Katy Perry at the 2013 Grammys | Photo by SynergyByDesign via Flickr (http://bit.ly/1APaPcF)

One week off her Super Bowl performance, Katy Perry sort of shimmied down the Grammys red carpet last night. She was without her left shark, but she graciously paused to talk with famous shorty Ryan Seacrest, who asked her about how she prepared for the halftime show. Perry told Seacrest, “I was praying and I got a word from God and he says ,’You got it and I got you.'”

Red carpet chatter usually revolves around designer names and banal awards speculations, so this statement got my attention. It’s also interesting in that it reveals some of Perry’s charismatic background. Her parents are famously preachers in the charismatic tradition, and although Perry has said she is “not Christian,” she has integrated parts of her Christian upbringing into her current spiritual practices. Most of all, to say you “got a word from God” is a very charismatic phrase–you wouldn’t hear, for instance, a good Presbyterian or Catholic claiming to have heard so casually from God. But it’s interesting to see how Perry’s growing-up experiences have stuck with her, even on the red carpet.

“I can sing here today by the grace of God,” she said to Seacrest–which, incidentally, is the name of the song she performed. “By the Grace of God” was preceded by messages from President Obama and domestic violence survivor Brooke Axtell, and the song tells the story of a woman gathering the strength to leave a broken relationship. It may not have been a specifically Christian song, but the sentiment behind these messages–that human beings are worthy of being treated with dignity in relationships–is echoed throughout the Scriptures. Take a look.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQEXXqWh_GY