Katheryn Elizabeth "Katy" Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known by her stage name Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and entrepreneur. She was born and raised in Santa Barbara, California. Having had very little exposure to mainstream pop music in her childhood, she pursued a career in gospel music as a teen and released her debut self-titled studio album. She also recorded a second solo album which never received release. In 2007, she signed with Capitol Records and adopted her current stage name.
Her commercial breakthrough came when she released her first mainstream studio album One of the Boys (2008). This was preceded by the release of her single "I Kissed a Girl". Other singles included "Hot n Cold", "Thinking of You" and "Waking Up in Vegas". She embarked on the Hello Katy Tour in support of the album. She followed this up with her second studio effort Teenage Dream which was an instant commercial success, topping the album charts in several countries. It spawned five number-one hits on the Billboard Hot 100—"California Gurls", "Teenage Dream", "Firework", "E.T." and "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)"; it became the first album in history recorded by a female artist to achieve this, and the second album after Michael Jackson's Bad (1987). In support of the album, she embarked on the California Dreams Tour. Teenage Dream was re-released in March 2012 as Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection which spawned an additional number one, "Part of Me".
