Katy Perry credits Madonna for kicking off her career: “She’s the greatest”Katy Perry credits Madonna for kicking off her career: “She’s the greatest”

Katy Perry and Madonna in 2015; TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images

Katy Perry has said in several interviews that she’s reached out to younger female pop stars to mentor them, but in a recent one, she shouted out her own mentor: Madonna.

Speaking to the Australian TV show The Project, Katy said, “She actually shouted out my song and that was really the beginning of my career, that’s kind of what started to break me.”

Apparently the song in question was Katy’s 2007 single “Ur So Gay,” which at the time Madonna had called her “favorite song right now.” “Ur So Gay” predated Katy’s first #1 hit, “I Kissed a Girl,” by a year.

“Madonna was really nice to me — well, it took a minute, because she was testing me, and then she became super nice,” Katy recalled. “She just does her Madonna thing. … She would invite me to, like, a party … and we got to do a photo shoot together, which was amazing … she’s the greatest.”

“She paved the way … every female still needs to continue to say ‘thank you’ to her ’cause she is, like, breaking down barriers,” Katy gushed. “I’m 40. I still get to do music because of Madonna.”

In addition to Madonna, Katy mentioned Gwen Stefani as being “‘so nice” and described how those experiences help guide her when she reaches out to younger pop stars like Chappell Roan. 

“I just remember the moments that I meet my heroes,” she told The Project. “And I really think about that … like, that might be only interaction that we ever have. And people may not remember what you say, but they will always remember how you make them feel. And so that is very [instilled in] me.”

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