Katy Perry is spilling the details on the inspiration behind her latest single, “Wide Awake.” The track marks the end of her Teenage Dream era, and will appear in her upcoming movie Katy Perry: Part of Me.
The singer recently told MTV News, “it’s kind of the perfect last word of me at this moment.”
Perry originally penned “Wide Awake” as the end-title song for the film, which hits theaters on July 5.
“It was a song that I hadn’t written for Teenage Dream,” Perry said in the interview. “I was doing this movie and they asked me if I wanted to write an end-title song for the movie and I was like, ‘I know exactly what I want to say.’ I was really kind of dying to write another song at that point.”
Perry added that she did not want to wait for her next album to release new music so “Wide Awake” was included on the re-release of her last album.
A music video for the song premieres tomorrow night on MTV at 7:53 p.m. ET, and, according to Perry, reflects the ups and downs of her life and career over the past year.
“I just wanted to tell a story about myself going through this journey, maybe sometimes trying to get out of the maze. I think what probably kept me going is just the purity of my belief in music.”
Most recently, Perry tore up the stage at Canada’s MuchMusic Video Awards on Sunday night, giving fans a taste of what to expect in her movie, which features live performances, as well as behind-the-scenes footage. She also took home the UR Fave: International Artist award and the International Video of the Year award for “Last Friday Night.”
This week, Katy Perry celebrates her 11th career top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 as “Wide Awake,” the second single from her “Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection” reissue album, jumps 19-9 in its third week on the chart. The achievement is nothing new for the pop superstar – “Awake” is her eighth consecutive single promoted to radio to reach the top 10 – but the contemplative track was specifically written for “Katy Perry: Part of Me,” the singer’s 3-D documentary/concert film out July 5, and will be key in the movie’s promotional rollout.
According to Direct Management Group’s Bradford Cobb and Martin Kirkup, who (along with co-manager Steve Jensen) have worked with Perry since 2004, “Part of Me” has been in the works since January 2011, when Perry decided to bring in a documentary crew during rehearsals for last year’s California Dreams world tour. Instead of releasing a proper soundtrack for the film, Kirkup says that Perry opted to record two new songs as the “final chapters” of a blockbuster career phase, and present the tracks on a deluxe edition of her chart-topping 2010 album, “Teenage Dream.”
“As the film began to take shape, she had ideas for a song that really sums up the last two years of her life, and . . . was the last word on the themes of ‘Teenage Dream,’” Kirkup says. The deluxe edition would give “Wide Awake” a home before Perry started work on a new full-length, which may come later rather than sooner: As the singer said during her acceptance speech for artist of the year at the NARM Music Awards in May, “I swear, after this song, I’m taking a fucking vacation.”
Released in March, “Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection” also includes “Part of Me,” which debuted atop the Hot 100 in February after Perry performed the track at the Grammy Awards. The reissue has sold another 127,000 copies of Perry’s sophomore album, which spawned a record-tying five No. 1 singles on the Hot 100 and has sold a total of 2.2 million copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Meanwhile, “Wide Awake” has sold 402,000 downloads and “Part of Me” has shifted 2 million.
Direct Management Group’s Cobb says that “Wide Awake” is more overtly about the themes of the film – which examines Perry’s rise to stardom, her whirlwind year on the road and recent divorce from comedian Russell Brand – than “Part of Me,” which is why its release coincides with the film’s rollout. While the singer’s time is now devoted to promoting the movie, “Wide Awake” will remain the top 40 focus before the film’s release.
The song received a live premiere at the Billboard Music Awards in May, and Perry will perform the track at Canada’s MuchMusic Video Awards, which she’ll co-host with LMFAO on June 17. Two days later, the song’s music video, which Kirkup described as “hopeful and honest,” will premiere worldwide on MTV.
