Gwen Stefani
Photo: Mark Squires

The last time someone tried to write lyrics for Gwen Stefani, she fled from the studio, crying. But when the same thing happened with a new collaborator during sessions for her new LP, The Sweet Escape, she didn't freak out. She didn't run away. This time she smiled, because she got exactly what she wanted.

The night before Stefani went in the studio with Keane keyboardist Tim Rice-Oxley, she called him to go over a few ideas. "I wanted a ballad. I wanted to write 'Eyes Without a Face' or 'Killing Me Softly' or 'Time After Time,' and he was like, 'OK, Cyndi Lauper, got it,' like he was taking my order," she said. The next day, he played her "Early Winter" on the piano, "and it was the song. It was so beautiful and addictive," she said. "I didn't really attack it because it was kind of done, lyrics and everything."

Stefani let the song sit with her for a bit, then went back in, rewrote some of it and then recorded it. "It's just like one of the most beautiful songs ever. I love it," she said of the track, which is bound to cause speculation about the state of the Gwen-Gavin union, with its poignant lyrics about a couple recognizing the beginning of the end. Just how close it is to home we may never know, because the singer is (perhaps wisely) giving all the credit to her collaborator: "He had never written outside of Keane before, but he's like Clark Kent-subtle, but Superman-talented. I'm lucky I was his first, because I'm sure he's going to go write with lots of girls after me."

And further proof that Stefani is finally letting go of her compulsion to write every last lyric on her solo albums, she's capping The Sweet Escape with the Linda Perry-penned "Wonderful Life," the track that nearly gave the singer a breakdown during her Love, Angel, Music, Baby sessions (see "Gwen Stefani: Scared Solo").

Ditched because she wanted L.A.M.B. to be more uplifting and fun, "not so deep," Stefani felt it was a tragedy that the song had been sitting on her computer all this time. "Poor little song," she said. "I had to pick between that and 'Bubble Pop Electric' for the last record, and I was sitting in the kitchen with my manager like, 'Which one?' Which one?' I ended up saving 'Wonderful Life,' and that's probably the reason why I did this whole record."

But none of The Sweet Escape would have broken free from Stefani's computer had she not had so many leftovers from her L.A.M.B. sessions — even before she started, she was halfway done (see "Gwen Stefani's New LP, The Sweet Escape, Set For December"). Still, she wanted to update the tracks she'd worked on before, and that meant more studio time. Her mixed feelings about recording again are all over the new tracks, just as her hesitation to go solo in the first place was all over Love, Angel, Music, Baby. On "Orange County Girl," she sings, "Don't know what I'm doing back in the studio ... If you gimme a clap, I'm gonna give an encore." And then, on "Yummy," she raps, "Encore/ Sophmore/ Only one solo, I swore."

Though the standout tracks "Early Winter" and "Wonderful Life" are rock/pop ballads, The Sweet Escape wanders all over the musical map, and that's intentional: How could it truly be an escape otherwise? Hip-hop fans will likely gravitate towards the "disco Tetris" beat Pharrell gives her for "Yummy," or the Swizz Beatz drum line on "Now That You Got It," but No Doubt purists will be happy that Tony Kanal is getting his Prince on for "Fluorescent," and perhaps surprised that Akon came up with a playful melody for the title track.

"That was a totally unexpected track that I would never imagine I would have on this record," Stefani said. "People kept saying you have to work with this guy Akon, and I didn't know who he was. I was in my pregnancy bubble, and you don't really know what's going on in the outside world. I think I even canceled a session with him. The head of my label called me and he was like, 'You can cancel everything else in your life, but don't cancel this session.' I thought I was going in for this generic hip-hop, but it was really fresh and fun."

Besides impacting the pace of her recording schedule, the presence of Gwen's baby, Kingston, is palpable on The Sweet Escape — and not just because he can be heard crying on "Yummy." The circus of "Don't Get It Twisted" is about realizing she's pregnant in the first place — a sort of corollary to No Doubt's "Simple Kind of Life," in which she wished for a birth-control mistake. "My head is a block/ Collecting all the symptoms, about to call the doc. ... Tick tock, I guess I'm late again/ You know it's going to come at any point." Later, on "Yummy," she boasts, "I've been up making babies like a chef making donuts and pastries."

"I want him to grow up and know how important he is," Stefani said. "He is the most delicious thing. He's growing up so quickly. Everyone warned me it goes so fast, and I don't want to miss any of that. I didn't have the luxury I did before of going into the studio at any hour. So making the album this time, it was really condensed and focused. He's been in every studio, on the jet, on the helicopter, everywhere. He's such a chill guy and he likes to hang out. He's very easy."

