Biography
Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), professionally known as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television judge. She played a significant role in shaping the pop sound and style of the 2010s. At 16, Perry pursued a career in gospel music and released her debut album, Katy Hudson (2001), with Red Hill Records, which was not commercially successful. At 17, she relocated to Los Angeles to explore secular music, adopting the stage name "Katy Perry," derived from her mother’s maiden name. She worked with producers Glen Ballard and Greg Wells on an unreleased album titled Fingerprints while signed to Java Records and later Columbia Records before being dropped. In April 2007, she signed with Capitol Records.
Perry gained fame with her second album and major-label debut, One of the Boys (2008), a pop rock record featuring her breakout single "I Kissed a Girl" and follow-up "Hot n Cold," which reached number one and three on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, respectively. Her disco-influenced pop album Teenage Dream (2010) produced five U.S. number one singles—"California Gurls," "Teenage Dream," "Firework," "E.T.," and "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)"—making her the first solo female artist to achieve this feat. The album’s reissue, Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection (2012), included the U.S. number one single "Part of Me." Her fourth album, Prism (2013), explored themes of self-empowerment and relationships. With its U.S. number one singles "Roar" and "Dark Horse," Perry became the first artist to have multiple music videos surpass one billion views on YouTube. Witness (2017) showcased an electropop sound with themes of freedom and political messages, while Smile (2020) highlighted motherhood and self-improvement. She later launched her first concert residency, Play, at Resorts World Las Vegas, which sold out numerous shows and earned critical praise.
Perry ranks among the best-selling artists globally, with over 143 million records sold worldwide. Each of her studio albums released through Capitol has surpassed one billion streams on Spotify individually. She boasts nine U.S. number one singles, three U.S. number one albums, and has earned numerous awards, including four Guinness World Records, five Billboard Music Awards, five American Music Awards, a Brit Award, and a Juno Award. From 2011 to 2019, Perry appeared on Forbes’ annual list of highest-earning women in music. Her highly praised Super Bowl halftime show is the most viewed in history. Beyond music, she released an autobiographical documentary, Katy Perry: Part of Me, in 2012 and voiced Smurfette in The Smurfs film series. Since 2018, she has served as a judge on American Idol, starting with its sixteenth season. Perry is also the most followed woman on Twitter, with over 100 million followers.
19 wins and 61 nominations
