Katy Perry

**Katy Perry** (born **Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson** on October 25, 1984 in Santa Barbara, California, USA) is an American singer-songwriter. Her 2008 single "I Kissed a Girl" has become an international smash-hit topping numerous charts worldwide.

While on the 2008 Warped Tour, a mold of Katy's torso was cast, to be decorated and auctioned off to benefit breast cancer charity the Keep A Breast Foundation. In a video showing the molding, Katy quips, "You just can't mess with 32Ds."

In a 2009 article in *The Sun*, she is quoted as saying, "I remember really vividly kneeling by my bed as a nine-year-old, saying my prayers and asking God to give me boobs that were so big that if I laid on my back I wouldn't be able to see my feet."

Perry performed "Hot n Cold" with Elmo from Sesame Street, which was originally to appear on the forty-first-season premiere of the educational children's program on September 27, 2010. However, four days before the scheduled airing, Sesame Workshop announced, "In light of the feedback we've received on the Katy Perry music video ... we have decided we will not air the segment on the television broadcast of Sesame Street, which is aimed at preschoolers. Katy Perry fans will still be able to view the video on YouTube." The main reason was that parents complained about what appeared to be a great amount of cleavage shown by her dress.

Perry has received many awards and nominations, and been included in the Forbes list of "Top-Earning Women In Music" for 2011, 2012, and 2013. Throughout her career, she has sold 11 million albums and 81 million singles worldwide, making her one of the best-selling artists of all time. Perry has also made celebrity endorsements and released perfumes Purr, Meow!, and Killer Queen. In July 2011, she made her film debut voicing Smurfette in The Smurfs. The following July, she released a documentary film, Katy Perry: Part of Me, which concentrated on her life as a touring artist and the dissolution of her brief marriage to English actor and comedian Russell Brand in the early 2010s.

## Musical style and themes

While Perry's music incorporates pop, rock, and disco, Katy Hudson contains gospel. Her subsequent releases, One of the Boys and Teenage Dream, involve themes of sex and love. One of the Boys is a pop rock record, while Teenage Dream features disco influences. Perry's fourth album, Prism, is significantly influenced by dance and pop music. Lyrically, the album addresses relationships, self-reflection, and everyday life. Many of her songs, particularly on Teenage Dream, reflect on love between teenagers; W described the album's sexual innuendos as "irresistible hook-laden melodies". Self-empowerment is a common theme in Perry's music.

Perry identifies as a "singer-songwriter masquerading as a pop star" and maintains that honest songwriting is very important to her. She told Marie Claire: "I feel like my secret magic trick that separates me from a lot of my peers is the bravery to be vulnerable and truthful and honest. I think you become more relatable when you're vulnerable." Kristen Wiig commented that "as easy, breezy, and infectious as Perry's songs can be, beneath the surface lurks a sea of mixed emotions, jumbled motives, and contradictory impulses complicated enough to fill a Carole King record." According to Greg Kot of Chicago Tribune, "being taken seriously may be Perry's greatest challenge yet." The New York Times labeled her "the most potent pop star of the day – her hits are relatable with just a hint of experimentation". Randall Roberts of Los Angeles Times criticized her use of idioms and metaphors in her lyrics and for frequent "clichés". Throughout her career, Perry has co-written songs recorded by other artists, including Selena Gomez & the Scene, Jessie James, Kelly Clarkson, Lesley Roy, Britney Spears, and Iggy Azalea.

Perry has a contralto vocal range. Her singing has received both praise and criticism, Betty Clarke of The Guardian commented that her "powerful voice is hard-edged" while Rob Sheffield from Rolling Stone described Perry's vocals on "Teenage Dream" as "processed staccato blips". Darren Harvey of musicOMH compared Perry's vocals on One of the Boys to Alanis Morissette's, both possessing a "perky voice shifting octaves mid-syllable". Alex Miller from NME felt that on One of the Boys "Perry's problem is often her voice", stating that "somewhere along the line someone convinced her she was like, well, a ballsy rock chick". Conversely, Bernadette McNulty from The Daily Telegraph praised her "rock chick voice" in a review of a concert promoting "Prism".

## References

1. ↑ http://keep-a-breast.blogspot.com/2008/08/you-just-cant-mess-with-32-ds-katy.html
2. ↑ http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/bizarre/usa/2590921/Katy-Perry-used-to-pray-as-a-child-to-have-big-boobs.html
3. ↑ Musical genres of *Katy Hudson* and *One of the Boys*:

	* Friedlander, 2012 , page 20.
	* Merritt, Stephanie. "Pop review: Katy Perry, One of the Boys", September 14, 2008. Retrieved on August 6, 2014.
	* Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. *One of the Boys* – Katy Perry. AllMusic. Archived from the original on July 27, 2014. Retrieved on July 25, 2014.
4. ↑ Wallace, Amy (January 19, 2014). Katy Perry's GQ Profile Outtakes: Going Back to School, Dating Musicians, and Plastic Surgery. Archived from the original on February 24, 2014. Retrieved on February 1, 2014.

## External links

* Katy Perry links at FreeOnes
* Katy Perry at Babepedia
* Katy Perry article at *Wikipedia*