Celebrating The Modern Queen of Camp: Katy Perry

If we talk about an artist whose music is catchy and appeals to mainstream pop lovers, you would probably think about Katy Perry. That’s right, she is one of the best-selling record artists of all time and is known for making groundbreaking pop records throughout her entire career. But did you know her rise to fame was almost non-existent as two separate record labels signed and subsequently dropped her before even releasing an album? Or that she is banned from China? Or that she is also one of the most successful voice coaches of all time? Well, there are just so many things about our favorite pop star that the world doesn’t know about. So let’s look at some of these facts along with her journey of 23 years together! 

Katy belongs to an extremely religious family 

Katy Perry was born as Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson to Pentecostal pastors Mary Christine (née Perry) and Maurice Keith Hudson in 1984. Not only Katy is an American, but she also has German, Irish, English, and Portuguese ancestry. She is also the niece of legendary film director Frank Perry. Perry and her siblings were brought up in an extremely religious household with strict parents. She also moved across the country very often as her parents used to set up churches. As the singer claims, there were a lot of strict rules she and her siblings had to follow growing up. So much so that they were not even allowed to eat Lucky Charms cereal as the word "luck" reminded their mother of “Lucifer”. They were also not allowed to call deviled eggs by their name and were asked to call them "angeled eggs” instead.

However strict the household rules were, Perry had her first interest in music following her sister Angela. Recalling the stories of her childhood, Perry said the first time she ever felt compelled to get into the industry, or to say make music was when one of her friends played "You Oughta Know" by Alanis Morissette. Following her dream of becoming a musician, she began taking singing lessons at the age of 9, and since then it has become a part of her life.

Los Angeles and a new beginning of Katy Hudson

It was during her first year of high school when she left her education to pursue a music career. She first signed with Red Hill Records and released Katy Hudson, in 2001. This was the global pop star’s debut album which was a contemporary Christian record, and became commercially unsuccessful. It was the time when she decided to transition from gospel music to secular music, started working with renowned producer Glen Ballard, and moved to Los Angeles.

However, moving to Los Angeles did not immediately give her success. She was at first signed to Ballard's label, Java Records which was then affiliated with The Island Def Jam Music Group. Then she was also signed to Columbia Records which did not work out for her. It was signed to Capitol Records and worked with Dr. Luke who brought the world a breakthrough artist and gifted legendary songs like "I Kissed a Girl" and "Hot n Cold" with her second album “One of the Boys”

Songwriting talent

As good as she is with her vocals, there is no denying the fact that she is also an extremely talented songwriter. Her songwriting dates back to her not-so-famous days, her struggling days. As Katy recalls, "Thinking of You" was one of the first songs she wrote after moving to Los Angeles. Her Columbia debut album was called “Fingerprints” which did not get released. Among the songs that the ‘Roar’ singer wrote in that era, some of them were selected for her second official album while some of them were sent to other artists. For example, "I Do Not Hook Up" and "Long Shot" were given to Kelly Clarkson, and "Rock God" was given to Selena Gomez & the Scene.

Some of the other tracks that Katy wrote herself are ‘California Gurls’, ‘Dark Horse’, ‘Feels’, ‘Act My Age’, ‘Harleys in Hawaii’, ‘Roar’, ‘Teenage Dream’, ‘Unconditionally’, etc.

Million-dollar deal with American Idol

After serving as a guest judge on American Idol during her ‘Teenage Dream’ era, Katy Perry became a regular on the ABC show American Idol in 2018. In 2017, after freshly hosting the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards, she signed a deal with ABC's revival of American Idol. The season first premiered in 2018 Aside from her brilliant judgment on the show, the most surprising thing was that American idol Katy Perry was paid a whopping 25 million dollars to serve as a judge! According to the superstar, she neutered the show with the pure intention of nurturing young talents into successful singers. However, in 2023, there was a bit of controversy where the singer felt that her intentions on the show were misunderstood, and she was being portrayed as the "nasty judge" on the show. She became concerned about being perceived as a negative reality show judge despite having a massive successful career as a singer. The controversy started when the artist was seen mom-shaming a contestant Sara Beth Liebe during an audition where Perry's comments were deemed as embarrassing and hurtful. It remains unclear whether the artist will ever return as a judge on the show again. 

Perry the romantic! 

