Katy Perry's single "I Kissed a Girl" shook up Top 40 music when it debuted in 2008. (Yes, "I Kissed a Girl" came out almost a decade ago; stock up on prune juice accordingly.) Not only was it sonically progressive—the track was a bouncy slice of dance-pop in a sea of middle school-grind R&B—its lyrics were definitely suggestive, especially for the time. It was one of the first queer (or at least queer-adjacent) songs to permeate mainstream radio: You couldn't escape it—or the conversations it started. The track, oddly, moved the social dial forward in a very tongue-in-cheek way.
But who was Perry singing about? Which girl's "cherry Chapstick" inspired the ear-crashing chorus of "I Kissed a Girl"? It's one of pop music's biggest mysteries, and we might've just found out the answer. Are you ready?
Drumroll, please: "I Kissed a Girl" is allegedly about...Miley Cyrus—well, according to Miley Cyrus.
In a new interview with the WKTU radio station, Cyrus claims she's the girl behind Perry's first number-one hit.
“When she came out with ‘I Kissed a Girl,’ I was doing the Hannah Montana movie, and I heard her on the radio. They said, ‘Who did you write that about?’ She said me!" Cyrus said. “I heard it and I screamed, and started freaking out.”
Of course, it's highly probable Perry was just being cheeky with that answer. Cyrus was, like, 16 years old when "I Kissed a Girl" came out, so it'd be quite strange if she was the song's literal inspiration. But until Perry hits back with a rebuttal, let's roll with it!
Cyrus also revealed Perry is her oldest friend in Hollywood: “Next year, Katy Perry and I will be friends for 10 years," she said. "That’s so long for an L.A. friendship.”
Apparently, one of their first friend dates was to the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards. Cyrus' mom, Tish, was apprehensive about her daughter attending the shebang with Perry, so she did something painfully relatable.
"When she wrote ‘I Kissed a Girl,’ I was on set for the Hannah Montana movie and she asked me to go to the VMAs with her," Cyrus said. “My mom went into the limo with me and Katy Perry because she was nervous. That’s how we met, and we just stayed friends.” (I mean, who hasn't had their mom tag along with them on a date with Katy Perry? That's so regular.)
Real talk, though: Pray to the pop gods this news prompts Perry and Cyrus to record an "I Kissed a Girl" duet in honor of the song's 10-year anniversary. The world needs it.
