So, we all know Katy Perry right? She’s kind of a big deal. She did something in popular music that no one else has ever done – her first five hits from one album all went to number one. We just watched her new documentary, “Katy Perry – Part of Me” with our daughter this week. I loved it and am not ashamed that I laughed and cried and most importantly danced with my daughter and golden doodle. I read some other reviews of the film; professional movie critic Dana Stevens for Slate magazine wrote one of the crabbiest. I’m not sure what movie she saw. I guess you come to expect that professional critics are going to hate some of the stuff that you like right? Rotten tomatoes actually was 77% positive or “certified fresh” on the tomato meter, here’s a link to their page: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/katy_perry_part_of_me/ So, there you go, fair and balanced. I thought it was a fun movie about a weird girl with a dream and it showed the ups and downs of making it in the music business but sacrificing your personal life. Katy Perry’s music has drawn criticism for being obscene but I’ve got to say, she’s an adult and is writing songs about being an adult. It’s a parents’ job to manage the content that their kids consume, not the artist. Besides, Katy has a decent public reputation – no trouble with the law like many of her peers – so it’s not like she made this movie to spin her public image.

I’m not writing today to encourage you to buy or rent her new movie or download any of her songs, I’d like to comment about Katy Perry’s parents instead, Keith and Mary Hudson. You may have read about Katy’s upbringing in an evangelical Christian home with minister parents. If you watch the movie, you will get a taste of it as well. They were a little nuts – overprotective, overbearing, and sure that they were doing God’s work. Here’s the interesting part. Even with where her parents stand, they love their daughter. They thought that songs like “I kissed a girl and I liked it” and “Friday Night” were going to ruin their ministry and be a negative force on the world but guess what; they still love their daughter. Look at some other young celebrity’s parents with names like Lohan, Cyrus, Jackson and try to find love and support. The Hudson’s are parents that look at their daughter and openly disagree but they haven’t disowned her, they come to concerts. That surprised me and encouraged me to be a better parent. Our kids all have dreams right? Some of those dreams are long shots like playing in the NFL or becoming a pop star but that’s what dreams are, sometimes they are silly and improbable. How many of us had dreams like that and got no encouragement and support? Think what you will about Katy Perry and her success but here’s what I got out of it – there was a little girl that loved music who had parents that weren’t so sure but they loved her and her dreams came true.