Katy Perry’s Guide to Getting What You Want This Holiday Season

Katy Perry behind the scenes at her H&M holiday shoot. Photo: Courtesy

Katy Perry is a certain kind of celebrity that we’ll call “mega famous,” the kind of pop culture force that your grandmother and your 10-year-old niece want to talk about; the kind that can turn The Superbowl into just another opening act. She’s also a songwriter and a Cover Girl model, a gossip blog magnet, and a Unicef Goodwill Ambassador, and—as of today—the face (and voice) of H&M’s holiday collection.

But on the night of this interview Katy Perry is just another girl stuck in LA traffic. “I’m calling you from my car—hands free, of course!” she laughs from behind the wheel. “If I start screaming expletives, it’s not you—it’s whatever crazy driver has just tried to cut me off.”

As the 31-year-old inched along the interstate, we talked about piercings, the “fame bubble,” and Elfie Selfies—because now, thanks to H&M, those are a thing.

Yahoo Style: Hi Katy! You sound kind of far away.

Katy Perry: I’m calling you from freeway in LA. I’m stuck in awful traffic, and I’m doing this interview all alone in my car. Also I’ve had a lot of coffee, so I’m feeling kind of crazy. You might get some funny answers.

Well, your publicists have been really strict about what kinds of questions are “allowed”…

Yeah, my handlers are very protective of me sometimes. They have to be. I mean, I have a lot of secrets! [Laughs]

We all do. We can talk about your H&M campaign, though, right?

Yes, and the commercial, and the song—

“Every Day is a Holiday,” your song in the campaign, is a catchy tune. So if every day is a holiday, and you could make up your own, what would it be?

I like the idea of a “snuggle day,” a “cozy day” where you stay in all day, watch three movies back-to-back without anyone judging you for it, drink hot cocoa and hot toddies, and you have to wear really comfortable, really cute pajamas that are super-soft. And fuzzy slippers, tons of pillows and blankets… I also like the idea that you have to turn to the person next to you and hug them, and just have a day where everyone’s relaxed, warm, cozy…

Katy Perry behind the scenes at her H&M holiday shoot. Photo: Courtesy

What would the three movies be?

It’s the holiday season, so I’m going to have to go with Love Actually, Home Alone… what should the third one be?

Everyone can pick. It can be like, “and a third of your choosing.”

Ooh, that’s good. A third of your choosing… I like the idea of everyone hanging out and unwinding for a day. We all need more time to spend with friends and just breathe and enjoy each other’s company. I would gladly fight for a holiday that helps us do that.

You’re wearing an Elfie Selfie sweatshirt in the ads…

It’s great! I loved that sweatshirt. There are some really cute things in this campaign. Things I would have already worn in real life. And when I first heard “Elfie Selfie,” I couldn’t stop laughing.

But can you give us some advice? When is it ok to ask you to take a selfie?

Ah… that’s a good question. Bathroom stalls are always problematic…when I first started touring and getting more exposure, I would go into the bathroom myself, and sometimes… you know…

Fans would follow you into a bathroom stall?

Not many, but enough that I realized I needed more security! [Laughs] When you’re in the “fame bubble,” boundaries can definitely get weird… but my fans are smart, and they get it… the general rule is, if I’m promoting an album, or if I’m in public doing an appearance to promote something, then it’s a lot easier to ask for a selfie, because I’m there to meet people and to say thank you and to share the excitement of a new song, or a new project… and that’s great. But if I’ve got a hoodie on, and sunglasses, and a baseball hat—you know, the telltale signs—and the big one, if I’m wearing headphones, then I think it’s pretty obvious that I’d like to be left alone, as we all do sometimes. Headphones are like a do-not-disturb-sign you can wear out in public.

In the campaign, you wear your nose ring. Was there any discussion about taking it out before the shoot?

Well, in the campaign, I play a holiday pixie. On set, there was a brief discussion, but my friend was styling the campaign, so it was a very relaxed shoot… And when H&M reached out to hire me, they knew who they were getting. They know what I look like, they know what I’m about… I’ve gotten to the point in my career, thankfully, where I can make my own choices and do what I want to do. And I wouldn’t have done this campaign if I didn’t really like their clothes, their style, their message, and if they didn’t really like me, too.

