Katy Perry Biography

Kate Perry, singer/songwriter

Birthdate: October 25, 1984

Birthplace: Santa Barbara, California

Sign: Scorpio

Katheryn Hudson is the middle child of two pastors. She released her first CD, Katy Hudson, in 2001. The Christian gospel album was from fellow gospel singer Jennifer Knapp and Steve Thomas' label Red Hill Records.

She changed her surname to Perry, her mother's middle name, because "Katy Hudson" sounds very similar to actress Kate Hudson.

She began working on her debut mainstream album in 2004. Some of the collaborations on the record included "Box" and "Diamonds," released on her official MySpace page. She worked with veteran songwriter Glen Ballard with the single "Simple," which was released on the 2005 film "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" soundtrack.

She signed on with Capitol Music in 2007 and began recording her fist mainstream album One of the Boys. It was released in June 2008 and was preceded with a digital LP in late 2007, "Ur So Gay." The song has been highly criticized for alleged homophobic content.

"I Kissed a Girl," the first official single from the album, debuted on the iTunes Store in April 2008. Her song peaked at #76 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at #1 on iTunes Top 100. It also generated controversy for its alleged depiction of sexuality, homosexuality, and promiscuity.

Some of her songs from the album were featured in the soundtrack of MTV reality series "The Hills," on Oxygen Network's reality series "Fight Girls," and on the 2008 comedy film "Baby Mama."

She is currently dating Travis McCoy, the lead singer from the band Gym Class Heroes.