Katy Perry From Gospel Singing to Waking up in Vegas

Katy Perry (born Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson on 25 October 1984) is a singer/songwriter from Santa Barbara, California, United States. Since the release of her 2007 debut single “Ur So Gay”, Perry has become a super-hot personality, and right now is one of the most actively talked-about people on social media sites. In total she has millions of Facebook “likes”, and is way up there with stars such as Shakira, and Lady Gaga. She is married to British comedian Russell Brand.

Looking back now, it is almost unbelievable that some people wrote her off as a one hit wonder when she released "I Kissed a Girl," but she proved all the doubters wrong with "California Gurls" and "Waking up in Vegas", and those early concert tours which were highly successful.

It seems like most famous people have to start-out in some way which enables them to find their real personality, before they can rise to their full potential. Katy started out as a Christian vocal artist. It was that work which gave her the ability to develop and then change direction, projecting herself as a larger-than-life pop star, bursting on to the scene in 2008.

Greatness is never as sudden as it might appear. It is true that she quickly topped the charts with her songs, like "I Kissed a Girl" and "California Gurls," but in reality she spent nearly a decade before that recording music under a different name. Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (or Katy Hudson, as she billed herself in a 2001 gospel album) was born on October 25, 1984, in Santa Barbara, California.

Home was that of a religious household. She is the daughter of two pastors, and it is said that they forbade her from listening to non-religious bands as a child. We understand that it was at a childhood sleep-over party that a friend introduced her to the music of Alanis Morissette and Freddie Mercury. Religious music, however, continued to be her love during her early career and it was only when she abandoned the genre (and her true surname) to become a pop performer that the world got to know her.

The cheeky singer now counts other great stars such as Madonna and of course legions of movie-goers, as fans.

Katy Perry has a contralto vocal range. In addition to the influences she first came to hear at a slumber party, which we have already mentioned, Perry's musical influences include, pop rockers Cyndi Lauper, Joan Jett, Pat Benatar, and Shirley Manson.

Katy Perry didn’t only become such a sensation through her music, she is also known for her great beauty and sense of style. Tickets for her concerts are always in demand because of her great pop songs and the quality of the performances she gives.

Her fame has spawned a lively trade in such products as Katy Perry costumes and wigs, which are highly sought-after as Halloween costumes. There is plenty of choice for manufacturers to go for because Katy Perry is known for her outrageous outfits and the colorful wigs she sports. Perhaps the top favorites for party-goers are reproductions of the costumes which were featured in her music video "California Gurls."

This has been a great story so far, and a strict parental upbringing certainly does not seem to have harmed her. Indeed it may have contributed much to her character, and success, so it is natural for people to ask her whether there any aspects of her upbringing that were negative, in her opinion.

In answer to that, Katy is reported to have told a Vanity Fair journalist that her strict upbringing "stole her childhood". If that is the case, she is far from unique as a very famous person, and in fact, some might argue that the loss of childhood may be a factor in the craving for fame in her early years which may well have been the mindset that pushed her to keep going, until she did succeed.