WELT ONLINE: Your new album sounds incredibly versatile and colorful, sometimes a bit sticky. Can it be compared to a candy package?

Katy Perry: Kind of. Not just the album, my whole life is a candy store. It’s delicious and exciting, but sometimes it gives you a stomach ache. I work hard and experience amazing things. But if I only had this excitement around me, I would have problems. You have to be stronger and tougher than the average person in this job. Nevertheless: I don’t want to trade my life for any other.

WELT ONLINE: Is this ‘toughness’ typical of a Californian girl?

Katy Perry: I think so. But I am both: on the one hand hard and tough, on the other hand vulnerable and girly. I also have a clear vision for my music and my future in general. But you can’t overdo it with the strength. If I were an artificial product, I would be afraid of myself.

WELT ONLINE: Why that?

Katy Perry: If I lose my direct connection with people, then I lose my career. Completely. Because that’s why I’m here in the world: I tell stories that people want to hear. Like “California Gurls”: It’s a simple, light song. It’s not deep at all, but it’s just the soundtrack for the summer. I wanted to make an album that touches on many emotional levels and grabs people in different ways.

WELT ONLINE: And what feelings do you address with an ambiguous song like ‘Peacock’?

Katy Perry: (laughs) That’s just a crazy song. I’ve never made such a naughty, playfully kinky song before. I thought it would be fun to twist everything a bit and get it a little dirty. But hey: I’m just… cute.

WELT ONLINE: Cute?

Katy Perry: Yes! I’m Sєxy without being trashy. That’s a big difference. I balance on this ridge like a circus performer. I dip a toe in the water here and there, but I never completely submerge myself. That wouldn’t suit me. I mean, I liked being naked in my video, but you couldn’t see anything except my back. That was cute. I don’t feel the need to go out and do something crᴀss and – like Miley Cyrus – act like, “Hey, look guys, I’m totally crazy and H๏τ now.”

WELT ONLINE: Let’s talk about the topless pH๏τos in “Esquire” magazine.

Katy Perry: They’re the perfect example of what I’m talking about. The pH๏τos are cheeky, erotic, but never tasteless. I am a young woman with a тιԍнт body. I’m no longer a teenager who doesn’t know his body yet and is embarrᴀssed by a lot of things. I feel like I’m in full bloom now.

WELT ONLINE: What attracted you to the riot comedian Russell Brand?

Katy Perry: To put it bluntly, I’m convinced we’re extremely compatible. He is the ying to my yang. I know we haven’t been together that long. But with him I feel like I can be myself. Because he loves me the way I am. It’s the same for me: I love him because he’s Russell. With all its flaws.

WELT ONLINE: They want to get married in October. Why so fast?

Katy Perry: He asked me, we’re engaged, why not? For us, this is the logical next step. Besides, I would really like to have a family in the future. For me personally, because I grew up that way, marriage is part of a fami