For  months I have been trying to get the song “I Kissed a Girl” out of my head.But after watching the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday night, my hopes of brushing Katy Perry off as a trendy pop musician were shattered.If you missed it, Perry made an interesting appearance performing Madonna’s “Like a Virgin.”Maybe it was her sparkling smile, maybe it was her spunky voice or maybe it was the large sequined banana pinned to her left shoulder, but something about Perry grabbed my attention.So I went to Wikipedia for advice and found something even more interesting about Perry than her history with other women.In 2001, at the age of 16, a young, blonde and innocent Perry released a self-titled Christian album under her real name, Katy Hudson.I also found that her parents are Christian pastors, and she grew up singing in the church choir.At first I thought this to be incredibly interesting and unique, but then I thought about what I know about the pasts of some other celebrity musicians.Jessica Simpson also grew up singing in her church choir.               Evanescence began as a Christian rock band. Even Britney Spears was a Mousketeer. began to think — Are Perry and other musicians’ transformations from their childhood lives into controversial or glamorous people genuine? Or are they a means to stardom?I can’t help but wonder if Perry’s hits such as “Ur so Gay,” which she claims is about an ex-boyfriend who should have been homosexual, are actual displays of her quirky character or just simple celebrity cries for                 attention.Does Perry sing about kissing girls because she actually liked it, or does she just want people to notice her?If it were the former, then I would congratulate Perry on winning fame by expressing herself. Perry, however, confessed in an interview that she has never actually kissed a girl.So then if it is the latter, we need to take a step back and ask ourselves what we are really looking for in our music and our celebrities.Do we want art and entertainment, or do we just want a circus?If musicians like Perry have to  perform silly stunts or make themselves controversial to be heard, then maybe something is too twisted about the pop music scene.Pop singers have become such a “dime a dozen” group, some have to warp themselves to be successful.Maybe we should go back to the ‘90s when Britney Spears’ “(You Drive Me) Crazy” was cute enough to win us over.Or maybe there’s something to the way Perry has become famous.At least this way the cherry chapstick industry is making a comeback, right?—- Contact Blake Stephens at [email protected]