Katy Perry may be topping the bill of performers at tonight’s (22 February) Brit Awards, but she’s revealed how her first time at the show was a particularly traumatic experience.
The singer told Nick Grimshaw how she ended up laying down in the toilets and having Natalie Imbruglia comfort her, after coming down with a severe bout of flu.
Recalling her first appearance at the 2009 ceremony, where she picked up the award for Best International Female, she said on the Radio 1 Breakfast Show: “The first time I went to the Brits I had a flu of maybe 102, and I was so sick and I walked the carpet and they were like ‘You can’t go home’ as they knew I was gonna win, and I was like, ‘Why am I here? I’m literally dying’.
“I went to the girls’ bathroom and went under a credenza and Natalie Imbruglia pulled up the curtain and was like, ‘Are you alright babe?’ and I was shivering with cold sweats and was like, ‘I’m supposed to be here at the Brits, I think I’m getting an award.’”
She continued: “I had to stay and get the award and I just went straight to bed. It was tragic, it was my only connection with the Brits.”
Katy will be performing her latest single ‘Chained To The Rhythm’ at tonight’s ceremony, but during the interview, she admitted she is feeling anxious about taking to the stage.
“TV performances are my Achilles heel, because obviously I see my peers who I admire sitting in the audience, and I’m like ‘I’ll never be Beyoncé, I’m just less than Beyoncé!’,” she said.
“I’m me in my own way and I love being me, but shoot, Beyoncé is so much better than everyone else, so it’s hard performing sometimes.”
Katy’s most recent appearance at the Brits was in 2014, when she performed her single ‘Dark Horse’.
The Brit Awards will be broadcast live from 7.30pm on ITV.