Even in a bilingual country like Canada, French-language singers can wind up second-class citizens outside of Quebec. But if anyone is going to break through this linguistic glass ceiling, it is Montreal's petite and heavily tattooed indie-pop pianist Béatrice Martin, who goes by the guise of Coeur de Pirate.

Outfitted in a cocktail dress to croon French chansons at her very first Toronto show for NXNE could have seemed out of place. Especially at the Dakota Tavern, a hipster country bar filled with animal skulls, a low six-inch stage and folks waiting to see hipster country band $100, slated to perform next.

But Coeur quieted the crowd with her pixie-sweet vocal tone, classy Old World arrangements and adorably sarcastic between-song banter -- her impeccable English, peppered with slang like "whatevs," no doubt helped the French songs go down easy.

In the war of words between Katy Perry and Gossip frontwoman Beth Ditto, Perry got in the last salvo when she recently told the London Paper that she wasn't "impressed" with Ditto. Ditto, who was unaware of Perry's words until Spinner informed her, laughed it off ... at first. "Honestly, I could care less if Katy Perry's impressed with me," Ditto tells Spinner.

You see, it all started when Ditto -- who, with her band, is releasing a new album, 'Music for Men' next week -- was quoted calling Perry "a boner dyke," saying Perry and her hit single, 'I Kissed a Girl," were both "offensive to gay culture." While Ditto says she takes responsibility for the comment, she clarifies that the phrase "boner dyke" -- which is a term for a straight female who kisses girls to attract men -- was actually her Gossip bandmate Hannah Billie's phrase. "I feel guilty because it is such a funny expression and Hannah didn't get the credit for it," Ditto says. "But I don't feel differently than Hannah."

Ditto believes the issue is much greater than a little war of words on blogs. "It's not about Katy Perry," she says. "It's about this song and its innocence on her part. To [Katy], it's just this party song. But as a gay person, it's like, 'Oh, of course this straight person singing about kissing a girl goes straight to Top 40 and people buy this record. Who can give a f--- about real gay people?' That's what's really painful about the whole thing. That's what makes me laugh about 'I'm not impressed.' It's like, 'Oh, that's what you think? Of course, because you never thought about what a real gay person feels, and the impact that a song like that has on the gay world in a time of crucial civil rights.' That's just one of the examples of what the mainstream is thinking about queer culture, when actually, we are completely fighting for our rights right now."

Queen's Brian May found a reason to emerge from his self-described "shell" after being silent for a while: his admiration for Katy Perry (something he and Gossip frontwoman Beth Ditto don't have in common). In his Sunday blog post on his website, the guitarist wrote about seeing Perry's sold-out show at London's Shepherd's Bush Empire on June 10.

"I walked in," wrote May, "and there was Katy Perry and a hot young band tearing it up to an audience who responded to every note, and seldom sat down. No clicks, no backing tracks, no mime show ... no huge production ... no pretence. Just a really great young singer and artist, pouring her heart out."

"I hate Katy Perry! [She's one of those] straight girls who like to turn guys on by ... faking gay." --Beth Ditto

In this month's Attitude magazine, the openly gay singer accused the 'Kissed a Girl' star of "riding on the backs of [gay] culture, without having to pay any of the dues."

"[It's] annoying, to be totally blunt. The only similarity that we have is that we look a little bit alike." --Zooey Deschanel

The actress-turned-She and Him songstress is sick of being told she looks like Katy Perry. She added, "I'm happy that she's famous enough now that she's not going out and being mistaken for me." Shame on us.

Download She & Him Songs

"I basically chew my birth control tablets -- I chew them like vitamin C." --Katy Perry

The outspoken starlet revealed her staunch "Not till I'm 30" family plan, but maintains that she loves the idea of "making babies."




Download Katy Perry Songs

"Dad would have died from one tab too many if he hadn't found God." --Katy Perry

The Catholic schoolgirl-turned-'Kissed a Girl' singer revealed that her parents weren't always the clean-cut couple they are now. Her mother dated Jimi Hendrix!