Katy Perry once lamented that "America doesn't have a lot of traditions" compared to Britain, so it's fitting that the pop star has created a few of her own. Since 2009, she has made a habit of commemorating the end of tours or residencies with new tattoos. That means Perry recently needed fresh ink in preparation for the end of her Play residency, which begins in Las Vegas in December 2021.
"8 more #PLAY shows to go, now tour tattoo time!!!" she wrote on Instagram Stories, tagging tattoo artist Liz Kim (@lizlizkimkim). The text overlays a video of King inking body art on the inside of Perry's left ring finger. "Screaming, crying, vomiting," Kim wrote on her own Story while sharing the "When I'm Gone" singer's post. Meanwhile, her fellow artist Shannon Elliott (@paingardens) captured the proceedings from another angle, writing that Kim "Killed her mother with her own hands after the show last night!!"
Perry wasn't the only one getting the ink. Elliott shared a photo of the same mushroom design they created for different crew members, writing, "Over 50 mushroom designs for @katypeerry and her crew." In another story, the artist explained Perry's " Get a special tattoo to commemorate each tour or residency.”
The singer's finger tattoo is the fifth to celebrate a specific tour or residency. In 2009, she got her first cartoon strawberry to commemorate her first headlining tour, the Hello Katy Tour. Next up were Cartoon Mints for the 2012 California Dreams Tour, Cartoon Prism for the 2015 Prism World Tour, and Saturn Tattoo for the 2018 Witness Tour.
On August 18, 2018, Perry revealed the Saturn tattoo in her Instagram post, writing: "#4 tattoo tradition from gentle precisionist @_dr_woo_ ends the touring tattoo tradition." "The middle The planet is Saturn because this journey taught me a lot. There were a few tears along the way, but I'm happy to report a true sense of resilience at the end. I shared this badge with 45 other fellow travelers, in addition to 100 more. It’s been an incredible year with so many beautiful and kind people and so many gracious participants.”
Perry's tattoo collection dates back to before her first headlining tour. When she was 18, she chose to have "Jesus" tattooed on her left wrist. Now not yet 39 years old, she already has at least a dozen tattoos, including a lotus flower, a Hello Kitty face, and "XLIX" written to commemorate her Super Bowl halftime show. More shows are likely to come, especially considering Perry is considering moving beyond her residency's Nov. 4 end date and working on new music, which could lead to another tour.
