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Katy Perry
Biography
A former Christian artist who ditched the sacred sounds of CCM for a secular mix of sass and spunk, Katy Perry rose to prominence in summer 2008 by combining the cheeky, club-ready pop of Lily Allen with the commercial pop/rock of Avril Lavigne and Alanis Morissette. Born on October 25, 1984, in Santa Barbara, CA, Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson grew up in a Christian household as the daughter of two pastors. Though she was not allowed to listen to secular music as a child, she later found herself captivated by Alanis Morissette and Freddie Mercury, having discovered Queen's music during a slumber party. Religious music remained at the forefront, however, and Katy released a self-titled Christian album in 2001 under the name Katy Hudson. She would later abandon the genre (and her original surname) in favor of a pop career.

At age 17, the burgeoning songwriter began working with hitmaker Glen Ballard, who had produced and co-written Alanis Morissette's chart-topping Jagged Little Pill in 1995. Several years later, she teamed up with the Matrix, a Grammy-nominated production/songwriting team whose résumé included collaborations with Avril Lavigne, Shakira, and Korn. Tired of producing music for other artists, the Matrix had plans to record their own album with Perry serving as one of the group's two singers.
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