P.O.D. Debate Meaning of the Term “Backup Singer” on Behalf of Katy Perry

Earlier this week, it came to our attention that in 2006, before “I Kissed a Girl” made her the megastar she is today, Katy Perry provided some vocals for a P.O.D. song called “Goodbye for Now.” The story went viral, which we weren’t expecting, but hey, we’ll take it.

But then this happened:

I honestly wasn’t aware that “backup singer” was an offensive/derogatory term, since it describes that person’s exact job in the band, the same way the words “guitarist” and “drummer” do. I guess their point is that Ms. Perry was a “guest vocalist,” not a “backup singer.” But for the record, there’s a reason I referred to her as a “backup singer,” and that reason is, she was standing in the back, singing:

My apologies to P.O.D. and Ms. Perry for my use of a politically incorrect term. I’ve just enrolled in sensitivity training lest I ever again offend the band that made the second-most popular nu-metal song to involve people yelling “BOOM!” during the chorus.

[via The PRP]