Katy Perry (born
Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson;
[abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/Music/Story?id=5256149&page=1] October 25, 1984) is an
American
singer-songwriter. She has risen to prominence with her 2008 single "
I Kissed a Girl" which has become a worldwide hit topping the charts in more than 20 countries, including the
United Kingdom,
Canada,
Australia,
Ireland, and the
United States, where it was the 1000th
Billboard Hot 100 number 1.
She is known for her unconventional style of dress, often humoristic, bright in color and reminiscent of different decades, as well as her frequent use of fruit-shaped accessories, mainly
watermelon as part of her outfits.
[www.latimes.com/features/lifestyle/la-ig-katy15-2008jun15,0,5072847.story/Singer Katy Perry has the fashion world abuzz] Perry has a
contralto vocal range.
[Katy Perry at the VMAs.]
Biography
Early life
Perry was born in
Santa Barbara,
Santa Barbara County,
California,
USA. The middle child of two
pastors,
she grew up listening to
gospel music and singing in church.
[ Interview on The Hook. Retrieved on July 11, 2008.] She graduated from
Dos Pueblos High School in
Goleta, California in 2003 and immediately moved to Los Angeles at the age of 18.
[www.independent.com/news/2008/jun/12/major-league/.] After
Steve Thomas and
Jennifer Knapp signed Perry to their label Red Hill Records, she released her first CD
Katy Hudson in 2001, a Christian gospel album.
[ Breimeier, Russ. "Music - Katy Hudson - self-titled". Christianity Today. Retrieved on June 19, 2008.] In her
teenage years, Perry found a
Queen album with her friend, and later said, "From then on, they have been my biggest influence".
["Katy Perry 'Ur So Gay' album - MusicRemedy". MusicRemedy. Retrieved on June 19, 2008.] Also among her musical influences are
Alanis Morissette,
[Andrew Leahey & Jason Birchmeier (2008)."Katy Perry" biography, AllMusic.] Heart, and
Joni Mitchell, as well as the
Incubus album
Morning View.
[Dunleavy, Kristen (June 17, 2008). "Katy Perry Exclusive Interview". KiwiBox. Retrieved on June 19, 2008.] She changed her surname to Perry because "Katy Hudson" was too close to
Kate Hudson.
Perry is her mother's maiden name.
Perry's biggest influences are
pop rockers Cher,
Cyndi Lauper,
Pat Benatar,
Joan Jett, and
Shirley Manson, who, Perry says, "came out with a vengeance".
[LAtimes.com Katy Perry]
Career
In 2004, Perry worked for the
record production team
The Matrix, who had previously worked with
Avril Lavigne,
Liz Phair,
Hilary Duff,
Skye Sweetnam,
Korn and
Britney Spears, among others. Perry also began working on a debut mainstream album, writing with
Glen Ballard, which was due for release in 2005; some of the collaborations included "Box", "Diamonds" and "Long Shot," which were released on Perry's official
MySpace page. Her burgeoning music career led to her being named "The Next Big Thing" in October 2004 in
Blender Magazine, where Perry stated she wasn't "a typical
Christian", mentioning that she had done "lots of bad things" during her adolescence.
[Duerden, Nick (October 2004). "The Next Big Thing! Katy Perry Article". Blender. Retrieved on June 19, 2008.] One of the tracks she recorded with Ballard, "Simple", was released on the soundtrack of the 2005 film
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.
[Amazon.com: The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants Soundtrack] In 2006, Perry appeared on
P.O.D.'s single, "
Goodbye for Now".
[P.O.D. - Testify] She has openly talked about her struggles within the music industry, such as being dropped from record labels for much of her early career. Her songs eventually captured the attention of
Virgin Records CEO Jason Flom, who was the head of
Capitol Music Group, and she signed to Capitol Music in early-2007. Perry is now regularly heard on
MTV,
VH1, as well as commercials. She most recently appeared on the
MTV VMA Awards singing
Madonna's hit single, "
Like a Virgin".
One of the Boys (2008-present)
After signing to
Capitol Records, Perry began recording for her official mainstream debut album, released in 2008, working with
Cathy Dennis,
Greg Wells,
Dr. Luke,
Butch Walker,
Max Martin,
Dave Stewart, and
Ted Bruner. The full-length album titled
One of the Boys was released in the USA on June 17, 2008.
[Katy Perry - Official Website] Perry was an act in the 2008
Vans Warped Tour to promote the album.
[
Perry warped tour.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Katy Perry on her 2008 [[Vans Warped Tour]]]
The album was preceded by a digital EP in late 2007, entitled "
Ur So Gay", produced by and co-written with
Greg Wells (
OneRepublic,
Mika). A video for the song premiered in early 2008, and brought Perry to the attention of
Madonna, who mentioned her on
KISS FM and
KRQ's JohnJay & Rich morning show in Arizona, stating that "Ur So Gay" was her "favorite song right now,"
[Markus Molinari. Sharenow.com: Markus is the Drug.] as well as another mention on
Ryan Seacrest's Morning Show. "Ur So Gay" has been criticized for alleged
homophobia.
