Katy Perry Reflects on Giving Doechii and Chappell Roan ‘Cheat Codes’ to Handling Fame
The Katy Perry who last toured eight years ago was a much different person than the Katy Perry hitting the road this year.
Yes, she got engaged to Orlando Bloom, and gave birth to their daughter, Daisy, who’s now four. She judged American Idol for seven seasons, dropped two albums, and hosted 80 shows for her successful Play residency. But also: “You know, every seven years, all of your cells regenerate,” she tells Rolling Stone with a wink. “I’m a whole, actual, biological, physical different person! But actually, life has completely evolved, so I’m excited.”
More from Rolling Stone
On Monday, the pop star announced that she’ll be bringing her Lifetimes Tour to the U.S. later this year. The run of shows will celebrate hits from throughout her career, while keeping the sci-fi themes of her latest album, 143. She’s also approaching the time on the road with newfound inspiration and motivation. “The longer I get to live, the better I get at living it,” she says. “I’m 40 now and feel there’s so much that’s changed within me… For a long time, the balance between being Katy Perry and Katheryn Hudson was very far apart.” (Hudson, for those who’ve forgotten, is her pre-fame birth name.)
She credits her experiences in 2024, and particularly the making of 143, with getting her to this point. “It has made me feel so grounded, [especially] with the identity I was able to create or find outside of music and being an artist.”
Lately, she’s been sharing some of those life experiences with younger artists, including Doechii, whom she featured on “I’m His, He’s Mine,” and Chappell Roan, who told Rolling Stone that Perry suggested she not read online comments. “I’ve had to go on a journey to find all those tools and to heal some of my own stuff,” Perry says.
The singer spoke to Rolling Stone about seeing her Lifetimes Tour from her daughter’s perspective, an old conversation with Stevie Nicks, and who she might bring on the road.
Your new tour is called the Lifetimes Tour, because of your 143 song. Is it an “Eras of Katy” tour?
It’s definitely going to hit on the whole lifetime thus far and celebrate the catalog. I always remember the audience is a hybrid of different types of people. It’s Number One fans, and then it’s just voyeurs. It’s people that only know me for one song, and then people that know “Simple.” It’s such a smorgasbord.
We’re giving BPM. We’re giving unity. We’re giving dance. We’re giving empowerment. We’re feeling seen, and we’re connecting with strangers. I have a responsibility to the audience to give them that singalong, to create that moment, and to bring out some nostalgia. But as an artist, I have a responsibility to myself to stay true to my art. So I’ll be introducing some new songs. There will be a section that we have created on this tour for some songs that are the deepest cuts that have never seen the light of day. So, in the “Lifetimes” regard, yeah, we are going deep.
So you’re performing “Self-Inflicted” on the road?
Well, it’ll be up to you.
Really? So fans will get to decide?
Quite possibly, yes.
Justice for Smile, which didn’t get a tour!
No, because my C-section was healing. I was unable to go down stairs! I was raising a whole human. And of course, Smile came out two days after I had a baby. I was still recovering from having Daisy, and I remember I was in the hospital bed. I was like, “Yay, my album’s out. And the nurse is going to come and wipe my butt now!” This is a whole different time in my life. Everything’s different. I love it.
I like how you might associate your life points with the different album eras. What’s the 143 era defining for you in your personal life?
Smile was a record about finding my smile again through all of the tough situations I went through between Witness and Smile. I didn’t know the love that I was going to feel or receive after becoming a mother. And so, I think this album, 143 — “I love you” — is a celebration of that unconditional love that I was told existed, but now I have really experienced it.
I think that 143 is grounded. It’s unapologetically sexy. It’s tapping into that feminine divine, tapping into the power of creating and giving life. It’s full of love and it’s got some humor in it, but “All the Love,” which is a song I’ll be playing on the show, is the statement for where I’m at now.
Do you still feel represented by the 143 era? Are we continuing it with the tour?
We will continue it. It’ll still have this kind of sci-fi tinge to it. It’ll be experiential, it’ll be interactive, and it will be a wonderful love-filled spectacle. It’s more and more and more.
Visuals have been such a big part of your artistry and your performances. But also, your taste when it comes to choosing openers: You’ve brought Charli XCX, Carly Rae Jepsen, Marina and the Diamonds, and Kacey Musgraves on the road before,
I feel like a mother when I choose openers. I really like to support new acts, and especially new female acts. So I’m excited for who will be able to come on the road with us.
