On October 25, 1984, Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson gave birth to Katy Perry, an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. She is highly renowned for her effect on modern pop music and her campy appearance, earning her the title “Queen of Camp” from Vogue. Perry made the decision to pursue a career in gospel music at the age of 16. Her debut album, Katy Hudson, was released by Red Hill Records in 2001, although it was not a commercial hit. She moved to Los Angeles at the age of 17 in order to pursue a career in secular music. She subsequently adopted the stage name “Katy Perry,” which was drawn from the maiden name of her mother. She was fired from Columbia Records prior to signing with Capitol Records after completing an album there.
She rose to fame with the pop rock album One of the Boys (2008), which included the U.S. Billboard Hot 100’s breakthrough number-one single “I Kissed a Girl” and number-three follow-up single “Hot n Cold.” The five U.S. number one singles from the disco-influenced pop album Teenage Dream (2010) are California Gurls, Teenage Dream, Firework, E.T., and Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F. ), making it the only album by a female musician to accomplish this feat. The album Teenage Dream: The Full Confection, which was rereleased in 2012, had the number one song in the United States, “Part of Me.” From her empowerment-themed album Prism (2013), the tracks “Roar” and “Dark Horse” peaked at number one in the US.
Thanks to each of their unique music videos, Perry became the first artist to have two videos on Vevo with one billion views. For the electropop album Smile (2020), she drew inspiration from her most recent pregnancy and mental health struggles, while Witness (2017) featured feminism and a political undercurrent. She subsequently began her Play concert residency in Las Vegas, which from its inception in 2021 has been both critically and commercially successful.