Christina Perri

**Christina Judith Perri** (born August 19, 1986) is an American singer and songwriter from Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Her debut single "Jar of Hearts" charted after it was featured on the Fox television show *So You Think You Can Dance* in 2010. The single went on to sell over 3 million copies in the United States and was a hit around the world. In the UK, it reached number three on the charts and spent over three months in the UK Top 40. A few months later, Perri released her first extended play, *The Ocean Way Sessions*.

After "Jar of Hearts" began to gather a large amount of attention, Perri signed a record deal with Atlantic Records. Her debut album, *Lovestrong*, was released on May 10, 2011.
In 2012, she wrote and recorded "A Thousand Years" for the film *The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2* (2011) and it appears on the accompanying soundtrack. The song went on to sell over 4 million copies in the United States, being certified 4× platinum. Her second EP, *A Very Merry Perri Christmas*, was released in October 2012. Her second studio album, *Head or Heart*, was released on April 1, 2014. Its lead single, "Human", was released on November 18, 2013.

## Early life

Perri was born in Bensalem, Pennsylvania (a suburb of Philadelphia) to Mary and Dante Perri. She has an older brother, Nick Perri, who formerly played guitar with Shinedown, Silvertide, Perry Farrell and Matt Sorum and cousin Dominic Perri Her father was from Italy.

She graduated from Archbishop Ryan High School in 2004. She taught herself how to play guitar as a 16-year-old by watching a videotape of Shannon Hoon from the group Blind Melon performing on VH1.

She frequently sang and acted in musical theatre as a child. Perri claims to have learned to play piano and guitar because she missed hearing music being played in the house when she moved away. According to Perri, whenever she played the guitar or piano, she would sing and "all of a sudden these songs would appear."

## Career

### Early career

Perri moved to Los Angeles on her 21st birthday. According to Perri, she felt terrified of being over 3000 miles away from her family, saying that she "cried [her] eyes out every day".

Later that year she married and began to produce music videos for a living. She divorced 18 months later and moved in to a small apartment on her own to focus entirely on working on music. She moved back to Philadelphia by the end of 2009; it was during this time that she wrote "Jar of Hearts". She later moved back to Los Angeles, waitressing at the Melrose Cafe during the day and recording at night.

### 2010–12: *Lovestrong*

Perri's song "Jar of Hearts" was featured on *So You Think You Can Dance* during the show of June 30, 2010 in a performance by Billy Bell and Kathryn McCormick. Perri's friend Keltie Knight passed the song to show choreographer Stacey Tookey, as Perri was unsigned at the time. Perri and Colleen watched the performance in the audience. Following its exposure on the show, "Jar of Hearts" sold 48,000 digital copies in its first week, debuting on the *Billboard* Hot 100 at No. 63 and reaching No. 28 on *Billboard'*s Hot Digital Songs. Within a month, it had sold more than 100,000 copies. The song peaked at number 17 on the Hot 100.

Following the success of "Jar of Hearts", Perri signed a deal with Atlantic Records on July 21, 2010. She recorded an EP titled *The Ocean Way Sessions* that was released on November 9, 2010. The second single from Perri's debut album, "Arms", was released on March 15, 2011. She released her debut album, *Lovestrong*, on May 10, 2011. It debuted at number 4 on the *Billboard* 200, with first-week sales of 58,000 copies. In the United Kingdom, *Lovestrong* was the thirteenth highest selling debut album of 2011.

In July 2011, Perri embarked on her first world tour, the Lovestrong Tour, which lasted for almost exactly a year and consisted of 71 dates. Perri released her single "A Thousand Years", which appeared on the soundtrack of *The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1*, on October 18, 2011. The song debuted at number 63 on the *Billboard* Hot 100 and peaked at number 31, but has been certified 4× platinum with over 4 million sales in the US alone since. The song is Perri's most successful single to date. The album's third and final single, "Distance", was released on March 20, 2012.

