Q&A: Katy Perry

How many ex-boyfriends are represented on "One of the Boys"?
Three. There's the "Ur So Gay" guy. "Thinking of You" and "I'm Still Breathing" are about the same person. And the "Mannequin" guy. Some people think it's a dis when I sing, "You're not a man, you're a mannequin," but it's not. Writing "Mannequin" actually fixed some things in the relationship. It was my way of saying, "I love you so much. Wake. The. Fuck. Up. I want you to be in my life. Oh, and please stop wearing my jeans."

In "Ur So Gay," you imply the guy has a small dick.
Well, yeah. I had some fun with it.

If one of your exes wrote a song about you, how would the chorus go?
A couple of them do have songs about me. I'll just leave it up to the audience to figure those out.

You grew up listening to gospel. Do you go back to any of that music?
I was raised on "Oh Happy Day" and "His Eye Is on the Sparrow" and the Sister Act soundtracks — I was so down with Lauryn Hill in Sister Act 2.

You seem pretty confident on guitar. What songs do you like to jam on?
I'm definitely beyond that "good for a girl" quote. I'm no Jimi Hendrix, but I can hold my own. I can play "Blackbird." And I can play a couple of really difficult Jeff Buckley songs: "Lilac Wine" and "Lover, You Should Have Come Over."

Those are good. Is Jeff Buckley a new discovery for you?
Oh, no. I lost my virginity listening to that Grace record in Nashville. The good ol' days. We were going to get married. I'm so glad we didn't.

• More From Issue 1059