Kingston is also coming along on Gwen's tour, the North American leg of which kicks off in April with tickets on sale in February. Tour dates for Central America, South America, Australia, Asia, and Europe have not yet been announced.

Gwen Stefani tour dates, according to her Web site:

» April 21 - Phoenix, AZ @ Cricket Pavilion
» April 22 - Chula Vista, CA @ Coors Amphitheatre
» April 24 - Fresno, CA @ Save Mart Center
» April 25 - Bakersfield, CA @ Rabobank Arena
» April 28 - Las Vegas, NV @ MGM Grand Garden Arena
» April 30 - West Valley City, UT @ "E" Center
» May 2 - Denver, CO @ Pepsi Center
» May 3 - Albuquerque, NM @ Journal Pavilion
» May 5 - Dallas, TX @ Smirnoff Music Centre
» May 6 - Woodlands, TX @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
» May 8 - Tampa, FL @ Ford Amphitheatre
» May 9 - West Palm Beach, FL @ Sound Advice Amphitheatre
» May 11 - Atlanta, GA @ HiFi Buys Amphitheatre
» May 12 - Charlotte, NC @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
» May 14 - Raleigh, NC @ Alltel Pavilion at Walnut Creek
» May 15 - Virginia Beach, VA @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
» May 17 - Washington DC @ Nissan Pavilion
» May 18 - Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Center
» May 20 - Wantagh, NY @ Nikon at Jones Beach Theatre
» May 21 - Uncasville, CT @ Mohegan Sun Arena
» May 23 - Boston, MA @ Tweeter Center
» May 24 - Philadelphia, PA @ Tweeter Center at the Waterfront
» May 26 - Atlantic City, NJ @ Borgata Hotel and Casino
» May 27 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Post-Gazette Pavilion at Star Lake
» May 29 - Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre
» May 30 - Toronto, ON @ Air Canada Centre
» June 1 - Detroit, MI @ Palace of Auburn Hills
» June 2 - Noblesville, IN @ Verizon Wireless Music Center
» June 4 - Omaha, NE @ Qwest Center Omaha
» June 5 - St. Paul, MN @ Xcel Energy Center
» June 7 - Milwaukee, WI @ Bradley Center
» June 8 - Tinley Park, IL @ First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
» June 10 - Winnipeg, MB @ MTS Centre
» June 12 - Edmonton, AB @ Rexall Place
» June 13 - Calgary, AB @ Pengrowth Saddledome
» June 15 - Vancouver, BC @ General Motors Place
» June 16 - Auburn, WA @ White River Amphitheatre
» June 18 - Marysville, CA @ Sleep Train Amphitheatre
» June 19 - Mountain View, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre
» June 22 - Irvine, CA @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre

• MTV News RAW: Gwen Stefani

• Gwen Stefani
• Cyndi Lauper
• Akon
• Linda Perry

Alicia Keys
Photo: Gregg Delman

Alicia Keys says she hopes to follow in the footsteps of legendary entertainers like Frank Sinatra and Barbra Streisand, who were lauded for both their acting and music.

For now, though, Keys' game plan is to tackle one at a time, so she didn't do any music for her first film, "Smokin' Aces," with Ben Affleck. But how about making some music for her second feature, "The Nanny Diaries," which stars Scarlett Johansson?

"Probably not," Keys said Tuesday on the movie's Brooklyn set. "You never know, but even with the other movie, it wasn't about doing the music for the movie. I think later on I'll try getting into acting as well as doing the entire soundtrack. But right now I want to focus directly on the acting."

Still, music isn't entirely on hold. She's already mapping out her next LP.

"I'm in the studio now," she said. "I'm actually taking a different approach for this album. I'm taking the approach of writing everything first, kind of old-school style. Before cats stepped in the studio, the song was written, the music was done — that kind of thing. The idea of it was already developed. I want to do that.

"I want to write a lot, sit at the piano a lot and get all these things out that I'm going through and experienced. I just got back from Africa. I've been seeing things in my life that changed my whole perspective on everything."

Specifically, Keys said, she witnessed firsthand what extreme poverty is like.

"The way government takes advantage of people, there's so much disconnect, segregation — the way it's set up to just destroy the human spirit," she said. "So many things I've witnessed and felt and seen, I'd never seen before."