Perri also announced in San Juan, Puerto Rico during her Lovestrong Tour that she had begun to work on her second studio album. In addition, in late 2012 Perri was the opening act for Jason Mraz's concert tour, the "Love Is a Four Letter Word Tour", across continental North America in 2012.

On August 1, 2012, she announced via Facebook that *A Very Merry Perri Christmas* EP would be released on October 16, 2012. The album consisted of one original song, "Something About December", which served as the lead single, as well as four covers. Perri re-recorded "A Thousand Years" for *The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 soundtrack* with guest vocals from Steve Kazee, titled "A Thousand Years, Pt. 2". On May 14, 2013, she received the BMI award for her song "A Thousand Years" at the 61st annual BMI Pop Awards held in Beverly Hills, California.

### 2013–present: *Head or Heart* and third studio album

In 2013, Perri began regularly tweeting and posting pictures on Instagram regarding her second studio album's progress using the hashtag "#albumtwo". In February, Perri partnered with the non-profit organization To Write Love on Her Arms on a three-stop tour to raise money for the charity and debuted a brand new song from her second studio album, titled "I Believe", at the shows. On June 21, Perri tweeted announcing that the second album was coming together.

On November 11, 2013, Perri announced that her first single from her new album is called "Human". The song was released on November 18, 2013 on iTunes. Perri performed the song on *The Queen Latifah Show* the same day. On November 28, 2013, Perri revealed that her second studio album would be titled *Head or Heart* and it is due to be released on April 1, 2014. On May 29, it was announced that she would open Demi Lovato's new North American World Tour's dates. Perri later announced that her second concert tour would be titled the Head or Heart Tour, which began in April 2014.

On June 9, she released the second single from her second album, "Burning Gold". with the video released on August 1. On December 19, 2014, Perri performed in the annual "Christmas in Washington" holiday concert.

On March 2, 2016, she announced on Instagram that she was 4 years sober.
In May 2016, Perri announced via her Instagram that she
was currently working on her third album.

## Discography

*Main article: Christina Perri discography*

* *Lovestrong* (2011)
* *Head or Heart* (2014)

## Concert tours

Headlining
* Lovestrong Tour (2011–2012)
* Head or Heart Tour (2014)

Co-Headlining
* Girls Night Out, Boys Can Come Too Tour (with Colbie Caillat and Rachel Platten) (2015)

Opening act
* Love Is a Four Letter Word Tour (2012)
* Demi World Tour (2014)
* Native Tour (2014)
* x Tour (2015)
* Billy Joel @ Citizen Bank Park (2016)