Although Kirkup and Cobb don’t expect Perry’s longtime label Capitol to make a herculean promotional push behind “Teenage Dream” leading up the film release, the co-managers believe the movie could boost sales for the album as well as for One of the Boys, Perry’s 2008 debut disc, which has sold 1.5 million copies, according to SoundScan.
“[The film] does touch on where she came from,” Kirkup says, “and of course, she’s performing songs like ‘Waking Up in Vegas’ [from her debut] . . . EMI, I know, will do a great job at making sure those records will be available to be bought.”
The clip will premiere during ‘MTV First: Katy Perry’ at 7:53 p.m. ET this Tuesday, June 19, on MTV.
We only have to wait a few more days until the world premiere of Katy Perry’s latest music video for her newest hit single, “Wide Awake.” Perry is bringing the anticipated clip to MTV on Tuesday via ”MTV First: Katy Perry.”
Perry has said the song, along with certain aspects of the video, is all about her journey of self-discovery during the past year. Of her inspiration for the song and the video, Perry told MTV News, “I just wanted to tell a story about myself going through this journey, maybe sometimes trying to get out of the maze. There’s good parts; there’s bad parts. Of course, there has been a lot of things that went on last year that I had to get through and overcome. I think what probably kept me going is just the purity of my belief in music.”
Judging from what we saw in the recent teaser trailer, “Wide Awake” is all wrapped up in a fairytale or at least in a fairytale-like setting. Perry appears to be playing the princess, and along her journey encounters a poisoned strawberry, a curious cat, Prince Charming and a young girl.
Make sure to tune into MTV this Tuesday, June 19, at 7:53 p.m. ET for the worldwide premiere of the clip, followed by an exclusive 30-minute interview with Katy and MTV’s Sway Calloway on MTV.com, during which Perry will discuss all the details about the song, which she wrote for her upcoming 3-D concert film, “Katy Perry: Part of Me.”
The “Wide Awake” video will also debut on VH1, Logo and TeenNick, in addition to MTV.com, VH1.com and LOGOtv.com. Perry’s fans around the globe will be able to stream the video online at KatyPerry.MTV.com.
Katy Perry’s “Wide Awake” video premieres at 7:53 p.m. ET Tuesday, June 19, on MTV!
Singer set to appear on ‘MTV First’ Wednesday at 7:23 p.m. ET on MTV and premiere her video for ‘Part of Me.’
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Katy Perry is showing her soft side on the latest selection from her forthcoming Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection album, which drops March 26. The mid-tempo track, ”Wide Awake,” reflects on coming down from the “high” of love.
Slower-paced than her first Teenage Dream: The Complete Confectionsingle, ”Part of Me,” ”Wide Awake” is less about the kiss-off and more about the sadness that settles in after a love affair ends.
Given that Katy recently went through a breakup with her husband, Russell Brand, the lyrics certainly seem relevant to her life. But since “Part of Me” and another Complete Confection track, “Dressin’ Up,” were recorded long before this re-release, it’s hard to tell whether the comedian is actually the intended target.
Co-written by Bonnie McKee, the reflective track has Perry singing, “Thunder rumbling/ Castles crumbling/ I’m trying to hold on/ God knows that I tried/ Seeing the bright side/ I’m not blind anymore.”
“I’m working with Katy and it’s great,” McKee told MTV News. “I’m really excited and I think everyone is going to really relate to and love what she’s doing next. It’s kind of a departure from what she’s been doing in the past. We are a great team when we write together because we don’t let each other settle; every single line is a philosophical debate.
“She’s going through some major life changes,” McKee added. “So it’s not all about bubble gum and fun. It’s real and it’s deep and she has a lot to say. So I think people are anxious to hear it.”
Perry is set to open up about The Complete Confection during “MTV First: Katy Perry” on Wednesday, March 21, at 7:23 p.m. ET on MTV.
The singer will also premiere her highly anticipated video for “Part of Me” Wednesday, followed by a 30-minute interview with MTV News’ James Montgomery on MTV.com.
