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One of the Boys is a pop rock record, while Teenage Dream features disco influences. Before she began incorporating elements of pop, rock, and disco into music, Katy Hudson contained gospel. Perry cites Alanis Morissette and her 1995 album Jagged Little Pill as a significant musical inspiration. Growing up, she could not listen to secular music, but at 17 a friend played her a recording of „Killer Queen” by Queen, which had a profound effect on her. Perry collaborated with the tech company Apple Inc. starring in advertisements for their GarageBand music software where users could have „Remix Sessions” featuring her song, „Harleys in Hawaii”.

Perry started writing songs for her new album in June 2016, and recorded an anthem for NBC Sports’ coverage of the 2016 Summer Olympics titled „Rise”, which was released the following month. Katy Perry tied Michael Jackson’s record of five number one songs from a single album when her song “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)” reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 2011. Along with Thomas Rhett, Perry recorded a country pop duet titled „Where We Started” for his album of the same name that was released on April 1, 2022. While critics often disparaged Perry’s songs as vapid, the music industry was generally kinder, rewarding her with several Grammy Award nominations, including album of the year for Teenage Dream. According to RIAA, Perry is the thirteenth top digital singles artist in the United States, with 121.5 million certified song units in the country including on-demand streams and also has 19 million certified album units, totaling 140.5 million certified units in the United States.

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As of September 2025, she was the second-most followed woman on the site, with over 104 million Twitter followers, and the sixth most followed musician across social media with a combined total of over 377 million followers across Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. 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”. 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. Darren Harvey of musicOMH compared Perry’s vocals on One of the Boys to Alanis Morissette’s, both possessing a „perky voice shifting octaves mid-syllable”.

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• In June 2019, Perry appeared in the music video of Taylor Swift’s „You Need to Calm Down”.
• On September 7, she set a new record by becoming the first artist to spend 69 consecutive weeks in the top ten of the Hot 100.
• Following the shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando in June 2016, Perry and nearly 200 other artists and executives in music signed an open letter organized by Billboard addressed to United States Congress demanding increased gun control in the United States.
• „Wide Awake” was released on May 22 as the re-release’s second single, peaking at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one in Canada and New Zealand.
• 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”.

Perry primarily listened to gospel music, as secular music was generally discouraged in the family’s home. With an estimated net worth of $360 million, she is among the world’s wealthiest musicians. She moved to Los Angeles at 17 to venture into secular music, and later adopted her stage name from her mother’s maiden name.

• Ferras was the first artist to get signed to her label, and Perry served as an executive producer on his self-titled EP.
• 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”.
• Perry’s third headlining tour, the Prismatic World Tour, began in May 2014 and concluded in October 2015.
• Perry also hosted the 2009 MTV Europe Music Awards that November, becoming the first person to host two consecutive ceremonies of the European awards.
• The former criticized its homosexual theme, while the latter accused her of using bi-curiosity to sell records.

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The show’s creators Benj Pasek and Justin Paul had requested Perry to cover the song to promote the musical’s national tour. Perry subsequently recorded a cover of the Dear Evan Hansen song „Waving Through a Window” for the deluxe edition of the cast recording, which was released on November 2, 2018. The album, titled Witness, was released on June 9, 2017, to mixed reviews, and debuted at number one in the United States. On February 10, 2017, Perry released the album’s lead single „Chained to the Rhythm” featuring Skip Marley.

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While the chemistry between the two is reportedly undeniable, insiders believe the pop singer may be moving too fast with someone who is still trying to get over a difficult breakup. Katy Perry’s love life is back in the headlines, and this time the pop star’s new romance with Justin Trudeau is raising eyebrows among those close to her. During the 11-minute flight, Perry sang Louis Armstrong’s classic “What a Wonderful World” to her fellow space tourists, which included journalist Gayle King and former National Aeronautics and Space Administration rocket scientist Aisha Bowe. Perry later released 143(2024), which was notable for its negative reviews.

Musical style and themes

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. In June 2014, she teamed up with Staples Inc. for a project entitled „Make Roar Happen” which donated $1 million to DonorsChoose, an organization that supports teachers and funds classroom resources in public schools. 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”. When Glaze admitted that he had never kissed a girl (a reference to Perry’s song „I Kissed a Girl”), she gestured for him to come up to her for a kiss on the cheek but then kissed him on the lips. In 2022, Elle dubbed her as „the kitsch-loving pop star renowned for her uniquely experimental style”, while Vogue described her style as „synonymous with outrageous, eye-catching ensembles that lean towards the theatrical”. Perry was placed at number one on the Maxim Hot 100 in 2010 as the „most beautiful woman in the world”, with editor Joe Levy describing her as a „triple – no quadruple – kind of hot”.

