none of that disgusting booger slime on me @Kids Choice Awards 2night … I’ll slap the ho that ruins my weave, nails, face!” Following her messy presentation, Perry simply tweeted, “Crap.”

Perry was one of several celebs, including “Twilight” actor Jackson Rathbone, to be slimed during the evening’s show.

This was not the first time Perry got a little dirty on an awards-show stage. During 2008′s Los Premios, the “I Kissed a Girl” singer belly-flopped into a giant birthday cake, slipping on the icing and falling to the ground.

What did you think about Katy’s sliming? Let us know in the comments!

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