Katy Perry, 35, may be one of the most successful pop artist of all time — but she still deals with haters and internet trolls. “I believe in therapy. I believe in meditation. I believe in self care. I believe in taking the stillness, the time, just being able to assess what’s real,” she shared at the American Idol Premiere event at The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel Feb. 12 about how she manages negative comments. “Something someone told me that changed my life was nobody can ever make you believe something about yourself that you don’t already believe about yourself. So if someone says you’re a fat, ugly b***h, and it affects you, do you think about yourself that way? So get to the bottom of that. There you go,” she also shared. Sound advice.
As a judge and mentor, those lessons are just some of what she’s tried to impart on the contestants competing on this season of Idol. “I think really authenticity is the golden rule, staying true to yourself, having a great support system…If you don’t have family, make it your friends. Create a team of people that play both the devil’s advocate and also are supportive,” the Teenage Dream singer revealed, also acknowledging how different fame is now versus a decade ago thanks to social media. “The crazy thing about now versus 10 years ago is the access that the trolls have to our head, and you have to really be mentally prepared for this time more than anything because you can look put together and beautiful and be crumbling on the inside.”
Katy joined the long running reality series back in season 16 — alongside Lionel Richie, 70, and Luke Bryan, 43 — and has become known for her off-beat sense of humor. “[I’m going to be] similar to the last two seasons. I think there’s always going to be me taking risks,” Katy laughed. “Humor-wise, some people are like, ‘Oh, my god. She’s just so weird and bizarre.'”
While the show has been fun for Katy and the judges, at the end of the day, it all comes down to business. “I’m a lot more streamlined in knowing what the world needs, what it wants. We have 30,000 songs that come out a day,” Katy — who has sold over 100 million singles globally — also shared. “We are overfed as far as entertainment goes, so you got to really cut through, and we represent really the business part of it. We’ll be there to help you and support you and hold your hand, but we are kind of like the template of what it is in the outside world.”