You have to feel sorry for anyone who was within shouting distance of Katy Perry when she found out she had been nominated for a Grammy. Chances are, their eardrums are still recovering.

"I was in Sacramento [California], playing a show for a radio station, and I got a phone call from my beloved publicist ... and she's like, 'Katy, we got the Grammy nomination!' " Perry told MTV News at this weekend's KIIS-FM Jingle Ball in Los Angeles. "And I screamed at a very unreasonably high pitch, because I really remember, as a little kid, watching the Grammys and just thinking that was the ultimate."

And it wasn't just childhood memories that made Perry's Grammy nod (her "I Kissed a Girl" is in the running for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance) extra-special. She can also recall a time very early in her recording career — like, back when she was a fresh-faced gospel artist — when she was told that she'd someday get a Grammy nomination. Of course, back then, all she could do was laugh it off.

"I remember walking down the street with my A&R guy at the time, and he looked over at me and was like, 'You know what? Give it five years, you're going to get a Grammy nomination.' And I was like, 'No, that will never happen,' " Perry said. "And I don't know where that guy is now, but he was kind of right — he was like four years late — but it was amazing to think that someone said that, and it actually came to fruition."

So how has Perry been celebrating her first-ever nomination? And what does she have planned for February 8, when the Grammys will be broadcast live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles? (Maybe more wedding-cake-related onstage mishaps?) Well, to be honest, she hasn't done much partying — and she's done even less planning for the big night. After all, it's still a while away, and Perry is just trying to savor the moment.

"I didn't really go out and say anything just yet, because it's in February, and there's a lot of buildup to it. And I don't want to spill my load too soon, like, 'Hey, I got a Grammy nomination, heh heh heh,' " she said. "But, you know, people hear through the grapevine, and I've been getting amazing phone calls and texts, and, you know, it feels pretty good."