Katy Perry and Simple Plan at Breakfast in Barbados 2009
Another morning-the next day, another simple breakfast; right? Wrong!
Especially when one day it is breakfast with Kelly Clarkson and the next day it is the band Simple Plan and Katy Perry at the table! Where else could this happen but at CHUM FM’s Breakfast in Barbados morning radio show.
Breakfast in Barbados 2009 Photos
For regular announcers, the previous day’s interview with Kelly Clarkson would be hard to match – but somehow the wonder team of Roger, Darren and Marilyn pulled it off yet again.
As the announcers went through their paces with their morning competitions, entertainment news and traffic report, they also interviewed another couple that got engaged – Justin Longpre and Sabrina Losanna, who live about 5 houses down the road from each other back in Canada!
Justin shared with the listeners his dramatic proposal which he was planning for the last 8 months. The couple was on the beach and while Sabrina was tanning he decided to “sprint down the beach” and started carving “marry me?” in the sand.
He then “went into the jungle”, what Bajans usually call “the bush”, and picked some purple flowers to line the words in the sand. He lured Sabrina for a walk by telling her to “come see the dolphins” but as they moved closer to the spot, he noticed another couple sitting nearby so he “sprinted ahead to ask them to move” so that there could be some privacy and a unique romantic ambience.
When Sabrina finally realized what was happening as he went down on knee, she was totally surprised and within seconds her tears matched the sea behind them.
When Simple Plan arrived, they were easy going and chatting with everyone, despite the early start to the morning. Chuck Comeau, the drummer, “was still in bed” according to Pierre Bouvier, lead singer, who had support from Jeff Stinco, Sébastien Lefebvre and David Desrosiers as they shared some stories about their life in the band.
They were quite eager to tell us about their surprise at the enthusiastic fan base they have in Brazil. The screams and the attention they receive there is quite unlike anywhere else in the world. While sitting on the tour bus stuck in traffic, fans have been known to crowd the bus and start to rock it, with one persistent fan climbing into the tour bus through the back making them believe there was “a zombie” on tour with them!
The Juno Award winners have been privileged to travel to countries like Australia, Germany and Japan promoting their platinum selling albums but they do not appear overwhelmed by their success. Two of the members of the band own property in Barbados and they use it as an escape whenever they can. Their comfort with the local language and culture showed that they have been here before, referring to “Bajans” and the local Friday night fish fry in Oistins.
The band then performed an acoustic version of “No Love” with Bouvier playing the tambourine in the absence of Comeau on drums. It was a beautiful and authentic performance by the band who were photographed, signed autographs and chatted warmly with their fans who surrounded them after.
But the day was not over after Simple Plan’s departure, as Katy Perry literally bounced into the room! She was a ball of energy and attributed this to the fact that she felt like she was on a constant vacation. She was previously photographed on the front page of a local newspaper with home town girl Rihanna, so everyone was hoping that “RiRi” would make an appearance. If she did, she was well hidden and the morning belonged to Katy as she told the listeners about her rise to fame and her obsession with Cherry Chap Stick!
Katy insisted that her “success was not overnight” and she toiled for about five years to make this a reality. She had to sit through agonizing family dinners where she tried to convince her family that “the album was launching this year”, while asking them to loan her some money. At one point her parents even suggested that she perhaps consider another path (of employment).
Posed the question “Since becoming famous, and obviously a lot wealthier, what is the first thing you bought that you always had your eye on?” Katy surprisingly replied, “Well I haven’t bought it yet, but I would like to buy a house – have my own home.”
Much to the delight of the Bajans there, she said she would “consider buying a home on the island and was already asking around about prices”. In the meantime, she pays for her parents vacations and bought a car for her brother and generally treats her friends and family.
She spoke about the joy of seeing the beautiful island of Barbados through the eyes of someone from here, and that Rihanna had been taking her out to lovely restaurants and clubs. Apart from their musical success, both artistes are known for their edgy fashion and Katy revealed that she has to tell Rihanna to “Get off!” as she is “always wants to take my stuff”.
As a songwriter, she is always gathering ideas for songs – so even though she is taking some time to relax before the show, she walks with a small recorder in her purse and is usually gathering information from headlines she sees in the newspapers, or a conversation she has overheard, a process which she refers to as “gathering seeds” for upcoming songs.
Katy dished out advice to upcoming artistes by sharing “success in the business is a mixture of talent meets preparation meets opportunity – and, of course a lot of hard work”.
Katy is not only popular with the fans but also the other artistes and she has written some songs for Kelly Clarkson’s latest album.
She stated that she is a “big fan of Kelly” and was honoured to have been affiliated to Kelly’s project and it was evident that she has a great respect for both Rihanna and Kelly. Girl Power is very much here!
Although breakfast was over, the audience had now “met” over the last two days Kelly Clarkson, Simple Plan and Katy Perry and there was now great anticipation for the upcoming show.
