From the Editors of

ALL ABOUTMy personal photos

A day in my lifeTour exclusive!

HUGEPOSTERSINSIDE

Katy On Tour

Poster

Katy's Dreams

Katy's Prism

My Life on the Road

California Girl

Katy's California

Inside the Romance

My Videos

15 Things You Don't Know About Katy

Win a trip to see Katy!

Credits

INSIDEWHAT'S 4

16

28

32

34

42

48

50

58

66

73

78

KATY'S PrismKaty Perry is full of light and energy. She radiates a

kind of luminosity—bright, playful, and reflective — that never fails to peek through and shine on those

around her. Just ask her fans. It’s fitting then that Katy’s third studio album is PRISM, a compilation of songs that not only reflect her inner light, but also reflect a colorful and mesmerizing wave of change in her music and life.

On the heels of 2010’s Teenage Dream and after what proved to be one of the most challenging years if her personal life, Katy’s cotton candy kaleidoscope world took a turn down a road of self-reflection as she was creating her new album. “I did a lot of figuring out who I am and reconnecting with myself and growing,” she says. “I’ve let a lot of light in, and through that it’s inspired me to write certain songs that are full of wonderful positivity.

That’s what I feel this record has done to my life.” The name, in a sense, says it all.

“I feel like a walking prism. I am really proud of all the songs on his record,

and everyone says something different. There are a lot different colors, a lot of different moods, and a lot of different emotions. I’ve learned a lot of things in the past year as I was making it. Sometimes you can be very mature professional life but very immature and your personal life; I wanted to balance both. I did a lot of living consciously and living in the moment. I’ve kind of taken on a lot of hippie philosophies that work for me. They called

this time in astrology your return of Saturn. There came a

point this past year where I needed to reflect and sit down and be like, ‘Okay what’s going on inside of me, and what are some things I need to get clear and deal with? How can I help myself to get to the next level and grow?’ I guess you just have to be open and ready for it.”

Collecting her thoughts – phrases, song titles, emotions, observations – is critical to Katy’s creative process. “I write everything on my computer, but I have a recorder and keep it in my purse. It’s strange, and a lot of it doesn’t make sense to anyone but me,” she explains. “Then I’ll go through it after it’s been transcribed and it will be a collection from six months. Being a writer for me is also about being an observer – observing culture, observing people in relationships, observing myself my feelings. I put all that stuff in there. And it’s really cool, like ‘Oh, I know, I’m gonna open up this song with this phrase that I’ve had in my treasure chest.’ It’s like a crossword puzzle. You have all these ideas that are similarly themed, and then you put them all together and you complete this one big idea, which is a song.”

To write several of the tracks on PRISM, Katy returned to her hometown of Santa Barbara, which has been a bedrock of creativity for her for years. “That’s where I wrote ‘Teenage Dream’ and ‘Last Friday Night,’ and I kind of go back to the essence of myself out there. I get to reconnect with who I was when I picked up a guitar at 13 and really understood why I wanted to contribute to the music scene. It really brings me back to my roots in every single way. Music is so powerful and spiritual – it’s like the sixth sense. It moves people in so many different ways; it creates memories, it sets

the tone, it sets the scene. Going home makes me forget all the distraction lets me remember myself just as a musician.”

Katy also spent time in Stockholm, Sweden, where she had the studio to write and record

PRISM, and fell in love with the ‘90s

era deep house music. “When you’re in the right

place in life, the fun is more fun. You can just experience

everything at a higher level,” says Katy. “I look at the record

as telling my whole story, not just making sure every song is a hit.

Each song is a very personal in many different ways. Sometimes it’s a real

collaboration. I write with my girlfriend Bonnie McKee a lot, but sometimes I write

by myself. It’s just about me being able to tell my story completely and with imagery.

It’s kind of mathematical – this adds, subtracts– but in general the theme this time around is just me.”

