What jumps off of Katy Perry’s May Teen Vogue cover isn’t her bright blue hair; it’s the pull quote where Perry pronounces, “I stopped focusing a while ago on what people think.” And if you’ve been following Perry closely, you know it’s true. She’s no longer the struggling singer who got dropped by her first record label. Nor is she the emerging artist who has to deal with the constant question: “Did you really kiss a girl?” She’s taken control of her own artistic vision and tells Teen Vogue, while talking about her forthcoming 3D movie, “One of my main reasons for doing this is that people think of me as though I’m Dorothy in the ruby slippers. I want them to see everything else that’s involved. Yes, I am her, but at the end of it all, I’m also the guy behind the curtain.”

(Teen Vogue)

She also has ambition beyond being a singer. Her unexpected comedic turn on Raising Hope this year wasn’t a one-off. Perry says, “There was a time when I was going to be involved in The Help—just a small part, I wasn’t going to be Emma Stone or anything—but I couldn’t because the shooting schedule conflicted with the release of my record. And I was upset about that; I knew it was going to be an important film.”

(Teen Vogue)

And Perry addresses what’s to come for her — in the fashion arena. “Like, I’m still doing the pinup thing, but now when I do it, I want to be the pinup of the future, like Rachael in Blade Runner,” Perry says, invoking the image of futuristic European dystopian pin-up. An almost unfathomable mix, except from the mind of Katy Perry.

-Courtney E. Smith, CBS Local