Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), better known by her stage name
Katy Perry, is an
American singer-songwriter and
musician. Perry was born in
Santa Barbara, California, and raised by Christian pastor parents; she grew up listening to only
gospel music and sang in church as a child. After earning a
GED during her freshman year of high school, she began to pursue a music career. She released
a self-titled gospel album in 2001 as Katy Hudson which failed with the closing of its record label that year. She recorded
an album with production team
The Matrix and completed most of
a solo album from 2004–2005, neither of which were released.
After signing on 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 attention but did not chart. She rose to fame with her second single "
I Kissed a Girl" in 2008, which topped international charts. Perry's first mainstream album
One of the Boys followed later that year and was eventually announced to be the thirty-third best selling album of 2008 worldwide.
[1] It was accredited platinum
certification by the Recording Industry Association of America; "I Kissed a Girl" and her second single "
Hot N Cold" both received multi-platinum certifications. Perry was ranked the 97th Artist of the 2000–10 decade by
Billboard.
[2] She became known for wearing unconventional style of dress, often combining colors and vintage fashion. Her next album,
Teenage Dream, is scheduled to be released in August 2010.
Perry had a long relationship with
Travis McCoy; she is currently
engaged to
Russell Brand.
EARLY LIFW AND BEGINING HER CARRIER
Katy Perry was born Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson in
Santa Barbara, California.
[3] The second child of two
pastors,
[4] she has an older sister and younger brother.
[5] Her
Evangelical mother, Mary Hudson (
née Perry), grew up in Southern California and had "a tempestuous first marriage in
Zimbabwe."
[5] Her father Keith Hudson was a West Coast
scenester in the 1960s.
[5] Perry's maternal aunt and uncle were screenwriter
Eleanor Perry and director
Frank Perry,
[6] through whom she is also related to
Charles M. Schwab, the founder of the
Bethlehem Steel Corporation.
[7] Perry is of
Portuguese[8] and
German[9] ancestry on her mother's side.
Perry was incorporated to her parents' ministry;
[4] she sang in their church from ages 9 to 17.
[3][10] She grew up listening to
gospel music[11] and was not allowed to listen to what her mother called
secular music.
[10][12] Perry attended Christian schools and camps.
[4] 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.
[13] She took her
GED after her freshman year of high school and decided to leave school to pursue a career in music.
[14] Perry initially started singing "because I was at that point in my childhood where I was copycatting my sister and everything she did."
[14] Her sister practiced with cassette tapes, and Perry took the tapes herself when her sister was not around. She rehearsed the songs and performed it to her parents, who suggested she should take voice lessons. She grabbed the opportunity and began taking lessons at age nine to 16. She enrolled in at the
Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, and studied
Italian opera for a short time. And 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.
[15] In Nashville, Perry started recording
demos and was taught by
country music veterans on how to craft songs and play guitar.
[10][12] Perry signed to the Christian music label
Red Hill, under which she recorded her first album at the age of 15.
[16] Performing as Katy Hudson, she released the
self-titled Gospel-
rock album in 2001.
[5][15] The album was unsuccessful, however, after the label ceased operations at the end of 2001.
[16] She later changed her surname to Perry, her mother's maiden name, because "Katy Hudson" was too close to film actress
Kate Hudson.
[15][17] 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.
[18] The album was due for release in 2005,
[3][15][16] but
Billboard reported it also went nowhere.
[16] Perry was dropped by
Island Def Jam Music Group.
[5] 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.
[19]
Perry signed to
Columbia Records in 2004. However, the label was not amenable with her vision, not putting her in the "driver's seat".
[16] 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,
[20] 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.
[3][16] 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.
[16]
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".
[21] She made a
cameo appearance in
Carbon Leaf's video, "Learn to Fly", and in
Gym Class Heroes' video, "
Cupid's Chokehold", playing the eventual love interest of lead singer
Travis McCoy. Her songs eventually captured the attention of
Virgin Records CEO Jason Flom, then head of
Capitol Music Group, who signed her to Capitol Music in early 2007
STYLE AND IMAGE
I do love her fashion style she so creative and stylist,Perry is known for her unconventional style of dress.
[13] It is often humorous, bright in color, and reminiscent of different decades, and she frequently uses fruit-shaped accessories, mainly
watermelon, as part of her outfits.
[53] Having learned dancing at an early age, she fancied about having her own style. Perry's transformation into an artist began with fashion, inspired by American film actress
Dominique Swain's portrayal in
1997 film adaptation of the novel
Lolita.
[15] She defines her fashion style as "a bit of a concoction of different things".
[13] Johnny Wujek, Perry's stylist, described her style, upon meeting her for the first time, as "very colorful and vintage".
[58] Her fashion has caught the attention of designers, who were giving her nearly as much attention as fans of her music.
[4][53]
In June 2008, a publicity photo that showed Perry posing with a
switchblade was criticized.
[59] The picture was defended as only an effort to give Perry a "sexy, harder edge".
[59] The criticism leveled at her was mocked by Perry who subsequently posed with a
spoon instead
