Katy Perry (born
Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson; October 25, 1984) is an American
singer-songwriter and
actress. Born in
Santa Barbara, California, and raised by Christian
pastor parents, Perry grew up listening to only
gospel music and sang in her local church as a child. After earning a
GED during her
freshman year of
high school, she began to pursue a career in music. As Katy Hudson, she released
a self-titled gospel album in 2001, which due to the closing of her record label, was deemed unsuccessful. She later recorded
an album with production team
The Matrix and completed the majority of a solo album from 2004–5, neither of which were released.
After signing with
Capitol Music Group in 2007, her fourth record label in seven years, she adopted the stage name Katy Perry and released her first Internet single "
Ur So Gay" that November, which garnered public attention but failed to chart. She rose to fame with the release of her second single "
I Kissed a Girl" in 2008, which went on to top international charts. Perry's first mainstream studio album
One of the Boys followed later that year and subsequently, became the thirty third-best selling album worldwide of 2008. It was accredited platinum
certification by the Recording Industry Association of America, while "I Kissed a Girl" and her second single "
Hot n Cold" both received multi-platinum certifications. Her sophomore studio album
Teenage Dream was released in August 2010 and debuted at number one on the
Billboard 200. The album included hit singles "
California Gurls", "
Teenage Dream", "
Firework" and "
E.T." , all of which topped the charts on the
Billboard Hot 100, making the
Teenage Dream album one of only nine albums to ever produce four or more Hot 100 number ones.
Perry was credited as a guest judge on the
seventh series of British television show
The X Factor; has released a fragrance called "Purr"; and will appear in the upcoming 2011 film
The Smurfs. She married
Russell Brand on October 23, 2010.
Career
1984–2006: Early life and career beginnings
Perry was born
Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson in
Santa Barbara, California to Keith, a West Coast
scenester in the 1960s, and Mary Hudson (
née Perry), an
evangelist who grew up in
Southern California and had "a tempestuous first marriage in
Zimbabwe", Perry is of German and Portuguese descent on her mother's side. She is the second child of two
pastors. She has an older sister and younger brother. Perry's mother's aunt and uncle were screenwriter
Eleanor Perry and director
Frank Perry.
Perry was incorporated into her parents' ministry and sang in their church between the ages of nine and seventeen. She grew up listening to
gospel music, was not allowed to listen to what her mother called "
secular music", and attended Christian schools and camps. As a child, Perry learned how to dance in a recreation building in Santa Barbara. She was taught by seasoned dancers and began with
swing,
Lindy Hop, and
jitterbug. She took her
GED after her freshman year at
Dos Pueblos High School and decided to leave school in the pursuit of a career in music. Perry initially started singing "because [she] was at that point in [her] childhood where [she] was copycatting [her] sister and everything she [would do]." Her sister practiced with cassette tapes, while Perry took the tapes herself when her sister was not around. She rehearsed the songs and performed them in front of her parents, who suggested she take vocal coaching. She grabbed the opportunity and began taking lessons at the age of nine and continued until she was sixteen. She later enrolled in at the
Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, and studied
Italian opera for a short period of time.
Katy Perry performing on her guitar; an instrument she learned to play when she was just starting her record career.
At the age of 15, Perry's singing in church attracted the attention of rock veterans from
Nashville, Tennessee, who brought her there to polish her writing skills. In Nashville, Perry started recording
demos and was taught by
country music veterans on how to craft songs and play guitar. Perry signed to the Christian music label
Red Hill, under which she recorded her first album at the age of 15. Performing as Katy Hudson, she released the
self-titled Gospel-rock album in 2001. The album was unsuccessful, however, after the label ceased operations at the end of 2001. She later changed her surname to Perry, her mother's maiden name, because "Katy Hudson" was too close to film actress
Kate Hudson. At the age of 17, Perry left her home for Los Angeles, where she worked with
Glen Ballard on an album for record label
Island. The album was due for release in 2005, but
Billboard reported it also went nowhere. Perry was dropped by
Island Def Jam Music Group. Some of Perry and Ballard's collaborations included "Box", "Diamonds" and "Long Shot", were posted on her official MySpace page. "Simple", one of the songs she recorded with Ballard, was released on the soundtrack to the 2005 film
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.
Perry signed to
Columbia Records in 2004. However, the label was not amenable with her vision, not putting her in the "driver's seat". Instead, one of Columbia's ideas was to pair Perry with the
record production team
The Matrix, who was working on an album, to serve as its female vocalist. Although the album was later shelved, she caught the attention of the music press: Her burgeoning music career led to her being named "The Next Big Thing" in October 2004 by
Blender magazine. With no album project ongoing, Perry began recording her own. Eighty percent completed, however, Columbia decided not to finish it and dropped her off the label. While waiting to find another label, she worked in an independent
A&R company called Taxi Music. In 2006, Perry was featured in the tail-end of the video to
P.O.D.'s single "
Goodbye for Now". She made a
cameo appearance in
Carbon Leaf's video, "Learn to Fly".
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