“IT’S been a long few days,” admits Katy Perry as she walks into the Box club in London’s Soho to treat a handpicked posse of her biggest fans to play six tracks from new album 143.
But if Katy was feeling apprehensive, she certainly didn’t show it, ordering a Cosmopolitan cocktail, which she takes “pink, low sugar”, before addressing the crowd.
The first single from the record, Women’s World, didn’t chart as well as she hoped, but as I join the lucky few to listen to 143, I can tell you with certainty Katy won’t struggle to turn around opinion.
The record is made for clubs and beach bars and will, I have no doubt, become the soundtrack of Ibiza’s summer closing parties following its release on September 20.
Katy, Cosmo in hand, explains: “I always wanted to make a dance pop record.
“One third is more dance than I have ever done before. One third is quintessential pop and then one third is rhythmic.”
Lifetimes, the next single from the record, which I can exclusively reveal will drop on August 9, is a nailed-on hit.
The song is inspired by her daughter Daisy, three, with her fiancé, A-list actor Orlando Bloom, and Katy’s face bursts into a grin as she talks about her, telling the crowd that raising her is “what I have been doing all these years”.
She continues: “It is funny how sometimes you’re looking for your soulmate in a partner. It could be a dog, your mum, your best friend, your cat . . . but for me it came in the form of Daisy.
“I wrote Lifetimes about her. Every night before we go to sleep I say, ‘I love you’, and then I ask, ‘Will you find me in every lifetime?’ and she says, ‘Yes’.”
It isn’t the only song inspired by her daughter, who spent the past week in London with her mum, whizzing around on her scooter, adorably oblivious to the fact her parents are one of the world’s most famous couples.
She says of Daisy as her muse: “The love I was missing, every mountain I climbed looking for this view, all this love. It came to me when she entered my life.
“Maybe one day you will go on this journey but you will find this love, it does exist and it will exist for you.”
Katy gets whoops of appreciation from her die-hard fans, including Rylan Clark, and Jedward, who are perched on the front row and lap up every word she says.
Katy appears to know the pair well and turns to them to joke: “Don’t cross me for my man, Jedward, he is mine.”
One of the brothers shoots back, “Orlando, step aside”, to which Katy replies with a smile: “It’s going to take a couple of Cosmos, honey.”
Katy hits play on five more never-before-heard songs, including one which reminds me of a tune from Dua Lipa’s latest No1 album.
I’m sworn to secrecy on all the details of 143 but there is a killer collaboration and one brilliant track which features an amazing Eighties sample.
Just over 40 minutes in and the Box was rocking, with Katy ordering bottles of Champagne, white wine and tequila for her fans, which the bar staff duly handed out.
“There’s no f***ing rosé?” Katy shouts, before joking: “It’s been a long time since I had a drink and a mic.”
Katy’s loyal fans, who have been with her since breakthrough album One Of The Boys in 2008, are hooked on her every word and go bananas as she teases: “I am so excited to go on tour, let’s sweat together.”
But I can see that Katy is just as intent on listening to them as they scream the names of the tracks they think should follow Lifetimes.
As gracious as she is funny, Katy doesn’t reference the recent furore directly but is clear in her sentiment before she ends the playback.
“Thank you for being kind to me and please be kind to everyone else,” she says firmly.
“If you want to represent me, please be kind.”
Speaking to Katy after the playback ends, she clearly practises what she preaches.
As I tell her the fuss will fade and that the album has some of her best work on it, she tells me she loves my accent and warmly thanks me for taking the time to come along and listen, squeezing my arm as she says it.
They say the comeback is always greater than the setback and in this case, there is no truer statement.
CLEAN-cut boyband The Vamps have never sung anything too close to the bone during their 12 years together.
But some fans may find themselves pressing rewind when listening to frontman Bradley Simpson’s solo music, as it’s a bit racier than they might expect.
He has revealed that his debut solo album, which he is set to drop next year, will feature the song Carpet Burn – and I imagine you can guess how he got that.
If you need me to spell it out, in one of the verses he sings: “We’re lying counting the scars, this one was carpet burn from f**ing in my first car.”
Brad, whose latest single Daisies came out this month, said: “It’s accurate. I think that’s my favourite song on the album. That was one of the last ones I wrote for it.
“I did the majority of the album in New York so I spent two or three months there last year.
“All of the songs are very personal and stories of my life.”
Asked if he had played Carpet Burn to the person it was about, he told The Zach Sang Show podcast: “Yeah. But I don’t think there’s anything too . . . She was fine about it.
“I am always a bit nervous about playing songs but I also think you should absolutely play them to the person before they come out, so they’ve got a heads up.”
With a handful of festival shows this summer, he is heading out on a headline tour in the autumn and has just added a third night in London after the first two sold out.
It’s not only his knees that are hot.
