Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. She is one of the best-selling music artists in history, having sold over 151 million records worldwide. Perry is known for her influence on pop music and her camp style, being dubbed the “Queen of Camp” by Vogue and Rolling Stone.
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As a teenager, she learned to play the guitar and sought a musical career in Nashville with a Christian record label, but her debut album, the gospel-influenced Katy Hudson (2001), sold poorly. By then, however, Hudson had found new musical models in such rock artists as Freddie Mercury and Alanis Morissette, whom she had discovered through friends. She soon moved to Los Angeles to pursue success in the secular music realm, adopting her mother’s maiden name, Perry, to avoid confusion with the actress Kate Hudson.
The trip sparked memes and controversy, and made headlines after other celebrities responded to her taking the space flight. Actor Olivia Munn, for example, branded Perry “gluttonous”, Emily Ratajkowski said she was similarly “disgusted” by the space flight and Martha Steward made a tongue-in-cheek jab at the mission. Perry‘s artists and repertoire (A&R) manager later took responsibility for the decision to team up with Dr. Luke, saying that it came from his “desire” for the two of them to work together on ‘143’. Sharing how she has been “through a rollercoaster” of highs and lows since the record was shared, she added that she was “proud” of how her fanbase stuck together.
Perry maintained her grip on the mainstream with her next release, Prism (2013), which produced, among other hits, the anthemic “Roar.” Her 2016 single “Rise” was featured in television coverage of that year’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Perry’s fifth studio album, Witness (2017), more introspective than her earlier work, was less well received. Controversy continued when Perry was fined over £5,000 for filming the music video for the ‘Lifetimes’ single in a protected area of Spain without permission. Next month she will continue the tour with some stops in the UK, where the ‘E.T.’ singer will perform in Manchester, Sheffield and Birmingham, and wrap up the stint with a closing night at London’s O2 Arena.
“I tend to be mostly a futurist but it would be negligent of me to not acknowledge the incredible impact this last year has had on me.”
She ended her message to fans with optimism, writing, “Let’s hope we get to evolve together for years to come… and at the end of it all be proud and at peace with how we tried our best in this imperfect world.” The pop star reflected on both her professional setbacks and personal challenges, saying she feels “proud” of where she has landed. Katy Perry marked the first anniversary of her album 143 with a candid Instagram post about what she called a “rollercoaster” year. New figures were then shared by Page Six and Billboard, showing that even despite the setbacks, her recent run of tour dates have grossed more than $80million (£59million) in sales. When Perry headed out on tour, fans were divided again, as she faced multiple occasions where props malfunctioned, experienced a fan fainting on stage, and faced harsh criticism from some online over the choreography involved.
Filmography
Those shows will also see her make efforts to help support the UK’s grassroots music scene, with £1 ticket from every ticket sold will be given to Music Venue Trust (MVT) – providing security for local music venues and emerging talent. “Records are snapshots of an artist trying to tell their story of where they are now or have been, and hope someone will hear themselves in some of the messages,” the post continued. “Whatever comes next, I’m letting it unfold naturally. No forcing, no controlling — just trusting the angels, the fans, and the music to guide me where I’m meant to go,” she wrote later in the post, seemingly alluding to a year of change in her personal life. In an Instagram post shared on Monday, Sept. 22, Perry, 40, reflected on the anniversary of the release of her 2024 album 143. Perry also said she is letting go of control and allowing her next steps to unfold naturally. “No forcing, no controlling — just trusting the angels, the fans, and the music to guide me where I’m meant to go,” she wrote.
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Nearly two months after being spotted with former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the two are “still speaking and very interested in each other,” multiple sources told US Weekly. “We celebrate the wins and reflect on the losses. All of it is valuable,” Perry told her 202 million followers on Instagram. “I am proud of where and how I have landed in this moment… proud of myself, proud of my fans and proud that I keep on swinging.” The criticism continued into her “Lifetimes” Tour, with some mocking her onstage dance moves.
When did Katy Perry tie Michael Jackson’s record of five number one songs from a single album?
Katy Perry tied Michael Jackson’s record of five number one songs from a single album when her song “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)” reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 2011. The Grammy nominee shared a slideshow of photos and videos from the past year, including behind-the-scenes images from the “Woman’s World” music video shoot and moments from her tour stops. Perry’s post included behind-the-scenes photos and videos of the making of the album and Perry rehearsing onstage for the Lifetimes Tour. The tour is an encapsulation of Perry’s discography, including smash hits like “Firework,” “The One That Got Away” and “California Gurls.”
“Please know I am ok, I have done a lot of work around knowing who I am, what is real and what is important to me,” she told fans. Before then, she faced intense scrutiny after being a part of a highly criticised space flight earlier in April, where she was one member of the first all-female space mission in history. The singer took to social media recently to make a lengthy post about the highs and lows of 2025 so far, and shed light on how the reception to her latest album ‘143’ has affected her. Perry added that her fans have joined her on the “rollercoaster” of her career and most recent album release, and thanked them for “the community we are and growing to become.” Bloom later told “Today” that the split was amicable and said, “We’re going to be great. Nothing but love.”