The Grammy winner already has an idea of who she wants to work with. Here's a hint: It will be out of the norm.

"Me and John Mayer are gonna write some stuff together," she said. "I love his writing style. He's funny, very witty. I think we'll do some writing together. Linda Perry, our styles combining would be very interesting — a soulful rock-blues thing. John Legend would be an interesting collaboration. We were on tour together but we never sat down and vibed and wrote. I want to do some interesting collaborations, things that are different, and see where it leads."

• Alicia Keys
• John Legend
• John Mayer
• Linda Perry

Christina Aguilera
Photo: Michael Buckner/Getty Images

Sure, Christina Aguilera got married, collaborated with old hands Herbie Hancock and Andrea Bocelli and made an album she's called "retro," but the former Xtina still has a dirty side.

In fact, she's got a track on that new record with Nas called "Still Dirrty."

"It's part two of the one she did on the last album, but the beat is totally different," said DJ Premier, who produced several of the songs. "It's more jazz-sampled with these horn blasts."

Aside from previewing a few tracks on "TRL" recently, Aguilera has yet to say much about her new record, but according to its primary producers, fans should expect music that takes an innovative approach to honoring past eras.

"DJ Premier's half is very hip-hop with old samples, and then when my half of the album kicks in, all I can say is, just have a glass of wine and enjoy the ride," said Linda Perry, another producer on the disc. "It's a very mature, very risky album [of] old-school jazzy blues. You're gonna think that these songs were recorded and written back in 1940."

"It's called Back to Basics, and that's exactly what it sounds like, the whole album," Premier added.

Nas is the only guest on the record, according to Premier, but Outkast's Big Boi is recording a verse for the remix to the first single, "Ain't No Other Man." Aguilera is shooting a video for the song this weekend.

"It's pretty much about how her husband has stolen her from looking at anybody else, 'cause he's the one who did it for her," said Premier, who produced the track with Charles Roane. "And the record's real sassy, like an old Aretha [Franklin] 'Respect' kind of attitude. It's real raw and has breakbeats in it and everything, but it's chopped up and totally tailored to what she was trying to do [by] collaborating with me."

On Wednesday, Aguilera told Premier she was sore from learning the crazy choreography for the clip.

"The song is real, real fast, which is definitely different for me, 'cause I don't do real fast tempo," Premier said. "This thing is like 130 beats per minute, but it still sounds like hip-hop/ Christina."

Aguilera worked with Perry on 2002's Stripped but turned to Premier for the first time after hearing his jazz-influenced work with Gang Starr.

"I was surprised I got that call 'cause of our differences in the audiences we hit, but I'm always up for challenges and trying something new," Premier said. "She described what her album is about and then she sent me some CDs of what type of stuff's been inspiring her to make the record, and it happened to be a lot of stuff that I grew up on in the early '70s, 'cause I'm 40. Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Marvin Gaye, Esther Williams, all kinds of different things. Once I saw that's the vibe she wanted, I still had to make it sound like the way my beats thump and stuff but still give her the atmosphere she's trying to bring out on the singing side."

Premier used live instrumentation on some tracks and sampled old jazz records on others. On one tune, he sampled voice messages from fans left through Aguilera's Web site with one of her own classics.

"I had 'Genie in a Bottle' a cappella on vinyl, and I was scratching that, trying some things, and Christina walked in and was like, 'Yo, that's hot,' so we laid that down," Premier said. "That turned into a whole song called 'Thank You,' and I think it's the last song on the album."

Premier was only slated to do one or two tracks but ended up with five on the album, plus the intro. Perry also has several tracks, and Kwame, Mark Ronson and Big Tank, who does the music for "The Boondocks" cartoon, each contribute as well.

"She played me the stuff Linda Perry did, and everything was dope, totally opposite from what my music is, but when you put it all in the right sequence, it works," Premier said. "Her album is really, really well-rounded. She totally put it together right. And she was directing the whole thing. She knew what she wanted."

Perry, who has also been working with Courtney Love (see "Linda Perry Wants To Save 'Queen Of Rock And Roll' Courtney Love"), said Aguilera's marriage has matured her for the better (see "Christina Aguilera Marries Jordan Bratman").

"She's got a lot of wonderful things to say," Perry said. "It was really easy to be a part of the record, because she was so clear with her vision of the record and the ideas that she came with. All I did was sit and listen to her ideas and came up with a way to record it."

Christina has called the album gritty and raw (see "Christina Aguilera Finishing 'Raw' LP, Waiting For Perfect Film Role"), but Perry said fans of her angelic voice need not worry.

