Greg Wells Defends Katy Perry’s Super Bowl Show, Confirms She Writes All Her Own Songs

Katy Perry‘s halftime show at Super Bowl XLIX on February 1 drew a record-breaking TV audience, spawned endless memes and generally received excellent reviews. However, that didn’t stop one critic questioning the hitmaker’s selection, performance chops and ability to write a song on her own. Long-time collaborator/super-producer Greg Wells couldn’t hold his tongue (control his fingers?) and wrote a passionate response defending the diva.

“Having worked closely with her for over ten years on all of her albums, I can attest that Katy Perry writes all of her own songs,” the man behind “Waking Up In Vegas” and “Not Like The Movies” tweeted. “She’s performing our song ‘By The Grace Of God’ this Sunday night on the Grammys, a confessional song about hitting bottom and feeling suicidal after your husband divorces you with a single text.”

“She’s smart enough to collaborate with other great writers, but anyone who works with her can tell you Katy drives the ship,” he continued. “She writes the melodies, the lyrics, has the song concept months before writing it, tells the producers what the tracks should sound like, what they shouldn’t sound like, and is the real deal.”

The producer then defended Katy’s upbeat, tongue-in-cheek set: “You also don’t seem to quantify a distinction between art and entertainment. Katy isn’t trying to be Leonard Cohen on a major network sports show featuring 300 pound sweaty men slamming into each other.” In addition to performing at the Grammys on Sunday night (February 8), the 30-year-old is nominated for two awards including Best Pop Album for chart-topping third LP Prism.

Greg’s tweet:

My response to @lefsetz's sloppy and inaccurate critique of Katy's Super Bowl show: Having worked closely … //t.co/FUjTkNVEpH

— Greg Wells (@greg_wells) February 5, 2015

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