From evangelical pop to google’s most-searched fantasy
Originally published on clickbylavalife.com Jan 27 2009.
The hottest ticket in town this past weekend was Katy Perry at the Commodore Ballroom.
For those of you who have been living under a rock, Perry is the 24-year-old diva behind the megahit “I Kissed a Girl,” along with singles “Hot N Cold” and “Thinking of You.” Gossip-wise, she apparently used to date some schlub from Gym Class Heroes. (God, I’m glad my career no longer requires I keep up to date on albums by band with names like Gym Class Heroes. Now, I only have to keep up with what’s happening in dating and relationships!)
The show sold out in five minutes, at least according to a stage comment Perry made about her popularity in Canada. Packed shows at the Commodore ain’t what they used to be, in the bad old days before city council declared martial law on downtown nightlife. Now under corporate ownership, the venue’s management ensures fire safety and capacity laws are strictly enforced. Yawn.
I Kissed a Girl redux
To no one’s surprise, I’m sure, the audience was mostly girls who haven’t yet reached the age where their illusions of romance lie in tatters, although Perry herself dropped a few hints of adult-type cynicism about male-female relations. “You know how you break up with a guy but you keep having sex but then you wonder why you’re good enough to sleep with but not date?” she said by way of introduction to one song.
Minor controversies have dogged Perry’s meteoric rise – critics have charged that “I Kissed a Girl” is simply a play for attention by this former singer of evangelical pop, never mind the fact that singer/songwriter Jill Sobule had a minor hit with her own song of the same name back in ‘ 95.
But hey; Perry didn’t create a world where girl-on-girl action is the most-searched term on Google (okay, I’m guessing), and it’s not her fault a new generation of Girls Gone Wild have taken to the track like beads at Mardi Gras.
“Ur So Gay,” another Perry song getting some attention, has also nettled the nabobs of negativity with its portrait of a heterosexual dude who wears more makeup than his girlfriend. But at 24, Perry can Perry be blamed for writing lyrics that seem to have come out of a high schooler’s notebook?
Polka dots, treadmill bops, and pop princess verdicts
Personally, I’ve always had a predilection for girl-pop myself (I know, I’m so gay), and I like Perry’s style – her black bangs and polka-dot dresses and primary colour world – and think “Hot N Cold” (especially the Yelle remix) and “Waking Up in Vegas” are great songs for the gym treadmill, especially when there’s nothing to watch on the bank of TVs except the ugly mug of Lou “War on the Middle Class” Dobbs.
At 60 minutes, Perry’s set was about 20 minutes too long, but I could say that about most bands I see. A friend called Perry the latest It Pop Girl, a la Avril Lavigne; I’m more charitable (probably because of the treadmill), and would go so far as to say “I Kissed a Girl” is just a new generation’s “Girls Just Want to Have Fun”. This is just how the kids have fun nowadays.
And who am I to argue with that?
Be First to Comment