Snakkle Celebrates “California Gurl” Katy Perry’s Molten-Hot Career

Katy Perry high school yearbook photo young Dos Pueblos high school 2000 before famous

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Katy Perry (Katheryn Hudson), Freshman Year at Dos Pueblos High School, Goleta, California (2000)

Born to conservative Christian pastors, Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson sang and listened exclusively to gospel music until her teen years. She passed her GED during her freshman year of high school so she could pursue a gospel music career.

Katy Hudson’s first album, Katy Hudson (2001)

At 15, Katy moved to Nashville to improve her songwriting and was signed to a small Christian music label. She released her first self-titled album of Christian-rock songs but it didn’t get any traction.

Katy Hudson (2001)

Outside of her sheltered home and on the road for the first time, Katy began to listen to popular music and became heavily influenced by non-Christian artists like Fiona Apple and Alanis Morissette.

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Katy Perry (2003)

After the failure of her first album, Katy changed her surname to Perry (her mother’s maiden name) to distance herself from the already successful actress Kate Hudson. At 17, Perry moved to Los Angeles to work on a new album with producer Glen Ballard, but that project also flopped.

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Katy Perry (2004)

While achieving some industry buzz as an up-and-coming singer/songwriter, labels like Columbia ultimately didn’t know what to do with Perry, so she recorded unreleased albums and appeared in music videos for bands like Carbon Leaf and P.O.D. She recorded songs on her own until she was finally picked up by Capitol Music Group in 2007.

Katy Perry on The Young and the Restless (2008)

After Perry finally scored a chart hit with "Ur So Gay,” her record company pushed the charming singer into the limelight with lots of high-profile interviews, event appearances, and even a guest spot on the daytime soap The Young and the Restless. She played herself as the cover-shoot subject of the show’s fictional magazine, Restless Style.

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Katy Perry Performs at Spike TV's 2nd Annual "Guys Choice" Awards (2008)

Katy’s next single, "I Kissed a Girl," became a huge hit and spent seven weeks at number one on Billboard’s Hot 100.

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Katy Perry Performs at the KIIS FM Jingle Ball (2008)

With her star on the rise, Perry became known for her outlandish costumes and performance style at her live concerts and in her music videos. In 2008, she was recognized with five MTV Video Music nominations. She went home empty-handed because of Britney Spears’ sweep.

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Katy Perry Attends the Capital Radio Summertime Ball, London, U.K. (2009)

Embraced in Europe as well, Perry won best new artist at the 2008 MTV Europe Music Awards and best international female artist at the 2009 Brit Awards.

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Katy Perry Performs on NBC's Today Summer Concert Series (2008)

Based on the impressive sales success of her singles "I Kissed a Girl" and "Hot n Cold,” Perry received a spot in Guinness World Records for best start on the U.S. digital chart by a female artist, selling 2 million copies of both songs.

Katy Perry Performs at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards (2009)

A fashion icon in addition to being a pop superstar, Perry says her onstage style was initially inspired by actress Dominique Swain’s turn as Lolita in the 1997 film. Perry has been dressed by stylist Johnny Wujek since "I Kissed a Girl."

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Russell Brand and Katy Perry (2011)

Perry met her future husband Russell Brand shooting a cameo for his film Get Him to the Greek. They met again that year at the MTV Video Music Awards and began dating. They married on October 23, 2010, in India.

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Katy Perry Performs at the Vienna, Austria, Life Ball (2009)

Katy descended to the stage in a clamshell in the opening ceremony performance for the prestigious Life Ball in 2009.

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Katy Perry Performs at the MTV Movie Awards (2010)

Perry released her second Capitol Music Group album Teenage Dream in August 2010, with the first single "California Gurls” featuring rapper Snoop Dogg.

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Katy Perry Performs at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show (2010)

Teenage Dream was one of the biggest albums of 2010, and Perry became only the second artist ever, and the first female artist, to have five number-one singles from one album.

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Katy Perry Performs During VH1 Divas Salute the Troops (2010)

An outspoken advocate for causes close to her heart, Perry supported the troops in the VH1 concert and calls herself a gay activist.

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Katy Perry Performs During Grammy Nominations Concert Live! (2010)

Perry received four Grammy nominations for Teenage Dream, including album of the year. Alas, she went home tiny-brass-gramophone-free yet again.

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Katy Perry with Neil Patrick Harris on How I Met Your Mother (2011)

Perry played a gullible gal who buys into Barney Stinson’s shtick in the episode “Oh, Honey” during the show’s sixth season.

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Katy Perry at the Premiere of The Smurfs (2011)

Reuniting (sort of) with Neil Patrick Harris, Katy Perry voices the lone female Smurf, Smurfette, in the live-action/animated big-screen comedy The Smurfs. While they never worked together, since Harris did the live-action duties, they both reaped the benefits of its smurfy box office.