Have you been wanting to work with them for a long time?

I swear, I’m not pitching anything to you here, but when I was a teenager, we didn’t have a lot of money, and H&M really changed the game for me. I would go to thrift stores and I would go to H&M, and I would put outfits together for myself, and feel like I looked like a hundred dollars when really, I’d spent maybe $30. And I can still do that now with their clothes! It made a huge difference in how I felt about myself as a kid, and that’s such a big deal to me, and it’s a big reason why I’m so excited to do the campaign. I’m not trying to sell it, I’m just honestly telling you, it was a big part of my teenage years. A positive part… also, the nose piercing is from when I was a teenager. I pierced it myself when I was thirteen.

Katy Perry behind the scenes at her H&M holiday shoot. Photo: Courtesy

Are you serious?!

I asked my Mom if we could go to the Claire’s Accessories stand in the mall and do it, and of course she said, “absolutely not.” So she left the house one day, and I pierced my own nose with a safety pin. I am not recommending that, by the way, but I do think if you’re a strong willed and creative kid, like I was, then you’re going to figure out a way to do what you feel passionately about, regardless of whether you have permission. And in the end, it was just a piercing. No big deal.

That’s really sweet, actually. What about now? What kinds of things are off limits during holiday dinners with your family?

Oh, that’s easy: bad attitudes, negative energy, and bad manners. There’s really no excuse for any of those things. I know certain families have rules, like, “no politics at the table.”

Does your family have that rule?

Not really. I think if you go into a big family dinner with a good attitude, knowing that you’re grateful for when you all get to see each other, then it’s easier not to have specific “rules.” I mean, my family has come a long way. We don’t always agree. We are very different people. But we love each other and we’ve come to realize that the time we spend together is precious. We’re not going to waste it.

Can you give some basic holiday advice to girls?

Sure, what kind?

What would you tell young girls who really want something for the holidays, and they just don’t get it?

That’s tough. Listen, I’ve been there. I have. That’s why it’s a tough question. But like I said before, the girls I meet when I’m touring are smart. So the easy thing is, if you get a gift that isn’t quite your style, make sure you say “thank you” anyway, because the person giving you a gift is always, always, more important than a present. But you can set the gift aside, hopefully it still has tags attached, return it to the store when you get a chance, and pick out something you like more—maybe the Elfie sweatshirt! So that’s the easy answer.

What’s the other answer?

I think if you really want something, you can’t wait for someone to give it to you, regardless of whether it’s the holidays or not. You’ve got to get it yourself. Show some initiative. Make some stuff, open an Etsy store, become a mini-mogul. If you want to buy something and your parents won’t or can’t help you, figure out a smart, safe way to earn the money yourself. You’ve got to be an entrepreneur.

You’re wearing a lot of glittery makeup and clothes in the campaign, what’s your trick for getting it off?

Unfortunately, my trick is not sold at H&M, but it’s still really good, so I’ll tell you. This is a necessary piece of information for all of us. Scotch, you know like Scotch Tape? They make a special lint roller that’s basically covered in one long, perforated piece of scotch tape. It’s sticky and it works so well. You can roll it over anything, like pet hair or definitely glitter, and it just picks it up. When I’m on a photo shoot, and the stylist doesn’t have these rollers, it makes me a little suspicious of their credentials. The thing is like magic… Oh, wait… can we go back to the holiday question?

If you had your own holiday…?

Sorry. I just thought of another one that’s really good. Can I go again?

Yeah, absolutely!

We need a holiday called Unplug Day, where it’s mandatory that you turn off your cell phones except for emergencies. And ‘hi, what’s up?’ is not an emergency. If you want to talk to someone on Unplug Day, you need to see them face-to-face. And instead of taking pictures of everything for Instagram, you have to just experience what’s in front of you, and share it with other people… It should be like Shabbat for your phone.

Did you just say “Shabbat for your phone?”

I understand that’s not a real thing, but you see what I’m saying, right? Your phone should get its own Shabbat where it rests, and we do the real work of connecting with each other and living in the moment. That’s Unplug Day.

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