Katy Perry was born in Santa Barbara, California, USA. The middle child of two pastors, she grew up listening to gospel music and singing in church. Katy Perry graduated from Chaparral High School in Temecula, California in 2003 and immediately moved to Los Angeles at the age of 17. After Steve Thomas and Jennifer Knapp signed Perry to their label Red Hill Records, she released her first CD Katy Hudson in 2001, a Christian gospel album. According to several Christian radio stations, Katy Perry's most recent album One of The Boys has raised a considerable amount of controversy as her single "I Kissed a Girl" champions the forces of immorality versus morality, and promotes sexual activity that conflicts with her Christian upbringing; on the other hand, the single "Ur So Gay" has been interpreted as being homophobic for its derogatory use of the word "gay". Among her musical influences are Queen, Alanis Morissette, as well as the Incubusalbum Morning View and Heart and Joni Mitchell Katy changed her surname to Perry because "Katy Hudson" was too close to Kate Hudson Perry was her mother's maiden name.

In 2004, Perry worked for the record production team The Matrix, who had previously worked with Avril Lavigne Liz Phair, KoRn and Britney Spears among others. Her burgeoning music career led to her being named "The Next Big Thing" in October 2004 in Blender Magazine, where Perry stated she wasn't "a typical Christian", mentioning that she had done "lots of bad things" during her adolescence. In 2006, Perry appeared on P.O.D.'s single, "Goodbye for Now". She has openly talked about her struggles within the music industry, such as being dropped from record labels for much of her early career. Her songs eventually captured the attention of Virgin Records CEO Jason Flom, who was the head of Capitol Music Group, and she signed to Capitol Music in early-2007. Perry is now regularly heard on MTV, VH1, as well as commercials. She most recently appeared on the reality TV show So You Think You Can Dance, singing her hit, "I Kissed a Girl".