Though Jill Sobule’s “I Kissed a Girl” remains superior to Katy Perry’s–just like Hole’s “Malibu” remains superior to Miley’s–there can be no denying that the 2008 single of the same name that launched her into the mainstream was instrumental to starting a conversation among the masses less in touch with their “freak flag.” Since, you know, lesbianism is so freaky. Talking about “the taste of her cherry chapstick,” Perry keeps her descriptions as G-rated as Hannah Montana.
And, speaking of, it was while filming the movie for said show that Cyrus first heard “I Kissed A Girl.” Which means, of course, that Katy Perry is something of a cradle robber considering she was twenty-three to Miley’s fifteen at the time. Moreover, upon the song’s introduction into the world, Cyrus was a long way from the haircut transformation, the declaration of sexual independence and commitment to internet cat videos. Thus, there was something more than just a little scandalous about engaging in a kiss with the woman Cyrus now calls her oldest friend in Hollywood (they’ve known each other for ten years).
Though Miley is about to marry Liam Hemsworth, her frequent declaration of being pansexual seems to still hold water with this new piece of intelligence. The fact that both women come from a religious background also leads one to believe that long-term suppression contributed to each of them letting it all hang out later on in life. Playing up that whole forbidden element that all former Christian girls like to, Perry sings, “It’s not what good girls do/Not how they should behave.” And, of all people, Cyrus could certainly identify with that, especially at the time of their little “indiscretion.” This is possibly why Katy Perry went the extra mile in masking who the girl’s true identity could be by adding in the lyric, “No, I don’t even know you’re name, it doesn’t matter/You’re my experimental game.”
Luckily for Perry, still struggling to find fame after re-branding from her weird Alanis meets Christian rock phase, Cyrus was a willing experimenter. Otherwise, Perry might never have cracked the Top 40. For some, this means we should be wringing Cyrus’ neck rather than thanking her. The same double-edged sword goes for Perry’s blatant ripoff of the Cyrus haircut from her “Wrecking Ball” era in 2013, an imitation which spawned the Britney Spears shade that launched a thousand verbal artillery firings from the Britney Army.