"People thought she could sing before — well, you haven't heard anything yet," Perry said. "But it's definitely a risky record. It's not Stripped at all. ... She's completely in a different space."

Perry has one mix left but said the album is otherwise done. Aguilera's spokesperson said to expect a late summer/ early fall release.

• Christina Aguilera: "Dirrty" Girl To Married Woman

• Christina Aguilera
• Herbie Hancock
• Andrea Bocelli
• DJ Premier
• Linda Perry

Linda Perry
Photo: MTV News

HOLLYWOOD — She asked the world "What's going on?," made Christina Aguilera feel beautiful, got the party started with Pink and discovered James Blunt, who made us feel beautiful. Now Linda Perry has a new mission.

"My dedication right now is to bring back the queen of rock and roll, and that's Courtney Love," Perry said at Thursday's "I Create Music" Expo for songwriters, put on by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. "That woman is brilliant, and I can't allow myself as a music lover and someone who really respects that artist to go down with America's Sweetheart. That record sucked. She knows it. The world knows it. It was a horrible, crap-ass record."

Perry, the former 4 Non Blondes singer who has also written and produced for Gwen Stefani and Kelly Osbourne, is in the early stages with the former Hole frontwoman, but she says she's confident nonetheless.

"She's really focused, pleasure to be around, looks great, sounds great, really great ideas, great songs she's written ... so rehab was really good," Perry said, laughing. "My job now is to make that [Courtney Love] rock and roll record that everybody's gonna love."

Perry's certainly got her hands full with Love, but that's hardly her only job. She also has her own label, Custard Records, and living up to the success of the label's first release, James Blunt's Back to Bedlam, will be no easy task.

"I was telling people about James three years ago when I signed him," Perry said. "And now it's like James is [high] on the charts ... and to me, it's still just the beginning."

Perry has since signed another singer/songwriter, Ben Jelen, whom she is also producing, and a rock band called Big Elf.

"When Big Elf comes out next year, everybody's gonna think I'm a genius," Perry said. "They are the Black Sabbath of today. Nobody's doing old-school rock and roll, like with the vibe, the look, the whole thing. So Big Elf is that band."

Next on the Custard Records release schedule is Sierra Swan, whose Ladyland is due May 23.

"Sierra is just really sexy. She's like today's chanteuse, like a lounge singer but a very alternative lounge singer with this very husky, sexy voice and dark charisma," Perry said. "Some people don't like her when they first meet her because she's very blunt, no pun intended. She's very in-your-face, but after you hear her voice — I'm telling you, it's like chocolate. It's just rich and good."

Last year, Perry re-released her 1996 solo album, In Flight (see "Beneficiaries Of The Linda Perry Makeover: Christina, Gwen, Now Kelly Osbourne"), and even toured behind it, but said Thursday her career as an artist is over.

"I wouldn't know how to write a song for myself to save my life, to be quite honest," she said. "I'm really good at collaborating with people and for people, but Linda is too complicated to even dive into. It'll never happen. I love, love, love my job, and I own a record company. ... I own my own studio, I have just a great life, so why would I f--- with that?"

• Linda Perry
• Courtney Love
• 4 Non Blondes
• P!nk
• Christina Aguilera

Kelly Osbourne (file)
Photo: Dave Hogan

Those lucky enough to be at the Charm School party held recently at the New York club Marquee were treated to a musically delicious DJ set from Kelly Osbourne. Sober and psyched to promote her new album, which comes out on June 7, she played '80s music, Kaiser Chiefs, Razorlight and her club-rooted single, "One Word."

Looking back at her last album, Osbourne now says that Shut Up (later re-released as Changes) wasn't the kind of record that she should have made. With the pressure and a smash-hit reality show surrounding the experience, all the joy was lost for her. She even feels a bit used. "They saw me as a way to make money," she said. "They thought, 'Oh, we'll give her a record deal, and she'll sell albums, and we'll make money.' I'm 16 years old, and they throw a million dollars at me, so I'll do whatever the f--- I'm told." Making the new album, Sleeping in the Nothing, was a way for her to discover what makes her happy now and to correct the way she experiences making music (see "Kelly Osbourne Says She Hated First LP, Wants To Do Broadway").

