No. 1 song sparks outrage â€“ from singer's own parents

She may have the hit of the summer ... she may have been on the Billboard Hot 100 for 14 weeks and at the top for seven ... she may have just hit the top of the pop music chart in the United Kingdom, but Katy Perry's Christian parents are anything but proud of their daughter's success for the controversial "I Kissed a Girl."

Perry, 23, poses provocatively in lingerie, surrounded by writhing models, in the music-video version of the hit, written by '90s popstar Cathy Dennis, as she sings "I kissed a girl and I liked it / The taste of her cherry chapstick."

"Katy knows how I feel," her mother, Mary Hudson, told the London Daily Mail. "We are a very outspoken family and she knows how disappointed her father and I are. I can't even listen to that song. The first time I heard it I was in total shock. When it comes on the radio I bow my head and pray.

"I hate the song. It clearly promotes homosexuality and its message is shameful and disgusting."

The Hudsons, both Christian ministers, say fame has changed their daughter, whose first album in 2001 featured only Christian songs.

"Katy was raised in a very strict Christian household," said Hudson. "She started performing in church at nine. She was a special child, she loved to sing and had an angelic voice. That is why this is all so disappointing and sad.
"I think she acts and says certain things to be provocative and to shock."

Perry's not the only one who has been provoked by the lyrics, which describes a girl who kisses another woman while drunk on a night out. Some members of the gay community have called them demeaning, reported the London Telegraph.

But songwriter Dennis disagrees.

"It feels to me like a real song of the moment, here and now in the summer of 2008. It's a bit controversial and makes people think," she said.

"It's always a bit of a shock to hear that you have a No. 1 record but I always felt that the blend of the song and the artist was so strong that we stood a good chance of having a hit."

Hit or no hit, Hudson blames the music industry for the changes in her daughter.

"Katy is not a homosexual but I fear she has been led astray by the Hollywood crowd," said Hudson. "Katy was spotted by a music producer who invited her to L.A. That's when she started to change.

"I was worried she'd start doing drugs and drinking alcohol. I still am. I spoke to her only recently. She said, 'Oh Mom, I'm not going to turn into Amy Winehouse.'"

Perry said she's not looking back, now that she's found a formula for success.

"I love pop music. I've been around kids that hate selling records and enjoy being the starving artist," she told the UK's DigitalSpy. "But I want to play stadiums. I want to sell records. I want to be a pop girl!"

Perry insisted she has not lost her faith.

"I'm not ashamed of it," she said. "Everyone's looking for me to be, 'Well, I'm so ashamed of it and that's why I kissed a girl!' No way! I still have 'Jesus' tattooed on my wrist. And I still have faith and a foundation of my own."

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