Katy’s devotion to her beloved KatyCats never waivers, and even though she’s ditched the blue wig, she’s excited for them to follow her along in this new journey, especially as she embarks on her next tour. “I never want to abandon what I’ve built up, but the people who bought Teenage Dream are three years older,” she says. “All of our tastes change, and I think that my journey is very new still. People are wondering if they can trust my evolutions, and once they realize they can, I think people will be excited for the new evolutions. I like to bring a couple of new flavors every time I put out a record. I don’t know if I will be creating as many characters for this round,” she adds. “As much as I enjoyed the candy-confection era, I think it’s nice to get back to my roots a little bit.”

PRISM/priz-uh-m/ n. A transparent body, often

made of glass, that seperates beams of white light and reflects through it the brilliant, iridescent colors of an

ever-changing rainbow.

A new threshold, a new light, new bwginnings

bold and bright. This is Katy Perry’s

PRISM.

33

You love whom you love – unless fundamental differences make the relationship just too complicated to maintain.

At least that’s the reason being given behind John Mayer and Katy Perry’s split, according to a source close to Mayer.

“They’re two very strong-willed people,” the source tells PEOPLE. “Despite caring about each other very much and wanting to make it work, they are, at their core, quite different.”

Among those differences, says one industry insider, is their age gap. At 29, Perry is still very much eager to go out and have a good time partying, and the insider says it could get to be too much for Mayer, 36.

Keep up with Katy Perry in the pages of PEOPLE Magazine by subscribing now.

“At times they seemed really happy together and in love, and other times he seemed like he just wanted to get away from all the parties and go home. I can’t say I always blamed him,” the insider says.

Perry’s work schedule may have also been a factor. Having just embarked on her Prismatic World Tour, the insider says Perry knew it would have been too difficult to maintain the relationship while she was gone. “She’s a smart girl. She knows no relationship can survive that kind of distance and strain, and she’s not going to slow

down now when she’s at the top of her game.”

Mayer seemed to confirm this in December, telling ABC News in December, “Katy is a superstar for a reason.”

Perry, who has already played Prismatic shows in Japan and is now in Australia, appeared on the Australian TV show Sunrise yesterday, where she was in

a fun mood, and didn’t seem to be mourning the split too deeply. When asked if she had a boyfriend, she quickly replied, “All of my fans are my boyfriends.”

Meanwhile, Mayer spent the weekend in L.A., hobnobbing with celebs like Kellan Lutz and Zooey Deschanel at an Oscars party at the Sunset Tower Hotel.

“He chatted with Anna Faris and a few guests while drinking Grey Goose and tonics,” says an onlooker. “He didn’t take any pictures, but seemed to be in a friendly mood.”

Ins

Ide T

he R

om

an

ce

KaTy PeRRy & John mayeR: WhaT Really WenT WRong?

By GILLIAN TELLING

50 51

my

VId

eo

s From Queen of the Jungle to Queen of Egypt, here are some snapshots from some of Katy’s fan favorite music videos!

Pictured: Left: “Roar”

Right: “Teenage Dream,” “Last Friday Night, ”California Gurls”

“Firework” & “Wide Awake” “Part of Me,” “Unconditionally, & “Thinking of You”

“E.T.,” “Dark Horse,” & “The One That Got Away”58

easy breezy beautiful

73

If you’re the lucky winner of this vacation sweepstakes, you and a friend will win round-trip airfare to Los Angeles, plus a three-night stay at a luxury hotel! Just point your browser to usmagazine.com/katysweeps and fill out the form. All entries must be received by September 1, 2014.

Sweepstakes rules: open to legal residents of the continental United States (excluding residents of Hawaii, Alaska, overseas military installations, Puerto Rico, & another US territories) who are 13 years of age or older as a 7/1/2014. To enter log onto www.USmagazine.com/Katysweeps and follow the registration and entering directions. No purchase necessary, avoid where prohibited. Sweepstakes begins at 9 AM EST on 7/1/2014 and ends at 11:59 PM EST on 9/1/2014. Number of winners: 1 ARV: $3200. Certain restrictions

may apply. Complete official rules are available at www.usmagazine.com/Katysweeps

Win a trip to see Katy in concert!Sun, surf, and celebrities!

Here is your chance to live your California Dream!

73

Album on sale now!

Album available now on

&