The Artist Roadmap Series: From Katheryn Hudson to Katy Perry
Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson was born on October 24, 1984, in Santa Barbara, California as the middle child of a very religious family.
Her parents are Pentecostal pastors who discouraged secular music and primarily listened to gospel music.
She started singing by listening to her older sister’s cassette tapes. After she performed for her parents they permitted her to take vocal lessons at 9 years old. She sang in her parents’ ministry from the age of 9 through 17. She was given her first guitar for her 13th birthday and publicly performed her own original songs.
Her Early Music Industry Experiences
At age 15, she completed her General Education Development (GED) requirements and left high school to pursue a career in music.
She briefly studied Italian opera but her singing caught the attention of rock musicians Steve Thomas and Jennifer Knapp. They convinced Katy to come to Nashville so they could work to improve her songwriting skills.
There, she also recorded multiple demos and learned how to properly play the guitar. She ended up signing with the indie label Red Hill Records and recorded her debut album, a self-named gospel record.
The album Katy Hudson was released on March 6, 2001. While it received positive critical reviews, the album was a commercial flop partially since Red Hill was unable to market and promote it properly. In December 2001, Red Hill ceased operations and she was no longer signed to a label.
She transitioned from gospel music to secular music, writing songs with producer Glen Ballard. Adopting her mother’s maiden name, she started using the stage name, Katy Perry.
When she was just 17, she moved to Los Angeles. In 2004, she signed to Ballard’s label, Java, under The Island Def Jam Music Group. She was working on a solo album but as Java closed down, the album was shelved.
“Shelved” means that a record company holds onto a record without releasing it. Sometimes months, sometimes years.
One of the songs she recorded with Ballard, “Simple” was featured in the soundtrack for “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.”
Then, Ballard introduced her to an A&R executive at Columbia Records. Katy went on to sign with them.
For two years, she went on to work with songwriters and recorded material for her album. Unfortunately, this turned out to matter little…Columbia dropped her in 2006.
The Uptick
Jason Flom, Virgin Records chairman, was convinced she could be a breakthrough star after hearing her demos. Only months later, she was signed to Capitol Records in April 2007. She then went on to finally release her first single, “I Kissed a Girl”, on April 28, 2008.
I Kissed a Girl was the lead single for her debut pop album One of the Boys and it reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The album sold 7 million copies worldwide.
Since her first album, Katy Perry has won 5 American Music Awards, 14 People’s Choice Awards, broken 4 Guinness World Records, and headlined the 2015 Super Bowl halftime show. Her second pop album Teenage Dream became the first album by a female artist to produce five number-one Billboard Hot 100 singles.
Through the course of her career, she was dropped by her label three times. Despite these setbacks, she continued to write and work on her music. In 2017, she made history when the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) announced that was the first artist to earn three RIAA Diamond Song Awards from “Dark Horse,” “Firework,” and “Roar.” Today, she has released 5 studio albums and has sold over 100 million records worldwide.
Katy’s complex story to success isn’t unusual for the music industry. The Artist Roadmap Series uncovers some of these for you. Learn more by reading the stories of Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, and Bruno Mars.
Article written by Alina Yen for Black One Entertainment
