You may have met Katy Perry before Teenage Dream, the album that got her 5 songs on the Billboard Hot 100’s No. 1, making her the first woman to do so and leveling her with Michael Jackson, in addition to other records. But it was in this era and with the movie Part of Me that we began to meet Katheryn Hudson, a committed artist who puts a smile on her face and gives her fans her all, even when her personal life was falling apart.

“I think the music and the message are empowering and helpful for people, but you don’t want it to be all-consuming. You want to carve out a real life as well,” the singer told L’Officiel US magazine. In this interview, Katy talked about how it was necessary to take a break from the big and wildlife to take care of herself and experience unconditional love with her first child, Daisy Dove Bloom.

With her colorful wigs and candy clothes retired, Katy appears in L’Officiel with the neutral tones that suit her in this new phase.

“I used to be really upset about going out into the world with no makeup on. Even for something like this, I’d be like, ‘Let’s do some hair and makeup,’ and now I’m like, ‘You know, I’m good. I know who I am. And what you think of me is none of my business.'”

And more than looking good, Katy shines naturally wearing Proenza Schouler black leather jackets and skirts with Salvatore Ferragamo shoes. For the cover of the issue, a caramel Hermès leather coat matches the hair she’s been keeping light and long since her 2020 Smile album.

And it was with Smile that Katy began her “journey towards the light,” telling stories of resilience, hope, and love and talking about self-help and empowerment. With songs dedicated to her daughter and reports about her own mental health, she realized that she finally achieved a balance between her professional and personal life.

“Every day I’m like, ‘When can we go for a walk? When can we go for a swim?’ There was a good 12 years where none of that smallness existed.” The teenage dream has become a small life dream in which she can call the family out for a night of tacos, watch her daughter play with the dog, and still shine like fireworks.

This is a new era of new music for Willow Smith too.