On Wednesday October 23, 2013, the day after the release of her new album, Katy Perry and some of her famous friends played at the historic Hollywood Bowl for CBS RADIO's We Can Survive concert, benefiting the Young Survival Coalition.
The three and a half hour sold out show also included performances by Bonnie McKee, Kacey Musgraves, Tegan and Sara, Sarah Bareilles and Ellie Goulding. Each act played individually for about 30 minutes with Perry coming on shortly after 10pm for a 45 minute set. The grand finale saw all the young women come out on stage to collectively sing Perry's current hit, Roar.
My 10 year old daughter, Kit Zenga, was my date to the outdoor concert. We arrived during Bareilles set just as she was singing I Want to See You Be Brave. It was the perfect song to enter the arena with and we practically skipped to our seats, singing the song along with her.
The Bowl was packed with people of all ages from young to old, men and women. Foam glowsticks were being waved everywhere. Kit and I took our seats and I brought out the hot chocolate from our thermos and well, I'll let Kit tell you the rest.
"My mom took me to the Katy Perry concert at the Hollywood Bowl. Before Katy came on Ellie Goulding performed. She was so much fun. She sang all her songs. Well, all my favorite ones anyway. Everyone was cheering and dancing.
"Then Katy came on. She was wearing silver. She started off by singing an old song, but still a popular one: I Kissed a Girl.
"I like Katy Perry. She's fun. She has fun songs and fun clothes. She has fun ideas for songs. My friends like Katy Perry too. They like all her songs. We always sing them at school. My favorite song of hers is Firework because it reminds me of fireworks in the sky. And fireworks are pretty. At summer camp in the field trip van, when Firework came on, we all sang really loudly. I was hoping she would sing Firework at the concert. I thought, 'What if there were real fireworks when she sang that song?' I could feel it in my heart that there would be because we were outside. Well what do you know? She sang Firework with real fireworks! I thought how great it must be to be one of those fireworks in the sky because Katy is so cool. I would have wanted to be a firework too in that moment because I could look at Katy from the sky and have a good view and be a part of her performance.
"The concert ended with Katy singing Roar. I like how all the other girls who performed that night came out on stage and sang it together.
"Katy's songs make me feel excited. Sometimes they make me feel a little sad. Sad because some of them are about boyfriends that are mean.
"Her music videos are exactly what the song is about. Every little detail. I like the video for California Gurls. I like the video for The One That Got Away where she paints over the boy's artwork and then he leaves her and gets in a car accident and dies. I felt like she wanted to be with him and wishes she never did what she did. It was very sad, but had happy parts in the middle because they had fun times together. I like the music video for Roar because there are real animals in it and I like Katy's cheetah outfit.
"I loved her documentary movie (Katy Perry: Part of Me). It made me want one of her outfits from California Gurls that she wore on stage. I like how it was all candy outfits. After I saw the movie, I learned that Katy had a lot of tough times in her life. I felt bad for her. I was surprised because I thought her life was perfect. She's perfect to me. I think she's awesome."
Katy Perry sings Roar with Kacey Musgraves, Sara Bareilles, Tegan and Sara, Ellie Goulding and Bonnie Mckee at the Hollywood Bowl.
Katy Perry sings Firework at the Hollywood Bowl - wide view of fireworks display
Katy Perry sings Firework - close-up view