Katy Perry

Katy Perry is well known USA singer

Here is one of her song Roar

Katheryn Elizabeth "Katy" Hudson (born October 25, 1984), better known by her stage name Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She grew up in Santa Barbara, California. She pursued a career in gospel music as a teen and released her debut studio album, Katy Hudson (2001), having had limited exposure to mainstream pop music in her childhood. The following year, she moved to Los Angeles to in an attempt to venture into pop and rock music. She recorded a collaborative album with The Matrix, which was released in 2009. A solo album she worked on with Glen Ballard was also recorded and never released.

In April 2007, Perry signed a recording contract with Capitol Records. She rose to fame with the release of her single "I Kissed a Girl" from her second album, One of the Boys (2008). Perry's third effort, Teenage Dream (2010), was preceded by the Billboard Hot 100 chart-topping singles "California Gurls" and "Teenage Dream", and later produced the number-one singles "Firework", "E.T.", and "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)". The album became the first by a female artist to produce five number-one Billboard hits, and the second album overall after Michael Jackson's Bad (1987). In March 2012, she re-released the album as Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection, producing the number-one single "Part of Me". Her fourth effort, Prism (2013), spawned the number-one singles "Roar" and "Dark Horse".

Perry has received many awards and nominations, including eleven Grammy nominations. Billboard dubbed her as 2012's Woman of the Year. She has made the Forbes list of "Top-Earning Women In Music" for 2011, 2012, and 2013. Perry remains the only artist to spend 69 consecutive weeks in the top ten of the Hot 100. She has sold over 11 million albums and 81 million singles worldwide as of November 2013. She has six quintuple-platinum certified singles in the United States, more than any other artist. Perry has ventured into celebrity endorsement and released fragrances Purr, Meow!, and Killer Queen. In late July 2011, she made her film debut voicing Smurfette in The Smurfs. In early July 2012, she released a 3D autobiographical documentary film, Katy Perry: Part of Me, which concentrated on her life as a touring artist and the dissolution of her one-year marriage to English actor and comedian Russell Brand.

Early life and career beginnings

Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson was born near Santa Barbara, California to Pentecostal pastors Maurice Keith Hudson and Mary Christine Perry of Keith Hudson Ministries. Her parents are both born again Christians, each having turned to God after a "wild youth". Keith formerly made and dealt LSD along with Timothy Leary while Mary once dated musician Jimi Hendrix. Through Mary, she is a half-niece of film director and producer Frank Joseph Perry, Jr. She has a younger brother named David, who is also a singer, and an older sister named Angela. Between the ages of 3–11, her family frequently moved to set up churches around the country, before settling again in Santa Barbara. Throughout their childhood, they attended religious schools and camps, including Santa Barbara Christian School during their elementary years. Perry stated that she found it "tough" as a child to frequently switch between schools and lose friends, and that she sometimes felt "out of place" during the early part of her childhood.

Perry's family lived in poverty and "barely got by" during her childhood and adolescence. Her family sometimes ate from the food bank intended to feed the congregation at her parents' church, and used food stamps. Perry described her parents as "uniquely strict", while Angela reminisced of their upbringing as "God's way or no way", resulting in bans of popular products. David recalled that they were not allowed to eat Lucky Charms as "luck is of Lucifer," and had to call deviled eggs "angel eggs."Perry primarily listened to gospel music, as listening to most "secular music" was discouraged in the family's home. She was banned from watching MTV while growing up, and discovered popular music while watching the music channel at her friends' houses. Perry began singing while "copycatting" Angela, often practicing with her sister's cassette tapes.

Perry performed the tracks in front of their parents, who suggested she take vocal lessons. She subsequently underwent training from the ages of 9–16. Perry was incorporated into her parents' ministry and started singing at their church at age nine, before being given her first guitar for her 13th birthday. She began writing gospel songs, which she frequently performed at religious functions. During her teenage years, Perry said she "tried to be like the typical California girl", trying out surfing and getting deeply involved in the local rollerskating scene. David described her as "kind of a tomboy" during that period. Additionally, she took dancing lessons in a recreation building in Santa Barbara, which began with swing, Lindy Hop, and jitterbug.

