Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Katy Perry is the Super Bowl XLIX halftime performer, and she’s one of the most popular artists on the planet.
But here are five things you might not know about the superstar before Sunday’s show.
1. She has the most followers on Twitter. All of Twitter.
Currently, Katy Perry has 64 million followers. That’s more than Justin Bieber, more than Lady Gaga and even more than Barack Obama. Look:
Courtesy TwitterCounter
We can only imagine how her performance at the Super Bowl — the most watched television event in the country — will set the Internet aflame.
2. She helped TLC fund their farewell album on Kickstarter.
In January, Perry threw in $5,000 to help Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas and Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins reach their $150,000 goal. The two thanked Perry with some tweets — and some emojis.
(According to a post on TLC’s Facebook, New Kids on the Block, Dev Hynes, Russell Simmons, Soulja Boy and Bette Midler also contributed.)
3. She spoke in tongues as a child.
To Perry fans, it may be common knowledge that her parents are devout Christians and pastors — and that she got her start as a gospel singer. But there’s more: Perry spoke in tongues when she was young. Who would have guessed?
From a 2010 Rolling Stone profile by Vanessa Grigoriadis:
“My mom and dad practice ‘tongues and interpretation’ together—my dad speaks in tongues, and my mom interprets it,” says Perry. “That’s their gift.” The three children, including Katy, spoke in tongues as well. “Speaking in tongues is as normal to me as ‘Pass the salt,'” says Perry. “A lot of religions use meditation or chanting as a subliminal prayer language, and speaking in tongues isn’t that different—it’s a secret, direct prayer language to God. If I felt intuitively that I had to pray for some situation, but I didn’t rationally understand it, I just let my spirit pray for it.”
4. She began using her mother’s maiden name to avoid conflict with actress Kate Hudson.
Katy Perry was actually born Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson, but she changed her stage surname to her mother’s maiden name. However, in 2001, Perry did release one Christian album under the name Katy Hudson. See below:
5. She has the cutest puppy in the world, named Butters.
No, really. Just look.
Unfortunately, Butters will not be participating in Animal Planet’s Puppy Bowl. Sad, we know.
And lastly, here’s one big, bold prediction about her show:
AP Photo/Reed Saxon
We know Perry is performing with special guest Lenny Kravitz, but she may very well have another trick up her sleeve. Our vote? She brings Snoop Dogg onstage to perform “California Gurls.” Why? For one, he’s featured on the track, and two, it’s well-documented that Snoop loves football. A lot.
