Media diary - Week 4

Media diary: Week 4 - Text that changed my life


A media text that has changed my life is One of The Boys, Katy Perry's first studio album released to a mass audience. I say this changed my life as it determined and made me realise fully what my taste in music was. 
It was released in 2008, when I was 12, and at that age I was still curious as to what music I could actually love and relate to. I'd been through many phases when I was younger, liking rock (like the Foo Fighters), pop (like McFly), and even rap (50 Cent, oops). These teenage years, or those very close to them, are a turning point in many things for young people, and one of those things is music.

I first heard Katy Perry on a trip to Florida. I Kissed A Girl had just been released and at first, I wasn't too sure about it, however, once I listened again, I realised it was actually a really good song. Especially because she wrote it herself.
When I got him, I listened to the rest of her songs from her album and was both shocked and delighted to find such a varied palet. Really edgy rock songs like Fingerprints put alongside slow, thought-provoking songs such as I'm Still Breathing, and then general love songs with a fun, upbeat twist, like Hot 'n' Cold.
Along with this love for the album, came an admiration for Katy and the way she made it to the top of the business. I won't go off topic and delve too much into her background, but she faced several struggles, as her movie Part Of Me 3D shows. 

The reason I say this album changed my life is because I'd previously been a huge fan of McFly, and yet, even though they've had many albums, I was only a huge fan for two, around 2004/2005/2006. With Katy Perry, and the fact that I was older, I was entered into the 'fandom' with people who also love her. The 'Katycats', as they are known, are fans of Katy, and I'd say I was one of them.
When you enter a huge fan base like this, you feel even more love and admiration for the artist as you truly see how much they adore their fans, and how much they care for the music they produce. Katy was once quoted as saying she didn't want her songs to be 'meaningless', so she can't just bring an album out every year and rush the writing process. Although I'm incredibly excited for her next album and wish it would arrive sooner, I love that all of her songs are essentially 'hand crafted' to portray a side to her that the fans love to see. Many of my favourite artists write their own songs, and I think this is a criteria in which I go by, I stick to it subconsciously as it makes you feel closer to the artist. 

Through discovering this album, I feel I discovered the type of music I love, and it influenced the many other artists I like now. I'm quite varied in my music tastes, but they have one thing in common; they write most of their songs themselves. As well as this, the artist themselves is varied in the music they produce. Taylor Swift, Christina Perri, Hot Chelle Rae, Foo Fighters etc.. They can all produce slow songs with meaning, or edgy rock songs that have an underlying meaning to them. 

I was lucky enough to see Katy in concert twice last year, and they're probably the best concerts I've been to. I'd been saying since I first started liking her "If she goes on tour, I'M GOING!", and I didn't get the chance until 3 years later. It was like an epiphany moment, seen as I'd wanted it for so long. The concert was fun, energetic and essentially hysterical. People got to meet Katy and that meant they were meeting their idol. I have a few celebrities I 'idolise', Katy, Taylor Swift, Naya Rivera etc.. And so if I did get the chance to meet them, or just one of them, it'd probably change my life. I'm still waiting, I'm sure it'll happen one day.

Not only did the album itself make me realise my music tastes, but they're are some songs I can relate to, and this applies to her second album, Teenage Dream, too. I find that I love artists who write their own songs and who write songs that are relatable. It's a great feeling to know that those huge stars you look up to are, or have been, going through similar things you are. A sense of belonging in the teenage years makes this even more applicable. You're trying to find a place where you fit in, and through One Of The Boys and the rest of Katy's music, plus the other artists I like, I feel I've found that place. However, it all started in 2008 with One of The Boys.