Katy Perry Perfume Launch for Killer Queen: `I Kissed a Girl’ Singer Inspired by Gay Man’s Idealized Woman

Katy Perry’s perfume launch for her new Killer Queen fragrance was inspired by a Freddy Mercury song for his 70s band, Queen. The “I Kissed a Girl” singer got the idea from a gay man’s idea of the perfect woman.

Katy Perry says the perfume was inspired by the lyrics that described a fantasy woman Katy Perry could identify with. Freddy Mercury died of AIDS a few decades ago, and with his death came the revelation that he was gay, something he didn’t think the public needed to know. He gave his fans enough hints. He called his band Queen, for a kickoff.

Katy Perry’s perfume launch tells her fans where she is now. This is the third perfume that Katy Perry has launched since veering off from her singing roots. Katy Perry also launched the perfumes Purr and Meow. Killer Queen is a more mature scent and is launched with a sophisticated marketing campaign. It hints at the direction of her next album, the first music she’ll be releasing since divorcing Russell Brand.

In talking about the perfume, Katy Perry said "It's for someone sophisticated, who wants a little edge and can wear it all day, and still wants that sexiness."

Killer Queen is named after the 1974 Queen song that captured her attention when she was a teen and still inspires her today. She says, "Freddie Mercury painted the lyrics of this woman who I wanted to be. She seemed very powerful, and she captivated a room when she walked in. I named my company Killer Queen after those lyrics. I feel like, after all this time, it was appropriate to use that name in association with something I did. I feel like I'm falling, finally, into that woman Freddie painted."