[French, Marguerite. "Katy Perry - One of The Boys Album Review", Ugo.com. Retrieved June 22, 2008.][Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (2008). "One of the Boys - Katy Perry" review, AllMusic. Retrieved June 24, 2008.][The New Gay Zack (2008). "Katy Perry: The New Gay Interview", The New Gay. Tuesday, June 10, 2008. Retrieved June 22, 2008.][Cinquemani, Sal (2008). "Katy Perry - One of the Boys" review, Slant Magazine. Posted: June 15, 2008. Retrieved June 22, 2008.]
On April 29, 2008, her first official single from
One of the Boys, "
I Kissed a Girl", debuted on the
iTunes Store. The song debuted on the
Billboard Hot 100 at #76, climbing to #1 as of June 25, 2008. It has peaked on iTunes Top 100 at #1, as of June 3, 2008. The music video for "I Kissed a Girl" was released on May 21, 2008 on
MySpace. An essay in
Slant Magazine argues that the song "isn't problematic because it promotes homosexuality, but because its
appropriation of the
gay identity exists for the sole purpose of garnering attention—both from Perry's boyfriend and her audience."
In addition, she has had songs from the album featured on
MTV's series
The Hills ("Self Inflicted", "Waking Up in Vegas" and "Thinking of You"), on
Oxygen Network's reality series
Fight Girls, and on the 2008 film
Baby Mama ("Fingerprints").
As an actress, she made a cameo appearance on
Carbon Leaf's video "Learn to Fly" and on
Gym Class Heroes' video "
Cupid's Chokehold", playing the eventual love interest for her real-life boyfriend, lead singer
Travis McCoy.
[Katy Perry 'Ur So Gay' album - MusicRemedy] On March 10, 2008, she appeared as herself on the
ABC Family television series
Wildfire, on the episode "
Life's Too Short".
["Wildfire" Life's Too Short (2008)] She has appeared in print advertisements for Too Faced Cosmetics' Spring 2007 line. On June 12, 2008, Perry appeared as herself on the daytime
soap opera The Young and the Restless, who poses for the cover of the fictional magazine
Restless Style; that same day she appeared on MTV's
Total Request Live.
Perry released the second single "Hot N Cold" on September 9, 2008.
This became Katy's second top 5 hit in the USA, also reaching number 7 in the UK a month before its physical release.
Perry stated that the success of
British singer-songwriters
Amy Winehouse and
Lily Allen more female artists have been appearing on the charts. She also said that Winehouse and Allen "have introduced America to great music".
[angryape.com/news/2008/09/26/katy-perry-says-lily-allen-amy-winehouse-have-paved-the-way-for-female-artists]
Controversies
Her two songs, "
Ur So Gay" and "
I Kissed a Girl", have been cited as being
homophobic as well as
misandric by columnists, activists, and commentators including
Glenn Sacks,
[Sacks, Glenn (June 13, 2008). "Katy Perry--Anti-Gay or Anti-Male?", glennsaks.com blog.] and gay periodicals like the
Washington Blade.
[Armendariz, Rebecca (June 20, 2008). "One of the clueless: Katy Perry proves that talent doesn’t make up for vapid and offensive lyrics" The Washington Blade.][The New Gay Zack (June 10, 2008) "Katy Perry: The New Gay Interview", TheNewGay.net.]
MSNBC contributor Tony Sclafani wrote "The litmus test of hypocrisy here is that if you substituted a different minority in Perry’s tunes, they’d never get airplay. 'I Kissed a Black Guy' or 'Ur So Korean' would not be Top 40. For that matter, a song called 'I Kissed a Boy,' sung by a male, would probably die on the vine".
[Sclafani, Tony (July 22, 2008). Media giving Katy Perry a pass on ‘Kiss’, MSNBC.com]
Others, such as
Chicago Sun-Times columnist Dr. Laura Berman, find the lyrics positive, arguing that "the fact that this song
Kissed a Girl is sparking so much interest"
[ , "Six Questions with Girl Kisser Katie Perry", August 2008, AOL Music.] suggests that our society is beginning to accept that there isn't always one box, gay or straight, for people to check".
[Berman, Laura (July 23, 2008). "Katy strikes blow for exploration", Chicago Sun-Times.]
Perry responded to the controversy about "Gay" with "It’s not a negative connotation. It’s not 'you're so gay', like 'you're so lame', but the fact of the matter is that this boy should’ve been gay. I totally understand how it could be misconstrued or whatever... I wasn’t stereotyping anyone in particular, I was talking about ex-boyfriends".
[Katy Perry: The New Gay Interview]
Discography
Videography
Cameos
Awards and nominations
Television appearances
- So You Think You Can Dance (1 episode, 2008) .... Herself
- The Howard Stern Show (1 episode, "Katy Perry and George's Party", 2008) .... Herself
- Wildfire (1 episode, "Life's Too Short", 2008) .... Herself
- The Young and the Restless (1 episode, 2008) .... Herself
- Last Call with Carson Daly (1 episode, "16 June 2008", 2008) .... Herself
- Extra (1 episode, "20 July 2008", 2008) .... Herself
- The View (1 episode, "28 July 2008", 2008) .... Herself
- 2008 MTV Video Music Awards (2008) .... Herself and also Singer
- The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (1 episode, "6 October 2008", 2008) .... Herself
- Rove. (1 episode, "12 October 2008", 2008) .... Herself
