Interview: Christina Perri Comes Home For Billy Joel
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The stage keeps getting bigger for Bensalem singer Christina Perri.
Last summer she returned home for a show at The Mann, this summer it's a hometown slot opening for Billy Joel at Citizens Bank Park. Both play this Saturday July 9th.
We caught up with Perri last week to talk about warming up for The Piano Man, our 4th of July confusion, and her social media vacation.
You're from Bensalem originally, how stoked is the family right now that you're on stage at Citizens Bank Park?
"When I found out about it, I told pretty much just my family. We had to keep it under wraps for a little while before we announced it. So like telling my mom and then telling my mom she can't tell anyone was so hard, because my mom's a hairdresser in Bensalem."
"Every customer that would come in would be like 'yeah I'm going to see Billy Joel', and my mom's like dying inside because she can't tell them. So it was actually pretty cool, the moment I gave her the green light to go tell everyone. So many of my friends and family were already going, because it's Billy Joel."
The Billy Joel show at Citizens Bank Park is becoming its own kind of summer tradition around here. He's done it the past couple of years. It's been awesome, so it's great to have you be a part of it this year.
"I'm such a big Billy Joel fan. I'm not just saying this. He's one of my heroes, and I just saw him at Madison Square Garden".
"He's just a legend, so I cannot actually believe that I'm playing. I think I'm still in shock. The second I get off stage, I'm going straight in the audience and am gonna watch his show."
Before this whole announcement with Billy Joel, you went dark on social media for what seemed like a long time.
"A month."
I can't imagine that. What does it feel like to not look at Twitter, and not look at Instagram, and just shut it off for a month?
"It's actually really nice and refreshing. I mean as much as I love social media because it's such a great part of my whole life and connecting with everybody, I feel like the month that I took - it was my last little vacation before I jumped into the album, and I went to Italy with my family because my dad's from there. I was on a mountain top with no wifi anyway but - it was really really nice to check out and just really be present."
"But I'm really happy to be back. I actually missed everyone. All my imaginary friends."
While you were in your kind of dark of social media time, they announced that you we're going to be headlining this big concert for the 4th of July because it was going to be so Philly-centric. Then a week later we hear no, Christina Perri's not going to be a part of it and you were unavailable so I couldn't ask you. So I'll ask you now, what happened? Were you ever suppose to be a part of that show on the Parkway or not?
"I never even heard about it. It broke my heart actually because I've never really bailed on Philly before, and I never would want to because it's my hometown."
"I literally never even heard about it. And here's the thing. I couldn't have done it because of the Billy Joel show. Because they're too close together. So I wouldn't have even been able to if I even heard about it."
"The fact that somewhere along the line the wires got crossed and someone thought I said yes and posted about it everywhere. I was super devastated."
Christina Perri will still get the chance to play in front of a hometown crowd when she opens for Billy Joel at Citizens Bank Park this Saturday July 9th. To hear much more from Perri including the latest on her album and the amazing gift she received from Wawa, check out the full interview below.