Artistry

Influences

Alanis Morissette and Freddie Mercury both significantly influenced Perry and her music. During the early stages of her career, Perry's musical styling gravitated towards gospel and she aspired to be like Amy Grant. At the age of 15, she was introduced to Queen's "Killer Queen" and has since described it as being the song that inspired her to pursue a career in music. She cites the band's front man, Freddie Mercury, as her "biggest influence" and expressed how the "combination of his sarcastic approach to writing lyrics and his 'I don't give a fuck' attitude" inspired her music. She paid homage to the band by naming her third fragrance Killer Queen. Perry described The Beach Boys and their album Pet Sounds as having a considerable influence on her music, "It is one of my favorite records and it influenced pretty much all of my songwriting. All of the melody choices that I make are because of it." The singer holds the Beatles' album The Beatles and Pet Sounds in high esteem and described them as "the only things I listened to for probably two years straight."

Perry cites Alanis Morissette and her 1995 album Jagged Little Pill as a significant musical inspiration, opting to work with Morissette's frequent collaborator, Glen Ballard, as a result. Perry stated, "Jagged Little Pill was the most perfect female record ever made. There's a song for anyone on that record; I relate to all those songs. They're still so timeless." Additionally, Perry borrows influence from Flaming Red by Patty Griffin and 10 Cent Wings by Jonatha Brooke. Perry lists Carole King, Bonnie Raitt, and Joni Mitchell as musical aspirations, and intends to become "more of a Joni Mitchell", releasing folk and acoustic music. Perry's autobiographical documentary Katy Perry: Part of Me was largely influenced by Madonna: Truth or Dare. She admires Madonna's ability to reinvent herself, saying "I want to evolve like Madonna."

Perry has listed multiple artists as having inspired her on specific songs and albums. Her third album, Teenage Dream, was styled significantly after the music of ABBA and the Cardigans. She cites Robyn as an influence on her fourth record, Prism, and went on to work with Klas Åhlund on the album as a result of his work with the singer. Aesthetically, she names Gwen Stefani and Björk as influences — particularly admiring the latter's "willingness to always be taking chances". "Firework" was inspired by a passage in the book On the Road by Jack Kerouac in which the author compares people who are full of life to fireworks that shoot across the sky and make people go "Awww!". Her second concert tour, the California Dreams Tour, was reminiscent of Alice In Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz. She also credits the 1996 movie The Craft for being the influence behind her song "Dark Horse" and Eckhart Tolle's book The Power of Now for influencing Prism.

Musical style and themes

"When I am in between records, sometimes I doubt myself. I'll be like: Did I just get lucky, or did I mass-manipulate the world into thinking that seven songs were worth a number-one position? And then I go back into the studio and I start writing, and the true essential oil of who I am comes bubbling back up and reminds me that it's always been inside of me, that nobody can take this away no matter what comment anyone makes. It's going to be there because it's what I was born with and it's what I've worked on my whole life." — Perry on her confidence as a songwriter

While Perry's music contains elements of pop, rock, electronic, dance, and disco, Katy Hudson falls within gospel. Her subsequent release, One of the Boys, is predominantly pop rock and includes lyrical themes of heartbreak and teenage adventure. Teenage Dream features more electronic and disco influences and finds the singer touching on the subjects of teenage love, self-empowerment, and personal growth. Perry's fourth album, Prism, is significantly influenced by dance and pop music. Lyrically, the album addresses relationships, self-reflection, and living in the present. Many of her songs, particularly on Teenage Dream, reflect on life and love between teenage youths; W described them as "odes to adolescent lust wrapped up in irresistible hook-laden melodies". Self-empowerment is a common theme in Perry's music.

Achievements

Perry has received many awards and nominations for her work as a recording artist. She has earned eleven Grammy nominations, two American Music Awards, four MTV Video Music Awards, fourteen People's Choice Awards, and two Guinness World Records. In late September 2012, Billboard dubbed her the "Woman of the Year". From May 2010 to September 2011, she spent a record-breaking total of 69 consecutive weeks in the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100. Teenage Dream became the first album by a female artist to produce five number-one Billboard hits, and the second album overall after Michael Jackson's Bad (1987). She was declared the Top Global Female Recording Artist of 2013 by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI). As of June 2014, she has accumulated a total of nine number-one singles on the Hot 100, her most recent being "Dark Horse". According to Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Perry is the third best selling digital singles artist in the United States, with 39.5 million digital singles sold. She trails behind only Rihanna and Taylor Swift. As of May 2014, she holds the record for most quintuple-platinum certified singles in the United States. Her songs "Firework", "E.T.", "California Gurls", "Hot n Cold", "Roar", and "Dark Horse" have each sold over 5 million digital copies. As of November 2013, Perry has sold more than 11 million albums and 81 million singles worldwide.

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