Pop music singing sensation Katy Perry has become known for her over-the-top fashions, quirky stage props and catchy songs. She has sold 11 million albums and 81 million singles worldwide, making her one of the best-selling artists of all time. Now here is her full bio just for you.
“Thank you for believing in my weirdness!”
Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson was born October 25, 1984, in Santa Barbara, California. Her parents are Maurice Keith Hudson and Mary Christine Perry who are born-again pastors. She has two siblings, a older sister named Angela, and a younger brother named David. At a very young age she moved a lot with her family as her parents set up churches across the country. She began singing at age 9, and also dancing. Her family also went through a phase of poverty when her family was forced to eat at the food bank, and used food stamps.
She got her GED at age 15. First studied opera music at Music Academy of the west, then moved to Nashville after being discovered by Jennifer Knapp. She began recording demos of her christian music, and signed to Red Hill Records. She released her first gospel album, Katy Hudson which did not do well and only sold 200 copies. Yikes! She was later dropped by the label.
She decided to dump the whole christian music, and transitioned to secular music.First by working with producer Glen Ballard, and moved to LA at 17. In 2003, she briefly performed as Katheryn Perry to avoid confusion with actress Kate Hudson. She later adopted the stage name Katy Perry. She later teamed up with the Matrix becoming one of their two singers. The project was shelved at Sony Records, and Island Def Jam dropped her off the label. She later signed to Columbia Record, and starred working on a solo album. She was later dropped, her album was cancelled, and later 2 of the songs were given to Kelly Clarkson who got a top 40 hit on one of them.
During that time after being dropped, she worked in an independent A&R company called Taxi Music. One of the songs she wrote with Glen Ballard "Simple" was featured in the movie "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants". She provided backing vocals on Mick Jagger's song "Old Habits Die Hard", which won the 2005 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song. She also appeared in several music videos, and sang background vocals for other artists.
She later signed to Capitol records. Her debut single' "Ur So Gay" did a little well, and even bought the attention from icons such as Madonna. Her second single, "I Kissed a Girl" became a hit, and topped the charts in over 20 countries. The song also earned Perry a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Her album, One of the Boys, was released in June 2008, and peaked at #9 on the Billboard 200. The album featured all songs written, or co-written by Katy herself. The album includes songs like "Hot & Cold", "Thinking of You", and "Waking Up in Vegas". They all reached the top 30 in the Billboard Hot 100, especially "Hot & Cold" which reached reached #1. She also went on the Warped Tour to support her album. She began dating Gym Class Hero front man, Travis McCoy. They also broke up after a year of dating.
Katy Perry embarked on her first headlining world tour, the Hello Katy Tour in January 2009. The Matrix's self-titled debut album, which Perry had recorded with the band in 2004, was released as a result of her solo success. She requested holding off the release until the fourth single of One of the Boys had been commissioned, but The Matrix was released onto iTunes on January 27, 2009, prior to the release of fourth single "Waking Up in Vegas". In August she performed as opening act for one date of the band No Doubt's Summer Tour 2009. She released her own acoustic special on MTV. The soundtrack from the show, Katy Perry: MTV Unplugged, was released around the same time. That September, she began dating British Comedian Russell Brand. They got engaged January 1st 2010, and got married that October in India. She collaborated with 3OH!3 on the song "Starstrukk", and Timberland on "If We Ever Meet Again". Guinness World Records recognized her in its 2010 edition as the "Best Start on the U.S. Digital Chart by a Female Artist", for digital single sales of over two million copies.
She released the first song from her upcoming album which was called "California Gurls" in May 2010, and reached #1. The Album, "Teenage Dream", was a commercial success and reached #1 on Billboard 200. It sold over 5.7 million copies world-wide. Its 3rd single, "Firework"was the album's 3rd #1 The song was also certified Platinum 9x in the US. "E.T." featuring Kanye West was the fourth song from the album and it also went #1 for 5 consecutive-weeks. Teenage Dream was the ninth album in history to produce four number one singles on the Hot 100. "Teenage Dream", and "The One That Got Away" were the 5th and 6th single and both went to the Top 10. Katy became the first female artist to achieve five number-one Hot 100 songs from one album when the single topped that chart on August 17, and the second artist after Michael Jackson with his 1987 album Bad. This is very impressive 3 times the charms right. She also began to venture into business when she endorsed her first fragrance, Purr, in November 2010.
She went on the California Dream Tour for a year starting in February that year. It also grossed over $59 million globally. She also stepped into the acting scene appearing in TV shows such as How I Met Your Mother( She won the People Choice Awards for Best Guest Star), and The Simpsons. She also was the voice of Smurfette in the Smurf Movie in July 2011. She hosted Saturday Night Live in December 2011. After 16 months of being married, sadly Russell Brand files for divorce from Katy Perry in December 2011. Her second fragrance, Meow!, was released in December 2011. Both perfumes were released through Nordstrom department stores. The album was reissued in 2012 as Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection, with the bonus track "Wide Awake," earning Perry a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Solo Performance. The song "Part of Me" was also released and debuted at #1.In August 2012, Katy began a on-again off-again relationship with John Meyers. In January the next year, she was named the sixth best-selling digital artist in the United States, with sales of 37.6 million units, and 5 songs selling over 5 million digital copies.
With her divorce pending, Katy started dating Robert Ackroyd, a guitarist for the English band Florence + the Machine. She also guest starred as a prison security guard named Rikki on the Raising Hope. She released her autobiographical documentary, Katy Perry: Part of Me, and it grossed $32.7 million worldwide. She became the spokesperson for Sims 3: Showtime, and later they launched a Katy inspired game called Sims 3: Katy's Sweet Treats in June 2012. The following month, she became the spokesperson and ambassador for Popchips and made an investment in the company. She was ranked third on the 2011 Forbes list of "Top-Earning Women In Music" with earnings of $44 million, and fifth on their 2012 list with $45 million. Billboard named her as their "Woman of the Year" for 2012.
In 2013, she announced the release of her upcoming album, Prism. First by releasing the first song "Roar", which sky-rocketed to #1. "Unconditionally" was released as the second single from Prism on October 16, 2013,and peaked at number 14 in the United States. She released Prism in October,which debuted at #1. She later released the third single "Dark Horse" featuring Juicy J, and it made it Katy's 9th #1. "Birthday" and "This Is How We Do" both reached the Top 40. Additionally, she recorded and co-wrote a duet with Mayer titled "Who You Love" for his album Paradise Valley. The song was released on August 12, 2013.She went on her 3rd headlining tour, The Prismatic World Tour, in May, and ended in early 2015.
In June 2014, she was declared the Top Certified Digital Artist Ever by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for certified sales of 72 million digital singles in the US. She resumed her role as Smurfette in The Smurfs 2 movie. She released her 3rd fragrance called Killer Queens in August 2013. In February 2014, Katy Perry and John Meyers ended their relationship. In June 2014, she announced that she founded her record label under Capitol Records, called Metamorphosis Music. Ferras was the first artist to get signed to her label, and she served as an executive producer on his self-titled EP. Katy performed at Super Bowl XLIX halftime show on February 1, 2015, with special guests Lenny Kravitz and Missy Elliott. Her performance was viewed by 118.5 million viewers in the US, becoming the most watched and highest rated show in Super Bowl history. It even had more views than the game.
As you can see, Katy Perry has done a lot for her Career. To be named Forbes top-earning women for 4 years in a row, and being nominated for a Grammy several times, is just incredible. I just know Katy is not done yet. Who knows were her success will follow. All i know is her unbelievable style, and amazing voice is just undeniable.
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