with their eyes and lenses trained on the set three giant screens lit up Screams of excitement burst into the air as a video showed Perry and her cat Kitty Purry being transported from a humdrum black-and-white life to a colorful candy-coated fantasy world As the film rolled and the fans roared the flesh-and-blood star waited beneath the stage for her cue The São Paulo show came late in Perry’s worldwide California Dreams Tour and she was exhausted Her relationship with her husband was suffering and her emotions were becoming harder to hide But this was the largest audience that had ever turned out to see one of her shows Her Brazilian fans were the best the most passionate and she knew she couldn’t disappoint them Perry did a last-minute check of her hair makeup and costume Then she stepped onto the platform that would lift her onto the stage She took several deep breaths to collect herself bringing all her focus to the performance she was about to give Right on cue she flashed a smile and struck a pose with her glittery microphone Then the platform rose propelling the star into the white light of the stage and the noise of the crowd 8 CONTEMPORARY LIVES KATY PERRY
Brazil’s KatyCats as Perry called her fans went wild the instant their idol appeared onstage Her red-and-white peppermint-candy dress sparkled Some of the candy-striped discs decorating it spun in hypnotizing harmony as she danced and sang The first notes of Perry’s hit single Teenage Dream were all but drowned out by screams Then the entire crowd began singing along The smell of cotton candy wafted through the air as Perry moved across the candy-laden stage JUST LOVE 9 Perry wanted her California Dreams Tour to be almost like a musical so she filmed video segments that played between songs during her shows The plot she said was loosely based on my life but a cartoon version 2 Part Wizard of Oz part Alice in Wonderland and part Candy Land board game the story began in a black-and-white world where Perry worked for a not-so-nice butcher She longed for a better life with the cute baker boy she had met at the cupcake shop Then one night she woke up to find Kitty Purry missing Her search brought her into a wonderland of vivid colors and sugary candy The videos followed her on her journey through this magical land in pursuit of Kitty and the baker boy Together the video segments and songs told a cohesive story throughout the show KATY IN WONDERLAND
She passed through a forest of giant lollipops before descending stairs lined with candy canes Iced mountains and cotton-candy clouds decorated the lower level of the stage where Perry joined her whimsically costumed band dancers and backup singers Perry waved to the crowd as she sang about having no regrets just love 3 Her voice was almost as sugary sweet as the wonderland she had created for her audience Later in the show a more serious Perry sang a soulful rendition of The One That Got Away Teary-eyed fans sang along and stretched their hands toward the stage The song’s storyline of a failed relationship brought Perry’s emotions about her struggling marriage to the surface By the end of the song the crowd could sense she was barely holding it together Perry tried to transition quickly to another song but her fans started up a chant so loud she couldn’t continue her show Katy eu te amo cried thousands of Brazilians in unison Katy we love you 4 Perry’s tears threatened to spill down her cheeks as her fans cries washed over her All the hardships of being on tour faded away in that moment It was the culmination of everything Perry had wanted 10 CONTEMPORARY LIVES KATY PERRY
since she was nine years old Here she was onstage in a sparkly dress sharing her music and listening to 25,000 people chant her name As Perry raised her hand to blow the crowd a heartfelt kiss she knew her fairy-tale dreams had come true A SELF-MADE WOMAN Perry did not have an easy road to fame She was not discovered handed a record deal and molded into a pop star overnight It was not luck but many JUST LOVE 11 Perry is known for her interaction with her fans called KatyCats and often takes selfies with a few lucky concertgoers