TODAY: After months of swimwear, snogging and slanging matches, Maya Jama will jet out to Mallorca for one last time to host the Love Island final, live on ITV2 from 9pm.
THURSDAY: Kendal Calling festival returns to Lowther Deer Park in the Lake District.
The four-day event will see gigs by Noel Gallagher, Paolo Nutini, The Streets, Keane and many more.
FRIDAY: Adele will launch her German residency at in Munich.
Over the month-long stint she will play ten shows to as many as 800,000 fans and has promised a new setlist from her Las Vegas concerts.
SATURDAY: THE nation’s biggest Pride festival will get underway in Brighton, with a parade, party and festival, headlined by Girls Aloud and Sophie Ellis-Bextor.
SHE has worked as a stylist, tattooist, photographer and even an adult film director, but Brooke Candy has cemented herself in music with her second album, Candyland Vol 1.
The American dropped the project on Friday and in an exclusive chat, told how it had been a long time coming.
Brooke, in this provocative shot to promote the record, said: “It’s like I’m giving birth and I feel like I’ve reached the end of my rope with the art because I worked on it for three years. It truly took my soul.
“So it’s a bittersweet feeling but mainly sweet because I’m so ready to get it out there.”
On having her fingers in different pies, she explained: “I’ve tried to be a stylist, for Lizzo for instance, I’ve tried to be a photographer behind the scenes, I did it for Charli XCX, and I directed a porno.
“I tried to make as many different forms of art as I could. But I’ve always come back to music.”
After sexual harassment allegations were made against Lizzo last year – which she has denied – Brooke has insisted she is standing by her.
She added: “I hit her up a few months ago and I told her that I loved her and I had her back and that she had like a really good heart and that I was her supporter.
“She was appreciative of that. I toured with her and I met her before she blew up and I was like, ‘this girl is gonna be the biggest artist in the world’.
“I’ve got her back for life.”
We all need a friend like that.
PERRIE Edwards and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are worth more than £20million but it’s nice to see they still clash over the little things like taking out the bins.
The Tears singer says she is more than happy to clean their home from top to bottom but draws the line when it comes to the rubbish.
Perrie said of the household chore: “It is something I do argue about. I’m like, I’m happy to do all the cleaning. I’ll do it top to bottom, but the bins, it’s not my job.
“There’s something about the bins that I just don’t want to do. So I’m like, ‘can you just do the bins?’ And then he never does them. Then they’ll overflow and I’ll be petty and leave it, and then I’m just like, ‘oh, I just may as well just do it myself’. It gets to that stage.”
I often find myself in the same situation with my partner Perrie, so I can feel your pain.
CALUM SCOTT has already clocked up 2.7million streams for his new single Roots since it’s release earlier this month.
And he has his carefree days in Hull to thank for it.
The singer, who has been touring the world for the past 12 months, told me the track explains tha tnothing beats days back home.
Calum said: “I wrote Roots as a reminder of the good times and the carefree moments that take you back to a place of nostalgia and memories of loved ones immortalised in pure elation.
“It’s a lyrical reflection of a yearning for times gone by and the realisation that my roots are my family, my friends, my city, the people and the places that raised me.”
As for his favourite things about the North East city? A local salt for his chips and a cuppa
Calum added: “I love chip spice. It’s made in Hull and just great. It’s a mixture of Paprika, onion and garlic.
“And it goes without saying a good old strong northern brew.”
IF you’re an Elvis fan, rising star Elliot James Reay is for you.
The singer-songwriter from Bury, Greater Manchester, is rapidly gaining traction online after releasing debut single I Think They Call This Love, which has had almost two million Spotify streams and backed more than 13,000 videos on TikTok since it came out a week ago.
He said: “Growing up with the sounds of Elvis, Roy Orbison and BIlly Fury really shaped my love for music.
“I’ve been lucky to share that passion over the last couple years on social media with over three million amazing fans.
“This song means a lot to me, and I hope you’ll find your own connection to it.”
DIAMONDS really are a girl’s best friend, just ask Nicole Scherzinger.
The former Pussycat Dolls couldn’t hide her glee as she wore this jewelled black gown on stage in Azerbaijan.
Nicole was in the country to perform at DreamFest International Music Festival in Baku.
Just a few hours before she had been left scrambling to find something to wear after her luggage went missing during her flight trip from Hawaii.
Luckily local designer Rufat Ismail, owner of Afffair, [three f is correct] managed to come to the rescue and worked overnight to design, curtate and fly in six custom dresses for her to choose from.”
A source close Nicole said “Despite losing her luggage, Nicole remained in high spirits and the people of Azerbaijan looked after her and made her feel at home.
“Partying into the early hours, Nicole expressed her appreciation of being so well looked after and said she hadn’t been treated like this for years.
