Scenario: Katy Perry: California Girls, Story of How Katy perry thought of the candy land concept
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Katy Perry: California Girls, Story of How Katy perry thought of the candy land concept
CALIFORNIA GURLS inspiration
I had been working on the music video for “California Gurls” for days, but I still didn’t know what I wanted it to be.
The song was fresh and fun, a celebration of the beauty and carefree spirit of California girls, but I kept coming back to the same stale ideas.
I was exhausted from a long day of shooting, but sleep wouldn’t come.
I twisted and turned in bed, trying to wrestle my mind free of the clutches of my newest melody.
It was as if the lyrics were taunting me with their imagery, begging me to bring them to life in a way that didn’t come off as cliché or overdone.
My stylist Johnny Wujek had been over at my house all day, as had my manager Bradford Cobb.
We’d spent hours talking about potential concepts for the video, but nothing felt quite right.
And the more we talked, the more anxious I became.
This was going to be the lead single from my new album “Teenage Dream,” so I needed it to be perfect.
My last two singles—“I Kissed a Girl” and “Hot n Cold”—had both gone number one, and I had a reputation for putting together colorful, iconic music videos that were as much a part of the song’s success as the song itself.
I’d been trying to come up with something fresh and fun that captured the spirit of the song ever since I started working on “California Gurls” six months ago.
But so far, all I’d come up with were boring ideas that felt stale and unoriginal.
I needed something new, something that would surprise people, and the clock was ticking.
The pressure to come up with something that would resonate with fans, critics, and radio programmers alike had been keeping me awake at night.
If this video didn’t connect with people right away, it could kill the song’s chances at becoming another smash hit.
As I lay in bed, I ran through my options in my head, trying to think of some new concept that would fit with the song’s vibe without feeling like we were just recycling old ideas from other videos.
It had to be fun and colorful and iconic in a way that made people want to watch it over and over again.
But no matter how hard I tried, nothing came to mind.
By the time I finally fell asleep, I still hadn’t come up with a solution to the problem that had been driving me crazy for days.
I woke up, taking a bite of my necessary vitamin gummies, when suddenly, I got a idea flashing to my mind.. Something really dystopian.. Like the view of Willy wonkas Chocolate Factory!
It was a week after we’d shot the promotional photos for my new album with Annie Leibovitz and I was exhausted.
I’d spent the entire day trying on clothes and posing for the camera and by the time we wrapped I didn’t know how much longer I could stand it.
I didn’t have anything left in the tank and I didn’t know how I was going to make it through another meeting so soon after that grueling day of work.
My manager Bradford Cobb tried to put a brave face on things when he saw how down I was feeling, but even he couldn’t pretend like everything was okay in that moment.
“Katy, come on,” he said with a smile.
“It wasn’t that bad.You look gorgeous in those photos and you know it.”
I gave him a half-hearted smile in return and shook my head.
“I just don’t know about some of those outfits,” I said with a sigh.
“I’m starting to question everything I thought I knew about fashion.”
Bradford laughed and put a reassuring hand on my shoulder.
“Come on now,” he said.
“You’re a style icon, you know it.
Don’t let one bad day of shopping get you down.
We’ll find the perfect look for this video, don’t you worry about that.”
I nodded and took a deep breath to collect myself.
“Thanks, Brad,” I said.
“I appreciate your confidence in me even when I don’t have any in myself.”
He smiled at me again.
“That’s what I’m here for, babe,” he said.
“We’re a team.
We’ll figure it out together.”
I nodded and took another deep breath to steady my nerves.
I was stressed out of my mind about the video and I knew it wasn’t just because of the photoshoot.
It was just a lot of pressure all around and it was starting to get to me.
“Now let’s go over this one more time,” Bradford said as he walked into the dressing room.
“We need to make some decisions today or we’re going to miss our deadline.”
I nodded and tried to focus on what he was saying even though all I really wanted to do was go home to bed.
But as much as I didn’t want to admit it, he was right.
We had to get moving on this video if we were going to have it done in time for the album’s release.
And that meant making some tough decisions sooner rather than later.
I sighed and followed Bradford down the hall to the conference room where the meeting would take place.
Johnny Wujek gave me an encouraging smile as he passed me on his way out of the room.
“Hey Kat,” he said softly.
“We can go back over those wardrobe options if you want.
Maybe there was something you liked better that we can reconsider.”
I shook my head at him as I took my seat at the table.
