Bonnie McKee

Teenage Dream' was the hardest breakup for me.

One thing I'd tell an up-and-coming singer is to never rely on other people for anything. The more self-sufficient you can be, the better off you'll be.

There's a lot of little 'Bonnie-isms' in 'Teenage Dream' that I was hoping to keep for myself.

In my mind, I imagined L.A. to be skyscrapers on the beach. Of course, that's not what it actually looks like. And growing up watching 'Beverly Hills 90210' and 'Melrose Place,' I always had an obsession with L.A. and California in general.

I've always had a teenage thread running through my music.

I've always had a teenage thread running through my music. On my first album, I had a song called 'Confessions of a Teenage Girl.' It's about using your feminine wealth to get what you want.

When my parents were like, 'We're going to the Northwest,' I thought, 'You've gotta be kidding me.' I was so depressed. The cold weather really did not agree with me. When I moved back down to L.A. at 16, I felt like it was home - it was where I belonged.

I was writing songs as a kid about leprechauns and Catwoman and teapots - whatever it is that little girls wanna sing about. The first song I wrote was called 'Kitten.'

Teenage Dream' was the most difficult song I've ever been a part of. We wrote five different versions of it. We couldn't get the lyrics right. Max Martin and Dr. Luke wrote most of the melody, and then Katy Perry and I were responsible for getting the lyrics right.

I think what it means to be an 'American Girl,' and what I wrote the song about, is our freedoms. The idea that we as Americans can be what we want to be and say what we want to say and that we take it for granted.

I'm visually stimulated, so I watch TV, movies, even Pinterest. A song could come from something as simple as being words splashed across a billboard or changing everyday turns of phrases.

I'm kinda famous for my barbecues - I'm always hosting parties.