Do you already know? Can you give me a hint?
There’s some things we know and some unknowns. One of them might be really known, and then some of them are European, crossing the pond. There will be different acts for different territories, which is what I like to do. I like to break it up so that the fans get a real experience, especially if they’re coming to two different shows. The KatyCats like to travel, so they’ll get a different show. From me and the opener.
That’s exciting. You have had storylines on some of your tours. Will we have that sort of thing on this?
Yes. It always has a light seasoning of a narrative. The narratives are always about finding love and finding your voice, and empowerment. And definitely, in this freaky time, it’s about a hopeful future: What is the point of this game of life? And why are we here? It’s to love and to connect.
You’re going to perform at FireAid on Thursday. So many of your peers are going to be there too. Is there anyone you’re excited to see that night?
Always. It’s great to connect with people I haven’t seen in a long time, and to be able to use that groundedness when I get to see them. I’ve been so impressed and so inspired by the California community, and internationally, all over the world has stepped up to the plate to help any evacuees or people who have lost whatever they’ve lost. It really shows proof that the community sometimes is stronger than the government, or that people have the power.
Was there anyone performing you’re excited to see?
Is No Doubt playing Intuit? Ugh. I might have to pop over to see No Doubt. I love Billie. We love Billie. She’s the king.
I’m excited to see you and Gaga on the same night.
Yeah. Isn’t that amazing? I think we’re only going to be playing a couple of songs each, and there’s going to be a lot of, like, in-between conversation. The cool thing is that we’re all just doing this to help. No other point. Music heals in its own way.
Also on the line-up for FireAid is Stevie Nicks, who talked about you in her Rolling Stone interview last year. She said, “About 10 years ago, Katy Perry was talking to me about the internet armies of all the girl singers, and how cruel and rancid they were.” How do you reflect on that conversation, and where you are now?
I really look up to Stevie, and I think I was having a candid conversation with her about her experience. In pop music, especially with women, they have a lot of pressure on them. It’s amazing to have people that you look up to tell you how to navigate that. I get to do that and I like to give the cheat codes.
Even being able to do this song with Doechii, we’ve had a lot of candid conversations. And I’m like, “Girl, here are the cheat codes. Try this. If you don’t only want to survive, if you want to thrive, if you want to have a whole life outside of this and an identity, if you want to live a human experience and not just be famous and tucked away in a hotel somewhere, never truly getting to experience the beauty of life.”
You always respect people who have come before you and paved the way. I think where I’m at now is I am glad in some ways I get to be that to whoever asks. I’m very honest about it, and I’m also reaching out and just being like, “Hey, are you OK?” Like, I’m here.
Chappell Roan said that you reached out to her last year.
I’m like, are you OK? Because this is like a freaking experiment! Not everybody goes through this intense amount of pressure, and on such a scale and in such a spotlight. And these days, it’s super quick. It’s really being thrown into it.
For sure. I feel like you’ve had a fair share of that this year, too.
I think I’ve grown so much. And like I said, it’ll be eight years since I’ve been on tour, and [I’m] much more balanced. I think when I was going through a tough time, it’s because I put my eggs all in one basket. And then, that basket broke. I’m a Scorpio. It’s all about rebirth for me, and it’s all about change. And that’s how I get through this karma of this game of life. I always find the positive in the negative, because life is all about duality. It’s always going to have an option for you to find the positive, even when it fucking sucks.
When we last talked, a couple of years ago, we manifested you being on Drag Race — which just happened. What lessons did you learn from 2024? And what energy are you bringing into 2025?
I was proud of being able to lean on the balance that I’ve created in this time. I’m proud of my family life, my home life, and the beauty that I have and the foundation I have.
I’m excited to see this world tour through Daisy’s eyes. It’s like seeing Christmas in a whole different light. When you have a little kid, their eyes light up about the wildest things. Can you imagine being happy about seeing an airplane in the sky? Look up into the sky and you see an airplane and you’re excited and happy? And you get a dopamine hit from that? That’s wild! Imagine how much I’ll be able to experience through her seeing all this. I’ll be living off of that energy.
Best of Rolling Stone
Sign up for RollingStone's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Solve the daily Crossword
