Short Biography

Katy Perry is an American singer-songwriter. Her 2008 single "I Kissed a Girl" has become an international smash-hit topping numerous charts worldwide, including the Billboard Hot 100, Canadian Hot 100, The UK Singles Chart, Australian singles chart, Irish singles chart and the United World Chart. In the United States, the song is also noted for being the 1000th chart-topper of the Rock Era. She is known for her unconventional style of dress, often humorous, 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

Perry was born in Santa Barbara, California, USA. The middle child of two pastors, she grew up listening to gospel music and singing in church. Katy Perry graduated from Dos Pueblos High School in Goleta, California in 2003 and immediately moved to Los Angeles at the age of 17 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. According to several Christian radio stations, Katy Perry`s most recent album One of The Boys has raised a considerable amount of controversy as her single "I Kissed a Girl" champions the forces of immorality versus morality, and promotes sexual activity that conflicts with her Christian upbringing; on the other hand, the single "Ur So Gay" has been interpreted as being homophobic for its derogatory use of the word "gay". In her teenage years, Perry found a Queen album with her friend, "From then on, they have been my biggest influence". Also among her musical influences are Alanis Morissette, Heart, and Joni Mitchell, as well as the Incubus album, Morning View. Perry changed her surname to Perry because "Katy Hudson" was too close to Kate Hudson. Perry was her mother`s maiden name.

In 2004, Perry worked for the record production team The Matrix, who had previously worked with Avril Lavigne, Liz Phair, 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. One of the tracks she recorded with Ballard, "Simple", was released on the soundtrack of the 2005 film The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. In 2006, Perry appeared on P.O.D.`s single, "Goodbye for Now". 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 reality TV show So You Think You Can Dance, singing her hit, "I Kissed a Girl".

After signing to Capitol Records, Perry began recording for her official mainstream debut album, released in 2008, working with Greg Wells, Dr. Luke, Butch Walker, Max Martin, Cathy Dennis, Dave Stewart, and Ted Bruner. The full length album titled One of the Boys was released in the USA on June 17, 2008

Who's Dated Who content is contributed and edited by our readers. Please report errors or omissions on this page.