A former Christian artist, KATY PERRY rose to prominence in summer 2008 with her big hit "I Kissed a Girl." Featuring lyrics like "The taste of her cherry Chapstick / I kissed a girl just to try it / I hope my boyfriend don't mind," the song topped the charts in over 20 countries worldwide. Born Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson on October 25, 1984, Perry was raised in a religious household as the daughter of two devoted pastors who refused to let her listen to any rock or popular music. Thus, young Perry was apt in gospel music until one day during a slumber party she heard the music of Alanis Morissette and Freddie Mercury. Religious music remained at the forefront, however. In fact, in 2001, Perry came up with her self-titled album 'Katy Hudson,' composed of Christian tracks. She would later abandon the genre and her given surname in favor of a pop career.
When she was 17, Perry moved to Los Angeles to work with producer and songwriter Glen Ballard, who had worked with such artists as Christina Aguilera and Alanis Morissette. After a few years, Perry worked with the Matrix, a team of producers/songwriters that had a Grammy nomination, and have worked in partnership with well-known artists like Shakira, Korn, and many others. However their 2004 collaboration was scrapped shortly before the project was to be released. Perry finally signed with Capitol in 2007.
Her debut single, "UR So Gay," generated a modest buzz with its mischievous lyrics and accompanying music video. But the second single "I Kissed a Girl" proved to be her breakthrough hit, topping the charts in 20 countries and pushing its accompanying album, 2008's 'One of the Boys,' into the Top Ten in America. The song also earned Perry a nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 2009 Grammy Awards. Perry supported her debut by joining the Warped Tour in the summer of 2008, where she toured alongside boyfriend Travis McCoy of Gym Class Heroes. Meanwhile, "Hot N Cold" became her second multi-platinum hit, "Thinking of You" cracked the Top 40, and "Waking Up in Vegas" cracked the Top Ten.
In November 2009, Perry released an MTV Unplugged album, which includes two new tracks, "Brick by Brick" and Fountains of Wayne cover "Hackensack."
Her second mainstream studio album, 'Teenage Dream,' was released in August 2010. It featured two hit singles "California Gurls" and the title track. Both tracks charted at the Top 5 of U.S. singles chart in the same week, making her the 10th solo female in the Hot 100's 52-year history to concurrently place two titles in the top five of the list.
In the summer of 2008 Perry was romantically linked to British comedian Russell Brand after meeting at MTV Video Music Awards. They were married at the Aman-e-Khas resort in a tiger preserve in India's Ranthambhore National Park on October 23, 2010.
