Katy Perry - Girl kissing her way to UK chart success
Story by Jack Foley
TWENTY-three-year-old singing sensation Katy Perry stormed to the top of the UK charts with her latest single, I Kissed A Girl earlier this week (Sunday, August 10, 2008) and now looks poised for even more success.
The Santa Barbara, California, native achieved the chart-topping success on the strength of downloads alone, knocking off the previous incumbent, Kid Rock, in effortless fashion.
But fans of the song will have to wait until September 1 before being able to physically purchase the single… just two weeks before Katy drops her debut album, One Of The Boys, on September 15.
And she steadfastly believes that it’s her willingness to be a little different that has held her in such good stead as she prepares to further her success on both sides of the Atlantic.
“I think people can appreciate a songwriter who shows different sides,” she explained while unveiling I Kissed A Girl as a single. “The whole angst thing is cool, but if that’s all you’ve got, it’s just boring.
“Everything I write, whether it’s happy or sad, has a sense of humour to it. Someone told me the other day that I’m a bit like Lucille Ball. They said: “You look pretty put together on the outside, but inside there’s just something a bit wrong”.”
But such comparisons tell only half the story. Perry’s self-confidence and feisty confessional songs have already had fans (including the Queen of Pop herself, Madonna) and critics singing her praises.
The harbinger of ‘what’s hot’, celeb blogger Perez Hilton, wrote of Perry on his website: “She’s got the whole package!”
Continues Perry: “I don’t care who I’m compared to as long as people listen to the music. Usually, I find it funny to say I’m like a skinnier version of Lily Allen and a fatter version of Amy Winehouse. It always renders a good chuckle.”
Since releasing her debut single, Kissed A Girl to the world five weeks ago, the track made it to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles charts, just behind Coldplay. And her radio airplay is still climbing. It has sold over 750,000 units to date in the States.
The track is helped, too, by a sexy, eye-popping video which was shot by Kinga Burza and which – following its premiere on MySpace last month – racked up more than two million views within two weeks.
Her MySpace page is currently the third most visited site after Lil Wayne and Rhianna and she has had over 7.6 million plays on her MySpace profile page alone!
I Kissed a Girl was produced by in-demand hitmaker Dr. Luke (Kelly Clarkson, Avril Lavigne) and is just one of many gems to be taken from the debut album, One Of The Boys.
But more on that nearer the time… Why not head to our AV Room to check out the sexy video