Katy Perry staged a playful onstage moment during a June performance in Spain that made clear who she favors now and who she’s left in the past. While performing her 2020 single “Never Really Over” at the O Son do Camiño music festival in Santiago de Compostela on June 18, Perry used a large mock iPhone prop to dramatize incoming calls from figures representing past partners and her current boyfriend.
As the song’s lyrics explore the cycle of rekindled connections, the giant screen behind Perry displayed incoming calls labeled with initials and small emojis. The first call, shown as “JM” alongside a guitar emoji, evoked longtime collaborator and ex John Mayer; Perry tapped the red button to reject the call. A call labeled for producer Diplo received the same dismissal. When “OB” appeared with a spade emoji—a visual nod to Orlando Bloom’s ace-of-spades chest tattoo—Perry let the call ring without answering. That choice drew attention because Bloom, actor and father of Perry’s five-year-old daughter, Daisy Dove, split from Perry after a long relationship that shifted toward co-parenting.
The moment that won cheers from the crowd arrived when the screen displayed “JPJT” next to a Canadian flag, an apparent reference to Justin Pierre James Trudeau, the former Canadian prime minister with whom Perry has been publicly linked. Perry repeatedly tapped the green button and accepted that call, signaling playful approval of her current relationship. Perry, 41, and Trudeau, 54, have been publicly seen together over the past year.
Perry’s stage bit blended theatrical showmanship and personal signaling, fitting into a long tradition of pop performers weaving private life into live performances. Festivalgoers and social media viewers picked up on the symbolism immediately, responding to the mix of humor and pointed choices on the giant prop phone. The prop choice underscored the contrast between past relationships and Perry’s present connection in a way that matched the song’s themes about cycles and emotional availability.
Perry and Bloom’s relationship history has been widely reported: the pair were engaged and parented Daisy together, and their relationship status shifted publicly in 2025 when representatives said the two were focusing on co-parenting and providing stability for their child. Statements from both sides emphasized a mutual commitment to raising Daisy with love and respect. Since that announcement, public appearances and statements from all parties have focused on cooperative parenting rather than romantic reconciliation.
Perry’s use of public performance to reference private relationships is consistent with moments from earlier in her career, when personal experiences informed her songwriting and stagecraft. Songs like “Never Really Over” center on the emotional residues of past romances, and Perry’s festival staging turned those themes into a literal phone-screen metaphor, giving fans an immediate, recognizable visual to connect with the lyrics.
The festival performance also highlighted how contemporary pop shows blend multimedia elements—large screens, props, and narrative staging—to create memorable moments that travel quickly online. In the current media environment, such moments typically generate rapid social sharing, commentary from entertainment outlets, and renewed interest in the artist’s catalog. For Perry, who remains a prominent pop figure with a history of television appearances, brand deals, and chart hits, the stunt served both entertainment and promotional functions without appearing to cross into explicitly offensive territory.
Absent from Perry’s onstage roll call was Russell Brand, the comedian she married and later divorced in 2012. Brand’s omission follows a pattern in which performers selectively reference relationships that resonate with the moment or the audience, rather than providing a comprehensive inventory of past partners.
The performance at O Son do Camiño adds another public chapter to Perry’s recent personal life coverage, which has included transitions in relationships and an ongoing focus on parenthood. As with many artists, Perry’s personal narrative continues to inform her public work while also being shaped by choices to present aspects of her life selectively. The phone prop moment offered fans a concise visual statement: several past connections remain in the wings, but she answered the call that matters to her now.