## References

1. ^"Christina Perri". WKRQ. Retrieved January 23, 2011.
2. ^Profile, philly.com, August 8, 2010; accessed July 27, 2015.
3. ^Lopez, Korina (July 13, 2010). "Christina Perri pries open the lid to fame with 'Jar of Hearts'". USA Today. Retrieved 2010-07-25.
4. ^Biodata, radioswisspop.ch; accessed July 27, 2015.
5. ^"Interview: Christina Perri – Singer, Songwriter and Producer « Clayton Perry's Interview Exclusives". Claytonperry.com. Archived from the original on 2014-01-11. Retrieved 2012-10-16.
6. ^Derakhshani, Tirdad. "Bensalem native Christina Perri's sudden success after 'Jar of Hearts'". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved August 8, 2010.
7. ^Edwards, Gavin. "Band of the Week". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
8. ^Martin, Gavin. "Christina talks about fans, love and therapy". Mirror.co.uk. Retrieved November 18, 2013.
9. ^Parker, Lyndsey. "'So You Think You Can Dance' Changes Unsigned Singer Christina Perri's Life". Yahoo Music. Retrieved March 9, 2012.
10. ^Palazzolo, Santino (July 9, 2010). "Unsigned Christina Perri dances on the charts". Billboard. Retrieved 2010-07-18.
11. ^Drew, Ian. "Singer Christina Perri on Going From Waitress to Charts Winner: "I Can't Stop Smiling"". Us Magazine. Retrieved November 4, 2010.
12. ^Herrera, Monica. "Christina Perri Signs Deal with Atlantic Records". Retrieved 2010-07-25.
13. ^"The Ocean Way Sessions : Christina Perri". Allmusic. Retrieved December 21, 2010.
14. ^Caulfield, Keith. "Lonely Island sets sail at No. 3 on Billboard 200, Adele still No. 1". Billboard. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
15. ^"British acts dominate the biggest selling debut albums of 2011". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
16. ^"RIAA – Gold & Platinum Searchable Database". RIAA. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
17. ^"– Christina Perri cariñosa con su público en el CBA – PrimeraHora". Primerahora.com. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
18. ^"Christina Perri sings 'Something About December'". December 21, 2012. Retrieved 2012-12-21.
19. ^"Adam Levine and Top Songwriters Honored at 61st Annual BMI Pop Awards". May 15, 2013.
20. ^"Christina Perri Talks New Album, TWLOHA, and More". UpVenue. September 29, 2012. Retrieved 2012-10-01.
21. ^Perri, Christina. "Twitter / christinaperri: album two is finally coming ...". Twitter. Retrieved November 18, 2013.
22. ^Atlantic Records. "Christina Perri Unveils Long Awaited New Single "HUMAN", Acclaimed Singer/Songwriter Set for Release Day Visit to Nationally Syndicated Queen Latifah Show; Single Heralds Massively Anticipated Sophomore Album, Due Spring 2014 – Yahoo Finance". Yahoo! Finance. Retrieved November 18, 2013.
23. ^"iTunes – Music – Head or Heart by Christina Perri". Itunes.apple.com. March 28, 2014. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
24. ^Lipshutz, Jason. "Christina Perri Announces Second Album, Tour". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
25. ^"Christina Perri, Aloe Blacc, Earth, Wind & Fire Perform on "Christmas in Washington" Tonight". abcnewsradioonline.com. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
26. ^http://www.christinaperri.com/sites/g/files/g2000003451/f/201603/12797857\_1539043543059730\_327576492\_n.jpg%3Fig\_cache\_key%3DMTE5NjQ5MDM2MDM2NDg4OTI4NA%253D%253D.2
27. ^"Christina Perri & Colbie Caillat Joint 2015 Girls Night Out, Boys Can Come Too Tour Schedule". ConcertTourNewsHub.com. April 7, 2015. Retrieved April 7, 2015.

