Katy Perry can do whatever she wants — like get a giant golden truck to drive around and announce the name of her new album. But lately she’s been devoting her resources to perhaps a more worthwhile cause: giving up-and-coming artists a boost in a music industry that can run hot and cold. As fans learned from her documentary Katy Perry: Part of Me, the “Roar” singer encountered her fair of share of roadblocks while trying to launch her career pre-“I Kissed a Girl.” Her new project, the Jordanian-American singer-songwriter Ferras, has a history as well — in 2007 he signed to Capitol Records, where he met labelmate Perry.
The two have wasted no time getting started. Perry announced the signing the same day his new self-titled EP, which she executive produced, dropped digitally. Perry’s also bringing him along for her upcoming Prismatic World Tour, and she even makes a guest appearance on “Legends Never Die,” which you can hear above.
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Write to Nolan Feeney at nolan.feeney@time.com