Katy Perry |
|
|---|---|
 | |
| Information | |
| Full name |
Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson |
| Born |
October 25, 1984 (age 37) |
| Nicknames |
Katy Perry, Katy Hudson, Katheryn Perry |
| Occupation |
Singer, songwriter, actress, philanthropist, businesswoman |
| Labels |
Red Hill, Island, Columbia, Virgin, Capitol, Java |
| Website | |
Katheryn Elizabeth "Katy" Hudson (better known by her stage name, Katy Perry) is an American singer-songwriter.
Originally beginning her music career making Christian music, Perry transitioned into pop when she moved to Los Angeles to pursue a record deal. Perry released her debut single "I Kissed a Girl" in April 2008. The song became a worldwide hit, reaching #1 in 19 countries.
Perry served as a guest judge on the seventh series of The X Factor UK, in 2010. Her "Yes" vote was the decider that allowed Niall Horan to proceed to bootcamp, where he would eventually be placed into One Direction.
Early Life[]
Katy Perry was born in Santa Barbara, California in 1984. She has one sister, Angela and one brother, David. Perry was raised in a devout Christian family. She attended Christian schools and camps as a child, often singing at her local church in the choir. In her 2012 docu-film: Part Of Me, Perry explained how her devout parents banned many things considered satanic such as pop music, Harry Potter books and even the cereal brand 'Lucky Charms'. She and her sister were not aware of mainstream American pop culture until their teens, when they would start going to friends houses.
Musical Career[]
Perry received her first guitar as a Christmas present at age 13, and soon after began writing songs. She would later perform songs at Christian music festivals and events. Perry left high school at age 15 to pursue a musical career. Her first record label was Red Hill Records, where Perry recorded her debut album, the self titled gospel record, Katy Hudson. Perry moved to Los Angeles at age 17 and, in 2003, she briefly performed as Katheryn Perry to avoid confusion with actress Kate Hudson. She later merged her stage name into Katy Perry, based on her mother's maiden name.
In 2004, Perry signed to Java Records, which was closely related to The Island Def Jam Music Group. After Java Records was dropped, Perry's mentor introduced her to Tim Devine from Columbia Records who signed her as a solo artist. Perry wrote and recorded material with a host of pop producers including Desmond Child, Greg Wells, Butch Walker, Scott Cutler/Anne Previn, The Matrix, Kara DioGuardi, and Max Martin and Dr. Luke. Unfortunately, Perry was dropped from Columbia in 2006. Perry then moved to an independent A&R company called Taxi Music.
After Columbia, Angelica Cob-Baehler, a publicity executive at the label, took Perry's unfinished demos to Virgin Records chairman Jason Flom. Flom signed Perry to Capitol Records in April 2007. The label arranged for Perry to once again work with Dr. Luke in order to create an "undeniable smash" to her existing material. Perry and Dr. Luke then co-wrote "I Kissed a Girl" and "Hot N Cold" for her second album One Of The Boys. I Kissed A Girl was a worldwide #1 smash. Perry would go on to release two more albums and sell over 100 million records worldwide. Her third album, Teenage Dream, is only the second album in history to produce five #1 hits, after Michael Jackson's Bad. It is also the first album by a female artist to achieve this. Perry performed at the 2015 Super Bowl XLIX halftime show, alongside Lenny Kravitz and Missy Elliott. Her performance garnered 118.5 million US viewers, making it the highest rated show in Super Bowl history.
In 2016, Perry released a promotional single for the Olympics, called "Rise" which reached #1 in Australia.
On February 10, 2017, Perry released Chained to the Rhythm, the lead single for her fifth album, with Skip Marley. It peaked at number four in the United States. Its second single, "Bon Appétit", featured hip hop group Migos and was released on April 28, 2017. The single did not perform well. The album, Witness, was released on June 9, 2017 to mixed reviews but still debuted at number one in the United States. To accompany the album's release, Perry began the "Katy Perry Live: Witness World Wide" livestream on Youtube, which lasted from June 9 to June 12, concluding with a live concert on the final day. The live stream showed Perry living in a Big Brother style house, and many famous guests stopped by to interact with her. In one special guest segment, Katy received a therapy session, where she broke down in tears claiming she did not want to be "Katy Perry" anymore. The live stream generated over 49 million views from 190 different countries. Her upcoming Witness: The Tour will run in North America from September 2017 to February 2018. On June 15, Calvin Harris released a song titled "Feels" featuring Perry, Big Sean, and Pharrell Williams from his album Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 1. Perry released "Swish Swish" as the third official single from Witness. The song features rapper Nicki Minaj and appears to be Perry's response to her ongoing feud with Taylor Swift.
Personal Life[]
Perry dated Gym Class Heroes lead singer Travie McCoy from 2006 to 2008, and appeared in the band's video for their hit single "Cupid's Chokehold".
Perry met comedian and presenter Russell Brand in 2009, whilst filming a cameo for Get Him To The Greek. They began dating soon after and were married in 2010. Perry's docu-film Part Of Me briefly showcases her marriage to Brand, and shows the strain of constant touring keeping them apart. Toward the end of Perry's world tour, Perry becomes more depressed and distraught, due to her failing marriage. On the night of her highest recorded attendance for one Brazilian concert, Perry appears to have ended her relationship with Brand and is reduced to tears shortly before she is due on stage[1]. In 2011, Brand filed for divorce after 14 months of marriage[2]. He would later claims Perry's mainstream success and reluctance to engage in activism as reasons for his leaving. Perry explains in her docu-film that Brand made her choose between her career and their marriage.
Perry has since dated producer Diplo, musician John Mayer and actor Orlando Bloom. During her youtube live stream, Perry was asked by James Corden to rate which of her three most recent exes was the best in bed. She rated Mayer first, Bloom second and Diplo last.
On August 2020, she gave birth to her first child named Daisy Dove Bloom.
Discography[]
- Katy Hudson (2001)
- One of the Boys (2008)
- Teenage Dream (2010)
- Prism (2013)
- Witness (2017)
- Smile (2020)
Filmography[]
- The Smurfs (2011)
- Katy Perry: Part of Me (2012)
- The Smurfs 2 (2013)
- Brand: A Second Coming (2015)
- Katy Perry: The Prismatic World Tour (2015)
- Katy Perry: Making of the Pepsi Super Bowl Halftime Show (2015)
- Jeremy Scott: The People's Designer (2015)
- Zoolander 2 (2016)
Tours[]
Headlining[]
- Hello Katy Tour (2009)
- California Dreams Tour (2011–12)
- The Prismatic World Tour (2014–15)
Co-headlining[]
- Strangely Normal Tour (2001)
- Warped Tour (2008)