Katy Perry joined New Music Daily's Zane Lowe to perform her upcoming album, 143, and two unreleased songs, “Gorgeous” and “Lifetimes,” and also spoke about how becoming a mother has impacted her and her art.
Katy Perry talks about the perspective that motherhood has given her…
I have always looked up to my mother, but after giving birth, my respect for her has increased immensely. As I have watched my mother grow up, the work she did unseen, how she raised 3 kids without an iPad. In the 80s. And how unstoppable women are. Women create life, they carry life. And they do it beautifully and gracefully. Women are not one thing. They are kind, strong, chaotic, cruel, everything, and they contribute so much to the world. I feel blessed in my life, and I hope other women feel blessed hearing this too. [album] And everyone is connected to the feminine within themselves.
On channeling positive energy into music…
Now I'm content, and so I create from a place of happiness and wholeness. I think that's really rare, and it's also really scary for an artist, because I think the biggest lie we've ever believed is that we have to suffer to create great art. But once you're content, you're able to create from a place of light and joy and beauty, and then you can share that with the world.
On your identity as an artist…
When people think of me, they think of “Roar” or “Firework,” sometimes “I Kissed a Girl,” but mostly they think of these empowering songs. Songs with a message, songs that could be T-shirt captions, or whatever, or songs that help people get through. And I love that. I love to hear stories, and really, I write these songs from a place of needing to get through something. But I wanted to continue with it, and this is the first offering I've made since I became a mother and really felt connected to my feminine divinity.
On the title of her new album and the inspiration behind the name…
It's 143. It's my angel number. It's my symbol, my sign. A few years ago, our family was going through a little bit of a rough time medically and it was a little scary, but I started seeing 143 in a lot of different ways, not just over the phone. It almost felt like a hallucination, but when I looked into it, it was like a code for “I love you” and I truly believe it was my angels, my guides saying, “We love you. We will protect you. You are exactly where you are supposed to be. You are on the right path.” So, I titled my album 143 because I feel like I am exactly where I am supposed to be right now and I love my listeners and I want to give them as much of the love that I have received as I can and invite them into this frequency of love.