Katy Perry said that if she were to rewrite her breakout Number One hit “I Kissed a Girl” today, she would change some lyrics to get rid of “a couple of stereotypes.”
In a new interview with Glamour published on Tuesday, Perry revisited some of her singles as part of a video in which she watches fan covers of her songs and compliments their interpretations of her work. After praising an acoustic rendition of “I Kissed a Girl” by Ramona Rox – “nice vocal texture” – Perry spoke about the song’s origins.
“That was in 2008 when it came out,” she remembers. “I think we’ve really changed, conversationally, in the past 10 years. We’ve come a long way. Bisexuality wasn’t as talked about back then, or any type of fluidity.”
“If I had to write that song again,” she continues, “I probably would make an edit on it. Lyrically, it has a couple of stereotypes in it. Your mind changes so much in 10 years, and you grow so much. What’s true for you can evolve.” She did not specify which lyrics she might adjust, but possible candidates include the couplets, “I kissed a girl just to try it/ I hope my boyfriend don’t mind it” and, “It’s not what good girls do/ Not how they should behave.”
Perry co-wrote “I Kissed a Girl” with her longtime collaborators Max Martin and Dr. Luke as well as the British songwriter Cathy Dennis. It became Perry’s first Number One hit, climbed to the top spot on the Hot 100 over the course of seven weeks in 2008. Perry went on to land eight more Number Ones.
