Teenage Dream became the first album by a female artist to produce five number-one Billboard Hot 100 singles, and the second album overall after Michael Jackson’s Bad. Although Perry’s music incorporates elements of pop, rock, and disco, Katy Hudson contains gospel. Many of her songs, particularly on Teenage Dream, reflect on love between teenagers; W magazine described the album’s sexual innuendos as “irresistible hook-laden melodies”. Perry chose to release it as a standalone track rather than save it for her album “because now more than ever, there is a need for our world to unite”. At the 2009 Brit Awards the next month, she won the award for International Female Solo Artist.
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She also became the first artist to have three songs receive Diamond certifications from the RIAA in 2017 with “Dark Horse”, “Firework”, and “Roar”. When “Teenage Dream” and “E.T.” received Diamond certifications in 2024, Teenage Dream became the first and only album in history with four Diamond-certified songs on its tracklist. Perry’s albums One of the Boys, Teenage Dream, Prism, Witness, and Smile have each surpassed one billion streams on Spotify. Perry’s music has been described by Out as having a “lasting legacy”, with American singers Fletcher sampling “I Kissed a Girl” and Olivia Rodrigo referencing Teenage Dream on “Brutal”. On February 10, 2017, Perry released the album’s lead single “Chained to the Rhythm” featuring Skip Marley.
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- Perry identifies as a feminist, and appeared in April 2013 in a video clip for the “Chime for Change” campaign that aimed to spread female empowerment.
- Perry provided backing vocals on Mick Jagger’s song “Old Habits Die Hard”, which was included on the soundtrack to the 2004 film Alfie.
- Her album One of the Boys (2008), featuring the hit “Hot N Cold,” sold more than three million copies in the United States.
- She received a Guinness record for most Twitter followers, and became the first person to gain 100 million followers on the site in June 2017.
- Outside of recording music, Perry appeared as herself in the film Zoolander 2, which was released in February 2016.
- One of the songs she had recorded for her album with Ballard, “Simple”, was featured on the soundtrack to the 2005 film The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.
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Later music projects, American Idol, and Blue Origin spaceflight
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- She performed at three rallies for Obama, in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Wisconsin, singing a rendition of “Let’s Stay Together” as well as a number of her songs.
- 3’s song “Starstrukk” in September 2009, and on a duet with Timbaland entitled “If We Ever Meet Again”, from his album Shock Value II, three months later.
- In addition, after Devine suggested that songwriting team the Matrix become a “real group”, she recorded an album, The Matrix, with them.
- She followed this with the singles “Never Really Over” on May 31, “Small Talk” on August 9, and “Harleys in Hawaii” on October 16.
- She hosted the 2008 MTV Europe Music Awards in November and won the award for Best New Act.
- In April, Perry was included on a remix of Daddy Yankee’s song “Con Calma”, featuring Snow.
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It has since sold over 12 million copies worldwide, being her highest-selling album to date. It became the album’s third consecutive number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on December 8, 2010. Perry released her first single with Capitol, “I Kissed a Girl”, on April 28, 2008, as the lead single from One of the Boys. The former criticized its homosexual theme, while the latter accused her of using bi-curiosity to sell records. In response to speculation that her parents opposed her music and career, Perry told MTV News that they had no problems with her success.
- The Guinness World Records recognized her in its 2010 edition as the “Best Start on the U.S. Digital Chart by a Female Artist”, for digital single sales of over two million copies.
- At the 2009 Brit Awards the next month, she won the award for International Female Solo Artist.
- Keith Caulfield of Billboard stated that Perry is “the rare celebrity who seems to have enormous popularity but genuine ground-level interaction with her adoring KatyCats”.
- The show’s creators Benj Pasek and Justin Paul had requested Perry to cover the song to promote the musical’s national tour.
- She recorded background vocals on P.O.D.’s single “Goodbye for Now”, was featured at the end of its music video in 2006, and performed it with them on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
- Perry recorded an album while signed to Columbia Records, but was dropped before signing to Capitol Records.
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2006: Career beginnings, Katy Hudson, and Fingerprints
On June 17, 2014, Perry announced that she had founded her own record label under Capitol Records, titled Metamorphosis Music. Ferras was the first artist to get signed to her label, and Perry served as an executive producer on his self-titled EP. Transitioning from gospel music to secular music, Perry started working with producer Glen Ballard, and moved to Los Angeles at the age of 17.
Katy Perry Gives a Sneak Peek Into Lifetimes Tour, Speaks on Lady Gaga & More Billboard News
Perry embarked on her first headlining world tour, the Hello Katy Tour, from January to November 2009 to support One of the Boys. Perry also hosted the 2009 MTV Europe Music Awards that November, becoming the first person to host two consecutive ceremonies of the European awards. After recording the stripped-down live album MTV Unplugged (2009), Perry returned to the studio. In April, Perry was included on a remix of Daddy Yankee’s song “Con Calma”, featuring Snow. She followed this with Tuuri the singles “Never Really Over” on May 31, “Small Talk” on August 9, and “Harleys in Hawaii” on October 16.