POP singer Katy Perry’s biggest hit song is called Hot N Cold.
And that’s exactly how some are responding to her latest “achievement” – being the hottest woman in the world.
At least according to popular men’s magazine Maxim. The 26-year-old was placed at the top of its annual Hot 100 list which was released earlier this week.
She joins the ranks of previous – and certainly more conventional – top hotties like Eva Longoria, Jessica Alba, Jessica Simpson, Christina Aguilera, Lindsay Lohan, Marisa Miller and last year’s winner Olivia Wilde.
It’s been a big year for Perry, who’s famed for her ’50s pin-up girl image, wacky fashion sense, shoot-from-the-hip persona and voluptuous D-cup assets.
Among other things, she got engaged to controversial British comedian Russell Brand, will be voicing Smurfette in the upcoming live-action Smurfs movie and her new album Teenage Dream is out in August.
On picking Perry, Maxim editor-in-chief Joe Levy told Us magazine: “It’s that feeling you get when you suddenly realise that the smartest, funniest, coolest girl you know also happens to the best looking and a pretty good skateboarder too.
“All of a sudden, your crush goes supernova, and this is Katy’s supernova moment.”
However, her unlikely coronation has sparked a wave of “Are you serious?!” responses over the Internet.
Netizen De wrote: “Katy Perry is cheesy and cheap. Too bad people can’t see that sexy is also classy, but nowadays, the cheaper you look, the more publicity you get. Sad.”
Another online detractor GregP added: “Last year, the chick from House (Olivia Wilde) and this year, Perry. This mag has lost touch with its readers, much less the world. You’ve lost me as a subscriber.”
Netizen Kim concluded: “This was a joke. They know (the) majority of men do not find her attractive at all but it gets people talking if they pick someone ugly versus the obvious attractive girls.”
Several Singaporeans The New Paper spoke to agree that Perry doesn’t deserve the title.
Ms Jazabele Koh, a 30-year-old teacher, feels Perry is “not that sexy (as) her image seems more pop and youthful rather than risque”.
Part-time clerk Jeremy Ho, 21, added: “She is eccentric rather than pretty. Megan Fox is a hundred times hotter than her!”
Alas, the Transformers sex symbol dropped from No. 2 last year to No. 5.
It actresses Zoe Saldana (Avatar) and Blake Lively (Gossip Girl) as well as pop star Rihanna were placed third, fourth and sixth respectively.
However, the rest who round up the Top 10 of Maxim’s Hot 100 raised eyebrows among bloggers, who call the list everything from “more flawed than usual” to “random” to “absurd”.
There are the model-girlfriends of celebrities – tennis star Andy Roddick’s wife Brooklyn Decker nabbed the No. 2 spot and Hollywood superstar George Clooney’s girlfriend Elisabetta Canalis came in at No 7.
Reality TV starlets Kim Kardashian and Olivia Munn ranked No. 8 and 9, while 2008 Maxim Hot 100 champ, supermodel Marisa Miller, slid to No 10.
Wilde fell to No. 20 while Angelina Jolie landed at No. 38.
Glaring omissions include mainstays of years passed, including Lohan, Beyonce Knowles, Halle Berry, Demi Moore and Jennifer Aniston.
However, Levy said it wasn’t anything personal.
He explained: “We honestly pay attention to what people are doing, what they have coming out in the year, what they’ve just done. In the case of Halle Berry, if there’s an X-Men movie coming, she’s there.”
Mr Dylan Tan, former editor of local men’s magazines like Maxim Singapore, FHM Singapore and VIP, also had a mixed reaction to Perry and this year’s list.
The 36-year-old told The New Paper: “I’d say she’s hot, but not No. 1 hot.
“If Katy was in Maxim Singapore’s Hot 100 list, she’d probably be in the lower half because our lists are very different from the US.
“I’m also surprised she’s at the top now because her big songs came out like two years ago. It goes to show how popular she is in the US.”
Still, Mr Tan gets her sex appeal. “She’s not your typical model who thinks she’s the hottest person in the room. She’s a guy’s girl.”
However, he admitted he doesn’t recognise the names of half the girls in the Top 10.
He said: “I suppose this reflects the current trend – there are so many new girls out there who come and go.
“The glut allows for new entrants to have shot at stardom, which is great for lists where you have to make up 100 girls. It serves that purpose.
“It keeps the industry fresh as well. You don’t want to end up looking like Channel 5 or Channel 8 where you keep seeing the same people again and again.”
Mr Tan compared this year’s list to that of the past, where there was “quality over quantity”.
“Obviously, you can’t have Angelina Jolie for five years straight, they’ll gradually lose (their positions). I think someone like Megan Fox can stand the test of time, these are the women who have staying power.”
Reality TV
“They may not be high on the list this time because everyone’s paying attention to something outrageous some reality TV starlet is doing on the set. But after that (moment has passed), no one is going to remember them.”
Still, Perry does have her supporters on our shores.
NSman Jonathon Ang, 19, feels her No. 1 placing is “well justified” because she’s “one daring woman”.
“She is new and refreshing in her music videos, where she takes on the whole bi-curious theme,” he said.
Mr Daniel Selvakumar, 20, also an NSman, added: “She is quite attractive, although she is a bit odd but confident about who she is.”
Another attractive quality about her is that she is marrying someone who is widely regarded as an airhead, but she loves him all the same, he added.
This article was first published in The New Paper.
