Katy Perry puts Twitter army on standby
AFP
UNITED NATIONS- Pop queen Katy Perry says she is the world's Twitter leader because she does not preach and she is ready to unleash her "terrifying" social media army.
Perry has a record 48 million followers on Twitter -- more than Justin Bieber -- and she told AFP that she is ready to put her force to good use.
The 29-year-old star, famed for shows featuring spinning peppermint wheel bras and songs such as "I Kissed A Girl," officially became an envoy for the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) on Tuesday.
The UN would like to use Perry in campaigns against violence against women and children or after a natural disaster. She said she could visit Peru, Haiti or the Philippines in her new role in 2014.
"I have the biggest following and I have a lot of awareness and I have a terrifying amount of people that follow me on Twitter," Perry said, as she signed her UNICEF contract.
"We can pinpoint it if there are various places that we need to focus on more than others, whenever there is a crisis going on I can always kind of call up my troops," she added.
Perry told AFP later of how social media power can be exploited if stars like herself do not preach.
"There is a generational change that is happening because of technology being so available and everybody being so connected and being able to see what is going on immediately. Nothing is so hidden any more," she said.
UNICEF chief Anthony Lake said that campaigns with figures such as Perry "puts pressure on governments to try to do more to stop violence against children and women."
"I think one of the reasons maybe I got to the highest position on Twitter is because I am not always selling something to the Tweeters, because they hate that," Perry said in the interview.
"The kids don't really like to be sold to all the time. They are interested in when the music comes out, or when the video comes out.
"But I think they want to see my personality. They like when I share videos or get them involved or interact with them. They like the funny things, the silly things, they like the ranting, mumbling whatever it is I do."
Perry said she would not silence her often outspoken style for her new post.
"It is not that I censor myself, I just know what's appropriate, what's not. I do not censor myself in real life. But I am an adult and make choices of my own for what I need to share."
Perry said that a trip in April to Madagascar had persuaded her to follow the likes of soccer star David Beckham, Chinese film star Jackie Chan and Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan to join UNICEF.
Her future involvement could depend on her musical success. Perry's hit song "Roar" is a strong contender for awards such as the Grammys for which nominations will be announced Friday.
The song has become a pop anthem around the world. Canadian teenager Olivia Wilde, a brain cancer sufferer, did her own YouTube version which went viral in the weeks before her death in October.
"That song has taken on a life of its own that I could have never imagined," said Perry.
"But I write from a very honest place, a very vulnerable place, a place where I have to get real with myself and I think that those lyrics become relatable because they are coming from a real pure place."
It was a song she wrote because she needed "a boost."
"I think that Roar is a song about finding your self-strength again and sticking up for yourself," she said.
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The UN would like to use Perry in campaigns against violence against women and children or after a natural disaster. She said she could visit Peru, Haiti or the Philippines in her new role in 2014.
"I have the biggest following and I have a lot of awareness and I have a terrifying amount of people that follow me on Twitter," Perry said, as she signed her UNICEF contract.
"We can pinpoint it if there are various places that we need to focus on more than others, whenever there is a crisis going on I can always kind of call up my troops," she added.
Perry told AFP later of how social media power can be exploited if stars like herself do not preach.
"There is a generational change that is happening because of technology being so available and everybody being so connected and being able to see what is going on immediately. Nothing is so hidden any more," she said.
UNICEF chief Anthony Lake said that campaigns with figures such as Perry "puts pressure on governments to try to do more to stop violence against children and women."
"I think one of the reasons maybe I got to the highest position on Twitter is because I am not always selling something to the Tweeters, because they hate that," Perry said in the interview.
"The kids don't really like to be sold to all the time. They are interested in when the music comes out, or when the video comes out.
"But I think they want to see my personality. They like when I share videos or get them involved or interact with them. They like the funny things, the silly things, they like the ranting, mumbling whatever it is I do."
Perry said she would not silence her often outspoken style for her new post.
"It is not that I censor myself, I just know what's appropriate, what's not. I do not censor myself in real life. But I am an adult and make choices of my own for what I need to share."
Perry said that a trip in April to Madagascar had persuaded her to follow the likes of soccer star David Beckham, Chinese film star Jackie Chan and Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan to join UNICEF.
Her future involvement could depend on her musical success. Perry's hit song "Roar" is a strong contender for awards such as the Grammys for which nominations will be announced Friday.
The song has become a pop anthem around the world. Canadian teenager Olivia Wilde, a brain cancer sufferer, did her own YouTube version which went viral in the weeks before her death in October.
"That song has taken on a life of its own that I could have never imagined," said Perry.
"But I write from a very honest place, a very vulnerable place, a place where I have to get real with myself and I think that those lyrics become relatable because they are coming from a real pure place."
It was a song she wrote because she needed "a boost."
"I think that Roar is a song about finding your self-strength again and sticking up for yourself," she said.
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