Moment Katy Perry proved she was one of the world’s most humble pop stars

Katy Perry won the hearts of Aussies after her bubbly appearance on MasterChef this week, but the world really fell in love with her after this candid moment in 2012.

Lexie Cartwright

@LexieCartwright

4 min read

May 18, 2020 - 6:56AM

It was 2012 and Katy Perry already had an army of diehard fans the world over, affectionately dubbed her ‘Katy Cats’.

The singer had broken through the scene in 2008 with her smash hit album One Of The Boys, and fast became one of the biggest pop stars in modern day music.

But 2012 was the year we first saw a very vulnerable side to the otherwise wild, weird and overzealous music sensation, who was the voice behind number one hits like I Kissed A Girl, Hot n Cold, California Girls, Teenage Dream and a slew of other bangers.

The then 26-year-old had released a documentary, Katy Perry: Part Of Me, which followed her as she embarked on her global California Dreams tour (which, side note, netted the songstress $US59.5 million).

At the time of filming, she was also quietly battling personal setbacks due to the tumultuous breakdown of her whirlwind marriage to comedian Russell Brand, who she wed in 2010.

Katy Perry and Russell Brand had a tumultuous relationship breakdown. Picture: Chris Pizzello/AP

One of the scenes in the documentary film, which you can stream on Netflix, is particularly confronting to watch.

A far cry from her recent appearance on MasterChef Australia, where she was embraced by Australians for her weird, wacky and wonderful presence, Perry can be seen in the doco lying down on a bed backstage, bawling her eyes out only hours before she was due to appear onstage.

Fans can be heard screaming “Katy! Katy!” from the arena, as advisers tell her she doesn’t have to go through with the show if she isn’t up to it.

It is widely understood her heartbreak in this moment was the result of Brand – who dumped her via text only weeks later – not showing up to her concert.

Determined to make sure the show went on, Perry gets dressed in her candy cane coloured outfit, complete with twirling bra, and makes her way to the bottom of the stage, where she awaits to be propelled from below to tens and thousands of squealing fans.

Awaiting her queue at this point, Perry is hurling over in tears, trying to collect her breath. As the platform begins rising, she splashes an award-winning smile on her face and delivers the show of a lifetime.

On a briefly personal note, I saw her California Dreams concert in Brisbane in May 2011. I could have never guessed she was going through such peril.

Her engagement with the crowd and genuine excitement to be there was something everyone in the audience no doubt still remembers.

Aussies who had previously not gotten on-board the Katy Perry bandwagon found themselves falling head over heels for her on Thursday night’s episode of MasterChef: Back To Win, where she surprised contestants with her appearance, as she floated around the kitchen giving them hugs, eating out of their pans and singing random personalised ballads.

Katy Perry was a hit on Thursday night’s MasterChef. Picture: Network Ten

While it might be easy for some to think the persona is one for the cameras, MasterChef contestant Reece Hignell told news.com.au Perry stayed on set the entire time, and even had a personal chat with him off camera before she was scheduled to perform at a bushfire charity in Victoria’s town of Bright, which she did for free.

“She walked in and did not leave. The whole time she was there, she was on,” he said.

“She didn’t leave the floor once.

“The whole time she was walking around trolling us, but it was the most endearing thing.

“She was like, ‘Oh, is this cake going to cook in time?’ I was like, ‘Katy, it’s got half an hour to cook,’ and she said, ‘Hmmm, cakes take longer than half an hour.’ I was like, ‘Leave me alone!’

“She stuck around briefly afterwards and we did a few publicity photos. I had a chat to her for about five minutes.

“We were just chatting about the competition and she was in disbelief that we have to walk in every day and cook. She was like, ‘How do you cook without a recipe?’ She was shocked that we had to come up with all of our ideas on the spot. That was really cool that she gave us a bit of respect.”

Later that same day, Perry performed a free concert for firefighters and emergency services workers in Bright, Victoria. Picture: Jason Edwards

Perry is currently pregnant with her first child with British actor Orlando Bloom. The pair are also engaged to be married.

She sent the internet into chaos earlier this year as she revealed the baby news in the music video for her song, Never Worn White, a love ballad to Bloom ahead of their wedding.

And if the lyrics are anything to go by, the Firework singer indicated she’d finally found “the one”.

I’ve stood on the edge of love but never took the leap / It’s so easy to surrender when you finally find forever

Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom are engaged. Picture: Valerie Macon/AFP

Perry announced she was expecting her first child with Orlando Bloom in her music video. Picture: YouTube

Her happiness with Bloom follows her high profile falling out with Brand, who she became engaged to just three months after they met.

They tied the knot in October 2010 in a traditional Hindu ceremony in Rajasthan, India at the Aman-i-Khas luxury resort, next to the tiger sanctuary where he proposed.

By Christmas the next year, the relationship was over.

Perry revealed he had brutally dumped her by text on New Year’s Eve.

“He’s a very smart man, a magical man and I was in love with him when I married him,” she told Vogue in 2013.

“Let’s just say I haven’t heard from him since he texted me saying he was divorcing me December 31, 2011.”

The short-lived marriage inspired many of the songs on Katy’s Prism album, including the heartbreaking “By The Grace Of God” which details her suicidal thoughts.

Katy wrote, We were living on a fault line / And I felt the fault was all mine / Couldn’t take it anymore

In a 2014 interview with The Project, Katy said: “It was sad and there were thoughts, but there were never actions.

“That song is evident of how tough it really was at a certain point. I asked myself, ‘Do I want to endure? Should I continue living?”

Perry has become renowned among her loyal fanbase for wearing her heart on her sleeve, for both good and bad times, which is why her presence is so infectious.

Bring her back every year for MasterChef Australia, we say.