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FEATURE
MUSIC
Witness
by Katy
Perry is out June 9
via EMI.
From her Pentecostal
beginnings to the
release of her fifth album
Witness
this month,
here's our timeline
detailing the rise and
rise of Katy Perry.
Nov 2013
Perry surpasses Justin
Bieber as the most
followed person on
Twitter (a record she
still holds).
Jan 2012
Perry concludes the
'Teenage Dream'
tour, which lasted 13
months and grossed
$59.5 million.
Nov 2010
The first of
Perry's eight (to
date) fragrances
is released.
Oct 25, 1984
Katheryn Elizabeth
Hudson is born
in Santa Barbara,
California, to
two ‘born again’
Pentecostal pastors.
1993
At 9, Katheryn joins
her parents’ ministry
and begins singing in
their church.
2001
Now going by Katy
Hudson, she releases her
debut eponymous album of
gospel songs. It sells just
200 copies. She turns 17
that year and moves to Los
Angeles.
2007
Perry is signed to
Columbia Records,
and writes
I Kissed
A Girl
and
Hot n Cold
with producer Dr.
Luke.
2002 – 2006
Adopting her stage
name Katy Perry (using
her mother’s maiden
name), Katy is signed
and dropped twice.
Apr 28, 2008
I Kissed A Girl
is released
and goes straight to
#1 on the US Billboard
charts, despite outrage
from religious groups.
Her second album
One
Of The Boys
follows two
months later.
Nov 2008
Perry hosts the MTV
Europe Music Awards
and wins Best
New Act.
Jul 2009
Perry records
her live
MTV
Unplugged
album.
Dec 2009
Perry meets Russell
Brand while filming a
cameo for
Get HimTo
The Greek
.
Dec 2011
Brand and Perry
divorce after
14 months of
marriage.
Aug 2013
Perry publicly
criticises our then-
opposition leader Tony
Abbott for his anti-gay
marriage stance.
Dec 2013
UNICEF name
Perry as an
official Goodwill
Ambassador.
May 2016
Perry receives the
Audrey Hepburn
Humanitarian Award from
UNICEF, "for her work
as a UNICEF Goodwill
Ambassador in support
of the world's most
vulnerable children.”
Apr 2017
The second single from
Perry's upcoming fifth
album is released, with
a controversial video of
Perry being prepped as
a gourmet meal (
Bon
Appetit
).
Jun 9,
2017
Witness
is
released.
Jun 2010
Perry’s third album
Teenage
Dream
goes to #1 around the
world. Perry sets a number of
records, including being the
first female artist to achieve
five #1 singles in the Hot 100
chart from the one album (and
the second artist overall after
Michael Jackson).
Oct 2010
Perry marries
Russell Brand.
Feb 2015
Perry performs at
the Super Bowl XLIX
halftime show; its
television viewership is
higher than the actual
game, which had the
largest viewership in
NFL history.
Oct 2013
Perry releases her fourth
album
Prism
with lead
single
Roar
. It debuts at
#1. The ‘Prismatic’ world
tour (May 2014 – Oct
2015) grosses
$204.3 million.
Jul 2012
The autobiographical
documentary
Katy
Perry: Part Of Me
is
released to critical and
commercial success.