Pop star Katy Perry opens up on motherhood, what she’ll wear in space & how pastor parents hated ‘disgusting’ first hit

SHE is the pop star known for her controversial songs and high-profile romances with Hollywood heartthrobs including fiancé Orlando Bloom.

But says she finally found her soulmate when she first looked into the eyes of her daughter, .

The intrepid singer, who tomorrow will go into space on an all-woman rocket flight, says she and her ­little girl, now four, are so alike — and that one amusing quirk they share is their love of a good belching contest.

In fact, Katy revealed they can spend up to half an hour trying to “out-burp”; one another on command.

Katy, 40, said: “I was with my daughter last night and she knows how to burp on command and so do I. She is totally my child. And for 30 minutes in bed she would not stop burping.

“We were laughing our butts off and burped in each other’s faces for 30 minutes. Then I said, ‘Stop ­burping and go to bed’.”;

Promoting her new global show, , which kicks off this month and comes to the UK in October, Katy said there is nothing quite like the bond between mother and child.

She explained: “Some people have pets and are like, ‘This is my soulmate’. So why limit it to one partner or human?

“Obviously, is my partner and I love him so much, but there is definitely something that happens — the mother-child connection.

“You connected them with your cells, they are literally half of your cells or maybe more, I don’t know.

“But I feel so happy and whole. You know when you fall in love with someone for the very first time and you are in that phase of sleeping under their nose breath and you are like, ‘I want this so much’. That never ends with a child.”;

‘Pushed over the edge’

Katy is now facing up to the gut-wrenching moment she will have to wave goodbye to Daisy as she hits the road for her world tour, which begins in on April 23.

The gruelling, 84-concert schedule is her fifth global trek but marks the first time she has taken an album on the road in eight years.

It will also provide a much-anticipated chance to reconnect with her fanbase after she took a career break to focus on being a mum.

But she will make history when she becomes part of the all-women crew to go up to space in tycoon Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket.

The singer will join the billionaire’s fiancée Lauren Sanchez and four others in the first all-woman space flight since Russian astronaut Valentina Tereshkova’s solo trip in 1963.

Katy said her first question after being asked to join the flight was: “What am I going to wear?”; The answer is a blue flight suit.

She has dreamed of going into space for two decades and has put together a playlist for the flight, declaring: “Space is going to finally be glam”;.

Katy said she wants to inspire the next generation to have “no limitations”;.

She remains one of the most recognisable pop stars of her generation, having made a startling explosion on to the music scene with 2008 chart-topper I Kissed A Girl.

The provocative lyrics about women experimenting with bisexuality, which included the memorable line “and I liked it”;, caused an immediate rift with her Christian pastor parents, Keith and Mary Hudson.

Mary said at the time: “I hate the song. It clearly promotes homosexuality and its message is shameful and disgusting.

“Katy knows how I feel. We are a very outspoken family and she knows how disappointed her father and I are. I can’t even listen to that song. The first time I heard it, I was in total shock.”;

Her parents, who live in ­, like Katy and her actor boyfriend Orlando, 48, later ­mellowed their tone.

They even accepted her short-lived 2010 marriage to British comic which ended in 2012.

Brand has now been charged with a .

Former TV talent show judge Katy has yet to comment on his alleged , but she did open up about her mum and dad’s changing views on her music.

She said: “Parents sometimes agree to disagree when you gather the family for Sunday night dinner. But they are used to a bit of the shock and awe these days now.

“It’s been over 17 years since I started my career with I Kissed A Girl, and I think that pushed them over the edge a bit at first.

“But it’s going to be super-fun, this show, and it starts at 8.30pm because I have a daughter and I totally understand it’s hard to get the kids back to bed after you’ve given them some sugar.”;

Katy released her first record, a gospel track, under her birth name Katy Hudson aged 16.

When that flopped, she decided to risk the wrath of her parents by ­taking on her mum’s maiden name and trying her hand at pop music.

But she was 23 when she finally got her big break.

I hate the song. It clearly promotes homosexuality and its message is shameful and disgusting

Katy's mum Mary on chart-topper I Kissed A Girl

She said: “Thank God I didn’t get it any earlier because rejection is sometimes God’s protection, especially when you’re young.”;

Her other great love was singer John Mayer, 47, who she dated on and off from 2012 to 2015.

Having fallen for actor Orlando in 2016, Katy says her gigs are much more family- friendly now.

Asked what advice she would give to concert-goers, she said: “Wear sensible shoes, stay hydrated and bring your mum, your grandma and your best friends.

“Every time I create a tour, it’s a whole different world — and especially this one. This one is going to be a ­little bit sci-fi. It’s based a little bit on a video game and the main ­message is how to find love.”;

She is the love of my life. I am so appreciative of every single day

Katy Perry on daughter Daisy

Katy added: “The prep for this has been half of a year.

“It is pretty ­physically gruelling, but my stage is so incredibly designed that I am very close to the audience and I’ll also be flying around. And there’s no bad seat in the house because I am flying around, so you might get a visit from me.

“I’m giving it 100 per cent no matter where I am going.

“I am going all over the world. I am going to so many different places and I will be giving it the same energy wherever I go.

“I am going to be touring until the end of the year, most definitely, and there is such an interesting balance being a mum and going on this world tour — my first time doing that.

“So I am going to figure that out and my life is a movie so I’m in it. I’m the star of my own movie right now.”;

‘My life is a movie’

Daisy is a chip off the old block in more ways than one, as she is more interested in appearing on stage than going to nursery.

Katy said: “Before she starts kindergarten, she will be joining me for some dates and she loves it. She wants to go on stage and I’m like, ‘No, baby’.”;

Katy is in no doubt her ­daughter will be the hardest person to leave behind when she reunites with her fans.

She said: “She is the love of my life. I’m so appreciative of every single day. I’ve been making a record but raising a human and focusing on that.

“I feel her emotional foundation is pretty set, so I can go out into the world and do my thing again. I’m probably not going to get it right. I’m going to be like every ­parent that just tries. Even if I only have a couple of hours a day with her, I make sure they are super-present ones.”;

• Katy was talking to the 104.3 radio show in America, Chicago’s WGN ­Morning News and Billboard News.