"Hot 'N Cold" singer Katy Perry says she was once more cold than hot about Lady Gaga. In a new interview with Nylon Magazine, she says that at one point, she thought Gaga's latest work, which features her huge hit "Bad Romance," was just plain bad.

"When I heard 'The Fame Monster,' I was like, 'What the f**k is she talking about - teeth and he ate my heart and monster and dance in the dark and s**t?'" Perry said in the interview. "I thought she was such a shock jock."

But she, like most of America, quickly came around."Then i saw her on the American Music Awards, and i was like, 'You're an animal of another kind, and we need you!'" Perry said. "She's amazing. She's an entertainer, a visual artist. And her lyrics do mean things when you actually break them down."

Perry, who scored hits with her singles like "I Kissed a Girl" and "Waking Up in Vegas" will have fans breaking down her lyrics again soon, when she releases her sophomore effort in the Summer. About the album, she also did more name-dropping when she compared herself to her current pop peers.

"You've got Gaga, who's like, from outer space; you've got Ke$ha, who's the beer-drinking, house-party girl; and then you've got Rihanna, who's transforming the urban world into her own outer space," she said. "But I feel like you're missing an Alanis Morissette, 2010. I love how she was a voice for a lot of people who couldn't explain their feelings. But it's not like I'm not gonna compete. I love a good dose of healthy competition. It's not going to be the same thing that they're doing."