Katy Perry

PD: Then you started seeing Katy Perry, who’s also very famous. That makes it hard to live a private life too. I can imagine that‘s kind of intensified lately.

JM: It makes it hard to live a life where people don’t know who you are, but I haven’t had any trouble in my private life at all. The only trouble I’ve had is maybe people geo-tagging me, but that’s about it. To me it’s just a matter of people knowing where you are on a given day, and I guess assessing your style when there is no style to be assessed. I don’t really call that infringing on a personal life. That’s just where I am, when. That’s all.

PD: How has the relationship been for you?

JM: It’s been . . . I mean, I’m quite happy. I’m happy in all aspects of my life. I’m very happy in all aspects of my life.

And I also think that the way that the media plays a part in everyone’s life has changed over the last several years. People are a lot less concerned in what’s going on with other people. I think people are a lot less concerned with what’s going on with the lives of celebrities, and celebrities are a little less concerned with what’s going on with the lives of other people thinking about them all day [laughs].

AM: A person could look at it and say, if he wanted to live a private life he could move to Montana, or pick a girlfriend with a lower profile.

JM: That's right. Now you're talking about being so ruthless about your public image that you're willing to say to somebody: “I like you a lot, but because of who you are, I don't want to get to know you better."

AM: Come on, you've had a string of extremely high-profile girlfriends.

JM: I know. I don't feel like I'm in a celebrity relationship. For the first time in my life I don't feel like I'm in a celebrity relationship. I really don't. I'm not in a high profile — I know it's high profile. It's hard to explain.

AM: It doesn't feel like that to you?

JM: Doesn't feel that way to me. And great! I'm glad. But I know what you're saying. I'm not denying it. I'm saying that for me it feels like something that's very human.

AM: Do you see yourself getting married?

JM: Of course. I mean, I'm still the kid from Connecticut. That's what you do.

I was just getting to know a girl. And I started reconsidering just how difficult everything was going to be, right as [the doctor] was putting the needle through my neck. Cause I was still getting to know this girl, and I wasn't going to be able to talk to her. And she was more incredible than I ever thought. Because she would order for me. I would whisper in her ear and she would order for me with the waiter. Or I would whisper and she would tell people, "it's nice to meet you, he says." I did a lot of whispering. When I was in Montana and I wasn't speaking, with really bad cell phone service—really bad internet service out there, I mean. Cell phone isn't great either, but the internet's not great for iChat. Lot of dropped video frames. She was so patient as to continue to get to know me and love me while we'd be on speakerphone and look at intermittent photos of each other coming through this really choked satellite internet. This is a long time coming for the both of us, and I want to dedicate this next song to my Katy, who is my face to call home. [Plays “Face to Call Home”]

JM: Well, I’m not upset when they are interested anymore. I just think it would be hypocritical to record a song with Katy and then say I don’t want to talk about it. So, it’s half the song and half, knowingly at this point in my life, entering into a relationship with somebody who is extremely well-known. There is a little bit of, “if you can’t stand the heat—”

Also, it’s a different time in my life. I believe the most I’ve ever said was that I was very happy and that it was a very human relationship. I’ve actually gone a lot more personal than that on some other things. [Laughter] I think maybe what you’re responding to is [...].

RY: Just like you taking a picture of Katy and posting it on Tumblr. I don’t think you would’ve done that 10 years ago with the person you were dating. 

JM: Yeah, I think I’m comfortable with my life. I’ll say it again—it’s a very humanistic relationship. I know that there are a lot of other things in play, and I understand it, and I even understand it inside of my relationship. 

It’s like what we say about each other. “He was great before I met him. She was great before I met her.”

I was well aware of who she was before we started going out [Laughter]. It’s a very laid back, human thing. The great things are like your great things, and the not-so-great things are like your not-so-great things. But none of the great or negative things have anything to do with media, press, or crowds. I think we’re kind of old pros now, you know? 

We can still have a day to ourselves and feel very human about it, even if we’re going through a garage in a hotel and walking past bags of garbage to get to our room. I think we have kind of a bubble around us of humanity that makes it a little bit different.

And so I had "Still Feel Like Your Man," and I looked at the title and I went: this is almost like, found in the couch cushions of R&B history. You find that nobody had yet put together "Still Feel Like Your Man". It was very provocative and evocative.

CR: When you wrote it, were you thinking of someone?

JM: Sure, yes, I mean, I think of the person that I left a relationship with, you know. I think of the last person that I parted ways with, you know. I process that very deeply. I get to process that with music, and I was in a relationship that— you know, I don't mean to play coy about not using proper nouns. I like to look out for other people's mornings when they open up the computer. It's too easy to sort of spawn these other stories and then it creeps into other people's minds and makes bad—you know what I'm saying? It reverberates, you know. I have to watch disingenuousness, right? Like, I'm on the alert for disingenuousness because I—

CR: And on the search for authenticity.

JM: Right, I can't play dumb, right?

CR: Right.

JM: But I also don't want to sort of rattle somebody's cage on a morning when somebody picks up the story because they love proper nouns, right? However, I can't sit here and say I have not done a duet with Katy Perry. I can't—I won't let myself sit here.

But I did meet President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama when I went to the White House. But I was dating Ms. Katy Perry at the time. And the reason I say this—

AC: Were you guest of Katy Perry at that White House visit?

JM: I was a plus one for Katy Perry.

AC: So when she performed at the Super Bowl and you were her date, you loved that?!

JM: That's why a relationship like that can work. Because I know where my bread is buttered. It's not like I was sitting there going like, I wish that they pick me for the Super Bowl. I'm never getting picked for the Super Bowl! I do a different thing.

I very much enjoyed the pop in, kiss during makeup, okay we're going upstairs, be great. I'm very good at being that.