“No thanks,” I said quietly.
“I just want to get this over with.
Bradford sat down next to me and opened his laptop.
“Okay, here we go.
Let’s talk music video.”
The room fell silent as we all turned our attention to Bradford.
He had a big smile on his face and I could tell he was excited to finally have this conversation.
“Alright, so tell me what you’re thinking for the video?”
Johnny asked from the other side of the table.
I shrugged and tried to think of something intelligent to say.
But the truth was, I had no idea what I was thinking.
I had been struggling to come up with an idea for this video for months and I still hadn’t figured it out.
Everyone around me seemed to be brimming with ideas, but the more they talked, the more overwhelmed I felt.
I had to come up with something soon or I was never going to be able to make this video happen.
I could feel my eyes starting to droop as I tried to focus on what they were saying.
It was no use.
I was way too tired to be having this conversation right now.
I put my head down on the table and closed my eyes for just a second.
I didn’t know if they were saying something that was important or not, but I needed to rest my eyes for just a moment.
I was so tired.
I’m not even sure when I fell asleep.
But the next thing I knew, I was standing on a beach.
Not just any beach, but a beach made of graham crackers and white chocolate.
And in front of me was a pool of strawberry cream for an ocean.
I could hardly believe what I was seeing.
It was like something out of my wildest dreams.
I looked around in amazement as I took it all in.
The sand was soft beneath my feet and the air was filled with the sweet scent of sugar and vanilla.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, enjoying the moment of pure bliss before me.
When I opened them again, I noticed that the beach was filled with dancing gingerbread men and palm trees made of gumdrops.
The sky above was swirling with cotton candy colors and there wasn’t a cloud in sight.
I smiled to myself as I looked around at the incredible world that had been created in front of me.
I knew that this was exactly what I had been looking for.
A visual representation of everything I wanted to say in my song.
This was perfect.
I was just about to call my team to tell them to come meet me here, when I heard someone calling my name from behind me.
I turned around to see who it was and I was surprised to see that it was Bradford Cobb standing there with his arms crossed over his chest.
He had a smug look on his face and I knew that he was going to have something to say about this dream of mine.
“Hey Brad,” I said with an awkward smile as I walked towards him.
Bradford looked around the beach as we walked side by side.
“This is what you came up with?”
I nodded my head proudly.
Bradford arched one of his perfectly trimmed eyebrows and gave me a look that let me know he wasn’t impressed.
“Look, Katy, this is great and all, but I don’t think it works for the video,” he said in a calm and patient tone.
I felt my heart sink into the pit of my stomach as I listened to him explain why my idea wasn’t going to work.
He pointed out all of the things that wouldn’t work and how much money it would cost to make this dream of mine come to life.
And while I listened to him speak, I couldn’t help but feel disappointed by the news that this dream would never become reality.
But then I remembered something very important about myself: if there is one thing that I’ve learned in this lifetime, it’s to never give up on your wildest dreams.
The sun was shining brightly in the sky as I walked along the beach.
I could feel the warm sand between my toes and the cool ocean breeze blowing through my hair.
I smiled to myself as I looked around at all of the beautiful women dancing on the beach around me.
Each of them was wearing a bikini or a one-piece swimsuit that accentuated her amazing curves.
There were skinny girls and fat girls, tall girls and short girls.
Girls with big boobs and girls with no boobs.
Blondes and brunettes.
Pale girls with freckles and dark-skinned girls with long curly hair.
It was like a perfect representation of all the different kinds of women you could find living in California.
And they were all beautiful in their own unique ways.
This was exactly what I had been looking for.
A group of women who were confident enough to be themselves without worrying about what other people thought of them.
Bradford had told me that he didn’t think this idea would work.
But I didn’t care what he thought.
This was exactly what I had been looking for.
I looked around at all of the beautiful women around me as I thought about how much I had always wanted to be one of those California girls.
You know, the ones that are tan and toned and look like they just stepped out of a magazine?
But no matter how hard I tried, I could never quite fit into that mold.
I was never tall or skinny enough to be a model.
My skin refused to tan no matter how long I spent baking in the sun.
And my boobs were never going to be big enough to fill out a bikini top.
But as I watched these women dancing around me, I realized something very important: that’s not what it means to me to be a California girl.
It’s not about how you look or how much you weigh.
Being a California girl is a state of mind.
It’s about being confident in your own skin and not caring about what other people think of you.
I smiled to myself as I realized that I was finally living my dream.