At 16, Perry released a gospel album titled Katy Hudson (2001) under Red Hill Records, which was unsuccessful. She moved to Los Angeles at 17 to venture into secular music, and later adopted her stage name from her mother’s maiden name. Perry recorded an album while signed to Columbia Records, but was dropped before signing to Capitol Records. She rose to fame with One of the Boys (2008), a pop rock album containing her debut single “I Kissed a Girl” and follow-up single “Hot n Cold”, which reached number one and three on the U.S.
- Before then, she faced intense scrutiny after being a part of a highly criticised space flight earlier in April, where she was one member of the first all-female space mission in history.
- At 16, Perry released a gospel album titled Katy Hudson (2001) under Red Hill Records, which was unsuccessful.
- Controversy around Katy Perry’s latest album kicked off before she even released the record.
- In 2007, however, Capitol Records put out Perry’s EP Ur So Gay, which attracted modest attention for its cheerfully flippant title track.
In April, she faced online backlash for taking part in the first all-female Blue Origin spaceflight just weeks before the tour began. Perry, 40, told fans that she usually avoids anniversary posts but felt compelled to recognize the impact of the past year. Ahead of the one-year milestone for the album, Perry shared a lengthy response to the backlash she has faced earlier this year.
Nevertheless, the combination of titillation and polished melodicism helped “I Kissed a Girl” become a number one hit in multiple countries, powering sales for her album One of the Boys (2008). With its bouncy, sharp-tongued second single, “Hot N Cold,” also proving popular, the album—much of which Perry wrote herself—eventually registered sales of more than three million copies in the United States. Katy Hudson was raised in southern California, the middle child of two itinerant born-again Christian ministers. Nonreligious music was forbidden in the Hudson household, and she grew up singing church hymns and gospel tunes.
- “I tend to be mostly a futurist but it would be negligent of me to not acknowledge the incredible impact this last year has had on me.”
- The trip sparked memes and controversy, and made headlines after other celebrities responded to her taking the space flight.
- Perry added that her fans have joined her on the “rollercoaster” of her career and most recent album release, and thanked them for “the community we are and growing to become.”
- Controversy continued when Perry was fined over £5,000 for filming the music video for the ‘Lifetimes’ single in a protected area of Spain without permission.
- With its bouncy, sharp-tongued second single, “Hot N Cold,” also proving popular, the album—much of which Perry wrote herself—eventually registered sales of more than three million copies in the United States.
- “Please know I am ok, I have done a lot of work around knowing who I am, what is real and what is important to me,” she told fans.
The world’s highest-paid female musician in 2015 and 2018, Billboard named her one of the greatest pop stars of the 21st century. After recording the stripped-down live album MTV Unplugged (2009), Perry returned to the studio. Perry’s initial efforts at mainstream stardom were fruitless, with two separate record labels signing and subsequently dropping her before any material was released. In 2007, however, Capitol Records put out Perry’s EP Ur So Gay, which attracted modest attention for its cheerfully flippant title track. She made a greater splash several months later with the single “I Kissed a Girl,” an assertive ode to sexual curiosity backed by a hard-edged electro-pop beat. The song quickly stirred controversy, as some critics derided it for promoting same-sex relations and others charged that the racy scenario it depicted catered to male fantasies of female sexuality.
Taking to Instagram, she shared a number of videos and photos from the past few months, including shots of her travelling for the ‘Lifetimes Tour’, meeting fans and more. She started the caption by explaining that while she usually shies away from anniversary posts, she thought it would be “negligent” to not “acknowledge the incredible impact this last year has had on me”. 143 was billed as a major pop comeback but faced backlash when fans learned producer Dr. Luke had contributed to the record. The lead single, “Woman’s World,” underperformed commercially, and the album drew the lowest Metacritic score in over a decade.
“Records are snapshots of an artist trying to tell their story,” she wrote on Instagram, adding that 143 has become about “reconnecting” with her fans on tour. On top of that, one of the main singles from the album, ‘Woman’s World’, triggered backlash too when it was shared last year, with many finding the video catered to the male gaze rather than challenging it. Controversy around Katy Perry’s latest album kicked off before she even released the record. Weeks before the album arrived how to read the macd in September 2024, fans were divided over the contributions from Dr. Luke, who Kesha accused of emotional abuse and sexual assault in 2014, culminating in a decade-long lawsuit. Katy Perry achieved mainstream success in 2008 with her single “I Kissed a Girl,” which became a number one hit in multiple countries. Her album One of the Boys (2008), featuring the hit “Hot N Cold,” sold more than three million copies in the United States.