The title of the album is taken from the movie "The NeverEnding Story" and alludes to the depression and drug use that escalated after the release of her last album. "I was sleeping in the nothing — I had no dreams, I had no willingness to do anything. I would lock myself in the house in Malibu and just do drugs for days and days and days," she confessed. "I was a disgusting person. And luckily, thank God, I got saved." It wasn't until a paparazzo showed Sharon Osbourne a photograph of her daughter buying drugs that things changed. Her mother confronted her, and she was sent to rehab immediately (see "Kelly Osbourne Checks Into Rehab For Painkiller Addiction").

Now trimmer and in a much healthier mindset, Osbourne says Linda Perry cleaned up her act musically (see "Beneficiaries Of The Linda Perry Makeover: Christina, Gwen, Now Kelly Osbourne"). She credits the producer, who has helped craft hits for Christina Aguilera, Gwen Stefani and Pink, for giving her guidance.

While recording the first song, "Red Light," she got some novel advice from Perry. "She's like, 'You've had singing lessons, right?' And I go, 'Yeah,' " recalled Osbourne. "And she goes, 'Forget everything you've ever learned.' And she taught me how to sing all over again." The result, she said, "And I know this is gonna sound really obnoxious, but I think it's the best pop album out there right now.

"I don't have to prove anything to anyone, because the music proves itself," she continued. "And yes, it was easy for me to get to that door [because of her parents]. But it's just as hard as anyone else to walk through it. You have to do the same work, the same interviews, the same shows, get judged by the same people." She'll have plenty of that as the release of her album approaches, including a full calendar of radio shows and a tour that will likely start in June.

Back at Marquee, a performance by Deborah Harry rounded out the night, and Osbourne found herself surrounded by the icons of a decade she is barely old enough to remember but nonetheless helped inspire her album: Boy George, Erasure and Nina Hagen, to name a few. She also found support in some flamboyant New York club-scene staples like Heatherette designers Richie Rich and Traver Rains and photographer/director David LaChapelle's transsexual muse, Amanda Lepore, who Osbourne said she wants in her video. Despite an itchy wig, Osbourne was clearly excited about the celebrity turnout, even though she is a celebrity herself. "They've worked so hard to become what they are, and I did nothing," she said. "I was born from somebody famous, and I sat on my ass and let MTV film me."

• Kelly Osbourne
• Linda Perry

Linda Perry (file)
Photo: Getty Images

Linda Perry knows what most music fans think of Kelly Osbourne.

"You think she's a spoiled little brat that got a record deal [because of her father], but she is so more than that," said the former 4 Non Blondes singer-turned-hitmaker, best known for her work with Christina Aguilera, Gwen Stefani and Pink. "She is very talented. She writes really good lyrics and is very, very, very mature."

Perry, however, has not always been a fan.

"I heard her last record and it sucked, and I told her that too," Perry said of Osbourne's 2002 debut, Shut Up, a notion Kelly seconded (see "Kelly Osbourne Says She Hated First LP, Wants To Do Broadway"). "It wasn't for her, that record. It was made for somebody else, not for Kelly. The record I made was for Kelly."

That record is Sleep in the Nothing, due in June. Perry and Osbourne were scheduled to start the album just as the latter checked into rehab (see "Kelly Osbourne Checks Into Rehab For Painkiller Addiction"), so Perry spent three weeks writing music in the studio while Osbourne penned lyrics at her treatment center.

"I was like trying to imagine what she could possibly be going through, so I came up with this direction and she came in and loved everything that I was doing," Perry said. "It's very electronic, very electro-clash, '80s. And her vocals on it are amazing: That girl was four takes. The first take was horrible, the second, third and fourth were right on. It's a wonderful, wonderful record. I am very excited for people to hear it 'cause it's so different for her."

As usual for Perry, it's one of many projects for the songwriter/producer, and Osbourne's album served as a nice bridge between her work on Gwen Stefani's solo album and collaborating with genuine electro-clashers Fischerspooner. Perry contributed to several tracks on the New York duo's second album, Odyssey, due April 5.

"They called me and I was like, 'God, their music is so quirky, I love it,' " Perry recalled. "They initially sent me some tracks of just music and they were like, 'Just do your thing.' And so I did my thing and they were like, 'How did you do that?' So they came down to my studio and we came up with a couple of songs and I love them. Their music to me is so creative."

Along with Fischerspooner and Osbourne, Perry recently produced half of newcomer Sierra Swan's debut, Queen of the Valley Girls, due this summer. Bill Bottrell (Sheryl Crow), Chad Hugo from the Neptunes, Jeff Turzo (formerly of God Lives Underwater), and Scott Cutler and Anne Previn (who wrote Natalie Imbruglia's hit, "Torn") also contributed production, and Cold's Scooter Ward recorded a duet with the singer/songwriter.

