Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television judge. After singing in church during her childhood, she pursued a career in gospel music as a teenager.
Perry signed with Red Hill Records and released her debut studio album Katy Hudson under her birth name in 2001, which was commercially unsuccessful. She moved to Los Angeles the following year to venture into secular music after Red Hill ceased operations and she subsequently began working with producers Glen Ballard, Dr. Luke, and Max Martin.
After adopting the stage name Katy Perry and being dropped by The Island Def Jam Music Group and Columbia Records, she signed a recording contract with Capitol Records in April 2007.
American Idol returned Sunday night, and it’s a big one — Katy Perry‘s last first episode ever after announcing she was leaving the show.
And she’s making the most of it! The Firework singer gave us an all-timer moment on the premiere when she reacted to the emotional story and beautiful singing of contestant McKenna Breinholt.
The 25-year-old revealed she was adopted and had started looking for her birth parents just four years ago. Sadly she learned her mother had passed away — but as fate would have it, she had been a musician, too! Related: Taylor Swift Says She Felt ‘Lonely’ Writing Folklore — Even Though Joe Alwyn Was There! After performing a Dolly Parton cover, McKenna mentioned how her mom had even written original songs, and she was learning them.
So Katy asked her to play one, and she did — a precious little thing called Tumbleweed. She sounded so like her mother, her birth grandmother sobbed, saying it was “like a ghost” was on stage.
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