“When I heard I was very honored,” Katy Perry said on being named Billboard‘s Woman of the Year. “I also was a bit surprised because I thought my year was over! It does feel like this record has never ended.”

Having wrapped up her successful California Dreams Tour in 2011, Katy revealed some of her favorite female artists that shaped her as an artist to Billboard. Growing up, she wasn’t allowed to listen to secular music besides singers like Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald.

“I think that those women influenced me and also when I went to Nashville, Patty Griffin and Jonatha Brooke were the golden nuggets I found,” she confessed. “And then of course I always say what has been a huge influence is Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morissette because every song struck an emotional chord inside of me.”

Katy said she likes to be viewed as a strong woman and it’s other females like Gwen Stefani and Bjork that she looks up to.

So what can we expect from Katy in the future?

“I’m just excited for the next evolution. Hopefully there will be some growth,” she said. “I’m not going to try to replicate what I did last but I’m going to be very creative and I hope that everybody is interested in taking the next journey with me. Whatever it is, I know it is going to be a ride. I’m very excited for the ride.”

-Annie Reuter, CBS Local