1. ↑ "Christina Perri". WKRQ. http://www.wkrq.com/?s=christina+perri. Retrieved January 23, 2011.
2. ↑ Profile, philly.com, August 8, 2010; accessed July 27, 2015.
3. ↑ Template:Cite news
4. ↑ Biodata, radioswisspop.ch; accessed July 27, 2015.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Interview: Christina Perri – Singer, Songwriter and Producer « Clayton Perry's Interview Exclusives". Claytonperry.com. Archived from the original on 2014-01-11. http://web.archive.org/web/20140111183053/http://claytonperry.com/2010/10/28/interview-christina-perri-singer-songwriter-and-producer/. Retrieved 2012-10-16.
6. ↑ Derakhshani, Tirdad. "Bensalem native Christina Perri's sudden success after 'Jar of Hearts'". Philadelphia Inquirer. http://articles.philly.com/2010-08-08/entertainment/24970320\_1\_jar-hearts-stardom. Retrieved August 8, 2010.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Edwards, Gavin. "Band of the Week". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/51942/226324. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
8. ↑ Martin, Gavin. "Christina talks about fans, love and therapy". Mirror.co.uk. http://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/going-out/music/christina-talks-about-fans-love-and-therapy-770319. Retrieved November 18, 2013.
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Parker, Lyndsey. "'So You Think You Can Dance' Changes Unsigned Singer Christina Perri's Life". Yahoo Music. http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/realityrocks/376770/so-you-think-you-can-dance-changes-unsigned-singer-christina-perris-life. Retrieved March 9, 2012.
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Palazzolo, Santino (July 9, 2010). "Unsigned Christina Perri dances on the charts". *Billboard*. http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/957454/unsigned-christina-perri-dances-onto-the-charts. Retrieved 2010-07-18.
11. ↑ Drew, Ian. "Singer Christina Perri on Going From Waitress to Charts Winner: "I Can't Stop Smiling"". Us Magazine. http://www.usmagazine.com/moviestvmusic/news/singer-christina-perri-on-going-from-waitress-to-charts-winner-i-cant-stop-smiling-2010197. Retrieved November 4, 2010.
12. ↑ Herrera, Monica. "Christina Perri Signs Deal with Atlantic Records". http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/957260/christina-perri-signs-deal-with-atlantic-records. Retrieved 2010-07-25.
13. ↑ "The Ocean Way Sessions : Christina Perri". *Allmusic*. http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-ocean-way-sessions-r2102005. Retrieved December 21, 2010.
14. ↑ Caulfield, Keith. "Lonely Island sets sail at No. 3 on Billboard 200, Adele still No. 1". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/471498/lonely-island-sets-sail-at-no-3-on-billboard-200-adele-still-no-1. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
15. ↑ "British acts dominate the biggest selling debut albums of 2011". Official Charts Company. http://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/british-acts-dominate-the-biggest-selling-debut-albums-of-2011/. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
16. ↑ "RIAA – Gold & Platinum Searchable Database". RIAA. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?artist=%22A+Thousand+Years%22. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
17. ↑ "– Christina Perri cariñosa con su público en el CBA – PrimeraHora". Primerahora.com. http://www.primerahora.com/christinaperricarinosaconsupublicoenelcba-641232.html. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
18. ↑ "Christina Perri sings 'Something About December'". December 21, 2012. http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/50268880#50160342. Retrieved 2012-12-21.
19. ↑ "Adam Levine and Top Songwriters Honored at 61st Annual BMI Pop Awards". May 15, 2013. http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/adam\_levine\_and\_top\_songwriters\_honored\_at\_61st\_annual\_bmi\_pop\_awards.
20. ↑ "Christina Perri Talks New Album, TWLOHA, and More". *UpVenue*. September 29, 2012. http://www.upvenue.com/article/1680-christina-perri-video-interview.html. Retrieved 2012-10-01.
21. ↑ Perri, Christina. "Twitter / christinaperri: album two is finally coming ...". Twitter. http://news.radio.com/2013/01/11/christina-perri-says-new-music-shows-maturity-ive-grown-ten-years-in-two/. Retrieved November 18, 2013.
22. ↑ Atlantic Records. "Christina Perri Unveils Long Awaited New Single "HUMAN", Acclaimed Singer/Songwriter Set for Release Day Visit to Nationally Syndicated Queen Latifah Show; Single Heralds Massively Anticipated Sophomore Album, Due Spring 2014 – Yahoo Finance". Yahoo! Finance. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/christina-perri-unveils-long-awaited-144900834.html. Retrieved November 18, 2013.
23. ↑ "iTunes – Music – Head or Heart by Christina Perri". Itunes.apple.com. March 28, 2014. https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/head-or-heart/id777741650. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
24. ↑ Lipshutz, Jason. "Christina Perri Announces Second Album, Tour". The Hollywood Reporter. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/earshot/christina-perri-announces-second-album-664466. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
25. ↑ "Christina Perri, Aloe Blacc, Earth, Wind & Fire Perform on "Christmas in Washington" Tonight". http://abcnewsradioonline.com/music-news/2014/12/19/christina-perri-aloe-blacc-earth-wind-fire-perform-on-christ.html. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
26. ↑ http://www.christinaperri.com/sites/g/files/g2000003451/f/201603/12797857\_1539043543059730\_327576492\_n.jpg%3Fig\_cache\_key%3DMTE5NjQ5MDM2MDM2NDg4OTI4NA%253D%253D.2
27. ↑ "Christina Perri & Colbie Caillat Joint 2015 Girls Night Out, Boys Can Come Too Tour Schedule". ConcertTourNewsHub.com. April 7, 2015. http://colbie-caillat.concerttournewshub.com. Retrieved April 7, 2015.