During the early stages of her career, Perry’s musical style gravitated towards gospel, and she aspired to be as successful as Amy Grant. Later that month, Perry embarked on her fifth concert tour, the Lifetimes Tour, which is scheduled to end in December. The record was panned by critics, and Perry was widely criticized for her decision to work with Dr. Luke on it after singer Kesha’s allegations of sexual assault against him. In February 2024, Perry announced her exit from American Idol following the conclusion of the twenty-second season, saying she wanted to „go out and feel that pulse to my own beat” and release new music after being „in the studio for a while”.

In December 2010, Perry played Moe Szyslak’s girlfriend in the live-action segment from a Christmas episode of The Simpsons titled „The Fight Before Christmas”. Perry subsequently mocked the controversy on Saturday Night Live, where she was a musical guest and wore an Elmo-themed shirt showing large amounts of cleavage during one skit. Perry embarked on her second tour, the California Dreams Tour, in support of Teenage Dream from February 2011 to January 2012. On January 5, 2012, Perry was named the sixth best-selling digital artist in the United States, with sales of 37.6 million units according to Nielsen SoundScan. For this record, she received an honorary American Music Award in November 2011 and another Guinness record.

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. She also became the first artist to have three songs receive Diamond certifications from the RIAA in 2017 with „Dark Horse”, „Firework”, and „Roar”. During May 2024, it reached 4 billion views, making it the most viewed music video by a female artist on YouTube at that time. The following month, her music video for „Roar” reached 1 billion views on Vevo, making her the first artist to have multiple videos with 1 billion views.

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She hosted the 2008 MTV Europe Music Awards in November and won the award for Best New Act. That September, a limited-edition Katy Perry doll was produced by Integrity Toys in response to her growing popularity. As a symbol of their commitment to one another, he gave her a diamond promise ring before the tour, and he wore a ring with „Katy” inscribed on it. One of the Boys, released on June 17, 2008, garnered mixed critical reviews and reached number nine on the U.S. 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 first station to pick up the song was WRVW in Nashville, who were inundated with enthusiastic calls the first three days they played it.

Perry’s fourth album, Prism, is significantly influenced by dance and pop music. She released „Woman’s World”, the first single from her seventh album, on July 11, 2024. These EPs were followed by the single „Not the End of the World” in December 2020, which had a music video in which Zooey Deschanel impersonates Perry. „Daisies”, the lead single from her sixth album, was released on May 15, 2020. Following the release of her single „Never Worn White” in March 2020, Perry revealed in the accompanying music video that she was expecting her first child with Bloom. Outside of recording music, Perry appeared as herself in the film Zoolander 2, which was released in February 2016.

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After recording the stripped-down live album MTV Unplugged (2009), Perry returned to the studio. She made a greater splash several months later with the single “I Kissed a Girl,” an assertive ode to sexual curiosity backed by a hard-edged electro-pop beat. Perry’s initial efforts at mainstream stardom were fruitless, with two separate record labels signing and subsequently dropping her before any material was released.

Six of Perry’s songs have received Diamond certifications from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Her following albums—Witness (2017), Smile (2020) and 143 (2024)—were released to varying critical and commercial success. Its reissue, subtitled The Complete Confection (2012), produced the U.S. number-one single „Part of Me”.

Six years later, the RIAA certified „California Gurls” as her fourth Diamond-certified single in the U.S., breaking her tie with Lady Gaga as the female artist with the most Diamond singles there. 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. Following the shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando in June 2016, Perry and nearly 200 other artists and executives in music signed an open letter organized by Billboard addressed to United States Congress demanding increased gun control in the United States. The proceeds from Perry’s single „Part of Me” were donated to the charity MusiCares, which helps musicians in times of need. In August 2019, Josh Kloss, Perry’s co-star in the „Teenage Dream” music video, accused her of sexual misconduct. Perry has described herself as a „singer-songwriter masquerading as a pop star” and maintains that honest songwriting is very important to her.

On June 26, 2014, she was declared the Top Certified Digital Artist Ever by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for certified sales of 72 million digital singles in the United States. It sold almost 2 million tickets and grossed $204.3 million worldwide and won Perry the award for „Top Package” at the 2014 Billboard Touring Awards. Perry’s third headlining tour, the Prismatic World Tour, began in May 2014 and concluded in October 2015. Prism was released on October 18, 2013, and has sold over 6 million copies as of September 2016. „Unconditionally” followed as the second single from Prism on October 16, 2013, and peaked at number 14 in the United States. She hosted Saturday Night Live on December 10, 2011, with Robyn as the episode’s musical guest.

Four months later, she sold her music rights to Litmus Music for an estimated $225 million. On June 8, 2022, Perry was awarded with the Key to Las Vegas, the same day it was marked as Katy Perry day. The next month, it was announced Perry would create music for the soundtrack to Jeremy Zag’s animated musical film Melody and voice its title character. Tiësto remix of „Resilient” featuring Aitana was released in November 2020, while Bruno Martini remix of „Cry About It Later” featuring Luísa Sonza was released in April 2021.