In her life, Katy Perry has always been somewhat of a romantic and her love life has always been at the front of gossip magazines. People say that the singer certainly has a type after studying the dating history. She is currently dating and engaged to actor Orlando Bloom. However, in the past, she has always dated musicians before settling down with her baby daddy. 

During her 'Teenage Dream' era, Katy dated Justin York, the older brother of Paramore guitarist Taylor York, and also a fellow musician. Katy is someone who brings the influence of her relationships to her music. If you are wondering whether the tragically beautiful tracks 'Circle the Drain' and 'The One That Got Away' had something to do with her relationship and love life then you are absolutely right. Her broken relationship with Grammy nominee dated the Sons of Anarchy actor, Johnny Lewis was the one that inspired these beautifully written tracks. Her long list of rumored ex-boyfriends also includes Gym Class Heroes frontman Travie Mccoy, John Mayor, Florence + the Machine guitarist Robert Ackroyd, Diplo, etc. 

Her life took a significant turn when she got engaged and married to the actor and musician Russell Brand. The couple Russell's movie Get Him to the Greek, quickly fell in love and got married in a Hindu ceremony in India in 2010. However, the marriage did not last long, and later the couple got divorced. 

Returning to her present, Katy Perry husband Orlando Bloom has been around in the life of the 'Firework' singer for many years. The two first dated for an-and-off for two years in 2012-2014 before breaking up. Then life happened and the two moved on. Katy dated Robert Ackroyd and Dilpo and Orlando was married to Miranda Kerr. The dynamic eventually got back together in 2016. Since then they have become inseparable and the couple also share a baby, Daisy Bloom. The two got engaged in 2019. 

Biggest hits of Katy Perry 

In her career, the artist has given the industry hits after hits and now she is known as one of the best-selling artists in the history of music. If we talk about the most famous Katy Perry songs, here is the list of our top 10 favorites - 

10. ‘Wide Awake’ (Release Date - May 22, 2012) (Chart peak - number two) 

09. ‘Part of Me’ (Release Date - February 13, 2012) (Chart peak - number one) 

08. ‘Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)’ (Release Date - June 6, 2011) (Chart peak - number one) 

07. ‘Teenage Dream’ (Release Date - July 23, 2010) (Chart peak - number one) 

06. ‘Roar’ (Release Date - August 10, 2013) (Chart peak - number one) 

05. ‘Firework’ (Release Date - October 18, 2011) (Chart peak - number one) 

04. ‘Dark Horse (feat. Juicy J)’ (Release Date - December 17, 2013) (Chart peak - number one) 

03. ‘E.T. (feat. Kanye West)’ (Release Date - February 16, 2011) (Chart peak - number one) 

02. ‘California Gurls (feat. Snoop Dogg)’ (Release Date - May 7, 2010) (Chart Peak - number one) 

01. ‘I Kissed a Girl’ (Release Date - April 28, 2008) (Chart peak - number one) 

Most U.S. diamond-certified singles for any female artist! 

Not only Katy Perry is massively talented, but she is also beating several female artists in every category. She recently became the artist with the most U.S. diamond-certified singles for any female artist. Throughout her career, the singer has had a total of four diamond singles. With this record, she has now officially beat Lady Gaga as both artists had three diamond plaques to their credit. 

Other than this, all of her studio albums released under Capitol Records have individually surpassed one billion streams on Spotify. Perry also has three U.S. number-one albums, along with a whopping nine U.S. number-one singles. The list does not end here as Katy Perry is also the only female singer to have ever received the Billboard Spotlight Award. 

Massive net worth 

Katy Perry is a hugely successful music artist. This is a fact and we all know it. But do you know that she is also one of the most famous and successful self-made women in America? Well, Perry has a whopping net worth of an estimated $340 million. In 2023, the pop star sold her music rights for a reported $225 million, increasing her net worth by hundreds of millions. Perry sold her publishing rights along with her stakes in master recording royalties, pushing her into a new, richer financial tier. A lot of Katy Perry net worth primarily comes from her successful music career which includes album sales, touring, and merchandise. She also has a shoe brand, Katy Perry Collections, and a non-alcoholic beverage brand, De Soi, contributing to her net worth. So not only she is a prominent musician, and a successful mother, but also a successful businesswoman who knows how to keep her legacy alive. 

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