"Her voice is very dark and rich," Perry said. "The album is bizarre, but it works. I was trying to figure out how do we make this go into the pop thing without taking away her integrity, and I don't know how we did it, but we did it."

With her recent projects, which also include a few Enrique Iglesias tracks, Perry's enjoyed crossing genres and she hopes to continue doing so, perhaps even working with country artists.

"I'm able to switch gears at any moment," Perry said. "I think because I try to morph into the person's character. Left on my own, I'd be boring and every song would sound the same, but when I'm able to take on the person's character, this whole other side of me starts showing up. And that's why I'm so good where I'm at right now, because it's not about me, it's about them. You kind of have to have no ego to be a producer and a songwriter."

That said, Perry would like to turn some of the success she's earned as a producer into attention for herself, beginning with the spring re-release of her 1996 solo album, In Flight.

"It's such a beautiful record, and my label at the time thought it was too bizarre," Perry said of the album, which was largely overlooked upon its initial release. "I would love people to hear this record, and I don't think a lot of people did."

Perry, who has become a bit frightened by the stage over the years, is so dedicated to the cause that she's planning a solo tour, but she's set a limit of 10 dates. She's also slowly working on a new solo album, although producing is her priority.

"It won't be what I do for other people," she said. "I don't think I could make a pop album. I have a lot of songs that I kind of put away and I don't let anybody else hear them, and those are my songs. They are very diverse, all over the place."

And speaking of diverse, Perry is also launching Custard Records, an Atlantic imprint whose first two artists are British singer/songwriter James Blunt, whom she described as "Barry Gibb [of the Bee Gees] meets Jeff Buckley," and a "death disco" band from Prague, Czech Republic, called Sunshine.

"There's a line in a song I wrote for Sierra called 'The Ladder': 'I put my hands into each pocket I find,' " Perry said. "And that's what I like to do."

• Linda Perry
• Kelly Osbourne

Linda Perry
Photo: MTV News

BEVERLY HILLS — In a strange twist of fate, it took a few blondes (and a pink) for Linda Perry to discover her true calling.

After producing Christina Aguilera, Gwen Stefani and Pink, the former 4 Non Blondes leader has chosen to forgo her singing career in favor of working behind the scenes.

"I'm so loving what I do, and I'm so good at it," Perry said at Tuesday's ASCAP Pop Music Awards. "I'm a horrible producer when it comes to me, but for other artists, I don't know what it is, but something happens and I'm just really good at it."

Perry is working with Stefani on the No Doubt singer's solo material (see "Gwen Stefani Recording Solo Material"), but she was tight-lipped about it Tuesday. "I think Gwen would explain it best," she said. "I would prefer not to talk about it myself, but it's fun and I really enjoy working with her."

She insisted that producers don't belong in the limelight. "Let the artist do that. ... Nowadays the producers are in the videos, the producers are all over. ... No way am I gonna do that. I don't do any interviews. Once in a blue moon, but tonight's special."

So special that Perry even performed Aguilera's "Beautiful," which she co-wrote.

The producer did talk a bit about Pink's upcoming third album, boasting that she and the singer wrote and recorded it in an "unheard of" month and a half. "It's gonna be mind-blowing," Perry said. "It's so not what anybody's gonna expect from her. It shows the artist in her. She's definitely reached a whole 'nother level of musicianship."

Perry recorded most of the album at Pink's house, setting up a 24-track studio in an extra room. As she did on Missundaztood, Perry pushed Pink to pull from strong emotions, only the results this time are a bit lighter. "I personally didn't want to hear her yapping about her problems, so it's in third party. It's telling stories about other people, 'cause honestly I couldn't take it. I can't take another child abuse story."

Perry has also been working with British pop trio Sugababes, rocker Melissa Etheridge and world music star Angelique Kidjo.

"I think women gravitate toward me because I am a woman producing and songwriting and there's none out there," Perry said. "There really isn't. So I think that it's nice to be around another woman, because you let go of your guard a little bit more and, like I said, I think I'm really good at what I do."

Perry has recently been in the studio with a man, however — Stefani's husband, Bush singer Gavin Rossdale.

"He's a Scorpio, it takes him an hour to make a decision," Perry said, laughing. "But he's awesome. I loved working with him. And I usually write songs in a guy key because my voice is so husky."

A spokesperson at Bush's record label had no information about Rossdale's solo work.

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