Katy Perry Addresses Viral Trend About Her Early Singing Style

If you've been a fan of Katy Perry long enough you probably know she used to lean more indie pop-rock than the glossy dance-pop she's known for today on albums such as Smile and 143.

Her breakout 2008 album One of the Boys featured tinges of Alanis Morissette-esque vocal storytelling and dramatic indie rock flair, none so more evident than on her song "Thinking of You."

The tear-jerking ballad about regretting letting an ex go was released as the album's third single, and remains a favorite among longtime fans today, thanks in part to a memorable and cinematic music video, but also due to Perry's earnest, heartbreaking vocal performance.

Seventeen years later, the song has found a surprising resurgence on TikTok, where fans have been playfully poking fun at Perry's vocal style at the time, while still appreciating the late 2000s love ballad for the pop masterpiece it is.

In particular, the second verse lyric, "You're like an Indian summer in the middle of winter / Like a hard candy with a surprise center" has gone viral on the video-sharing app, with people lip-syncing along to Perry's raw inflection and slightly dramatic, word-chewing enunciation.

It's a light-hearted viral trend overall, but Perry herself doesn't appear to agree with the general sentiment.

During the May 7 stop on her Lifetimes Tour, the pop star reacted to the trend by briefly performing the ballad on her guitar, before suddenly stopping and exclaiming, "I don't sing like that!"

Hilariously, though, her performance did, indeed, sound exactly like the studio version of the song. (Long story short, she does sing like that.)

In the comments sections of videos of the tour moment shared on TikTok, fans pointed out that Perry should just embrace the trend and lean into it, especially during a moment in her career where she facing a lot of criticism—for her tour choreography and costumes, as well as for her controversial trip to space.

"Why would she not lean into it ... It’s like the one positive trend she has going right now (and she doesn’t sound bad)," someone commented on TikTok.

"Beefing with us about how SHE sang her song," one person joked.

"I swear she dodges every opportunity thrown at her to redeem herself. The song is trending right now… Why not just have a nice moment with your audience?" another user weighed in.

"That is exactly how the song sounds! You did sing like that," someone else wrote.

Now if only we can convince Katy Perry to give us some more nostalgic pop-rock bangers...