Katy Perry (born Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson on 25 October 1984) is a singer/songwriter from Santa Barbara, California, United States. Since the release of her 2007 debut single "Ur So Gay", Perry has released two albums - 2008's "One of the Boys" and 2010's "Teenage Dream" - and has had six Billboard Hot 100 #1 hit singles.

Under the name Katy Hudson, she released a self-titled gospel album in 2001, which was unsuccessful. She later recorded an album with production team The Matrix and completed the majority of a solo album from 2004–05, the later of which was never released. After signing with Capitol Music Group in 2007, her fourth record label in seven years, she adopted the stage name Katy Perry and released her first Internet single "Ur So Gay" that November, which garnered public attention but failed to chart. She rose to fame with the release of her second single "I Kissed a Girl" in 2008, which went on to top international charts. Perry's first mainstream studio album One of the Boys followed later that year and subsequently became the 33rd-best selling album worldwide of 2008. It was accredited platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America, while "I Kissed a Girl" and her second single "Hot n Cold" both received multi-platinum certifications.

Her second studio album Teenage Dream was released in August 2010 and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. The album includes five Billboard chart-toppers "California Gurls", "Teenage Dream", "Firework", and "E.T." and "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)", making Teenage Dream only the second album - after Michael Jackson's Bad - to have five songs reach #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. With "E.T." at number one on the chart of May 12, 2011, Perry became the first artist in history to spend 52 consecutive weeks in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100.

Perry was credited as a guest judge on the seventh series of British television show The X Factor, has released a fragrance called "Purr", and voices Smurfette in the 2011 film The Smurfs. Perry had a long relationship with Travie McCoy; she married Russell Brand on October 23, 2010. After 14 months of marriage, Brand filed for divorce from Perry on December 30, 2011, in Los Angeles, citing irreconcilable differences. The divorce became effective in July 2012.

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