Katy Perry’s song, “Firework” is perfect for the month of July and offers the inspiration and motivation to affirm our unique and individual place and purpose in this world. No matter how you may be feeling in this very moment, Perry delivers an important message: Feel free to sing along…
Do you know that there's still a chance for you
'Cause there's a spark in you?
You just gotta ignite the light and let it shine
Just own the night like the 4th of July
'Cause, baby, you're a firework
Come on, show 'em what you're worth
Make 'em go, "Aah, aah, aah"
As you shoot across the sky-y-y
You don't have to feel like a wasted space
You're original, cannot be replaced
If you only knew what the future holds
After a hurricane comes a rainbow
Maybe a reason why all the doors are closed
So you could open one that leads you to the perfect road
Like a lightning bolt, your heart will glow
And when it's time you'll know
Boom, boom, boom,
Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon,
It's always been inside of you, you, you
And now it's time to let it through, ooh, ooh.
Cause, baby, you're a firework
Come on, show 'em what you're worth
Make 'em go, "Oh! Oh! Oh!"
As you shoot across the sky-y-y.
What an important message Perry delivers acknowledging our unique value and worth. We each are like a shining star, igniting the world near and far. So let this month of July begin…share your light with friends and kin.
Katheryn Elizabeth "Katy" Hudson was born on October 25, 1984. She is known by her stage name Katy Perry and grew up in Santa Barbara, California. Perry had limited exposure to mainstream pop music during her childhood and pursued a career in gospel music as a teenager, releasing her debut studio album, Katy Hudson in 2001.
Her parents, Keith and Mary Hudson, were evangelical traveling ministers who were unwaged. They would ask congregations for tithes to raise money for their living and traveling expenses. Perry said there would be great times, and there would be times when they were on food stamps. The atmosphere at home, she says, was “not fun.” Referencing the biblical command not to spare the rod and spoil the child, she reported, “My parents did not spare the rod.” Perry also noted that she did not get the opportunity to “go to school much” because of her parents’ life on the road. Even though she was born in Santa Barbara, from the age of three or four she moved around the country about seven times.
In April 2007, Perry signed a recording contract with Capitol Records. She rose to fame in 2008 with the release of her single "I Kissed a Girl" from her second album, One of the Boys. Perry has received many awards and nominations, including eleven Grammy nominations. Billboard dubbed her 2012's Woman of the Year. Perry is the only artist to spend 69 consecutive weeks in the top ten of the Hot 100. She has sold over 11 million albums and 81 million singles worldwide as of November 2013. She has six quintuple-platinum certified singles in the United States, more than any other artist.
Perry has ventured into celebrity endorsement and released fragrances Purr, Meow!, and Killer Queen. In late July 2011, she made her film debut voicing Smurfette in The Smurfs. In early July 2012, she released a 3D autobiographical documentary film, Katy Perry: Part of Me, which concentrated on her life as a touring artist and the dissolution of her one-year marriage to English actor and comedian Russell Brand.
“Of course I get fazed,” she says. “And when I am in between records, sometimes I doubt myself. I’ll be like: Did I just get lucky, or did I mass-manipulate the world into thinking that seven songs were worth a number-one position? And then I go back into the studio and I start writing, and the true essential oil of who I am comes bubbling back up and reminds me that it’s always been inside of me, that nobody can take this away no matter what comment anyone makes. It’s going to be there because it’s what I was born with and it’s what I’ve worked on my whole life.”
There’s a special quality about Katy Perry. She has a huge heart and is a Unicef goodwill ambassador, which is not an easy gig. Asked to choose between two areas of need, she picked Madagascar, which had more focus on women and babies, rather than Rwanda (more focus on HIV/AIDS). The absolute poverty stunned her although her resilience was outstanding. She is a gutsy powerhouse who wants us all to shine.
Let this month bring out your essence and hopefully you will light up the sky with the power of who you are… cause baby, you’re a firework!
