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.
Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981), occasionally known by his initials JT, is an American singer, songwriter, actor, dancer, and record producer.
Raised in Tennessee, he appeared on the television shows Star Search and The All-New Mickey Mouse Club as a child. In the late 1990s, Timberlake rose to prominence as one of the two lead vocalists and youngest member of NSYNC, which eventually became one of the best-selling boy bands of all time.
Timberlake began to adopt a more mature image as an artist with the release of his debut solo album, the R&B-focused Justified (2002), which yielded the successful singles "Cry Me a River" and "Rock Your Body", and earned his first two Grammy Awards.
Selena Marie Gomez (born July 22, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television producer. After appearing on the children's series Barney & Friends (2002–2004), she received wider recognition for her portrayal of Alex Russo on the Emmy Award-winning Disney Channel television series Wizards of Waverly Place, which aired from 2007 until 2012.
Gomez also starred in the films Another Cinderella Story (2008), Princess Protection Program (2009), Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie (2009), Ramona and Beezus (2010), and Monte Carlo (2011). Thereafter, she focused on more mature roles in Spring Breakers (2012), Getaway (2013), The Fundamentals of Caring (2016), and The Dead Don't Die (2019). She voices the character of Mavis in the Hotel Transylvania film franchise, and serves as an executive producer of the Netflix television drama series 13 Reasons Why (2017–present) and the Netflix documentary series Living Undocumented (2019).
Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Elon Musk’s Twitter has stirred up a new wave of confusion. After the multibillionaire tech baron made good on his threat to yank Twitter blue check-marks from celebrities who weren’t paying him $8 per month last week, the social network has reinstated the badge for many — including on accounts of people who have died.
The Musk-owned social network on April 20 revoked verified blue check-mark status from thousands of accounts belonging to celebrities, athletes, politicians and other “notable” figures granted under the company’s previous ownership.
The hope was that taking away the “free” Twitter blue check-mark would boost revenue from subscriptions to Twitter Blue, while Musk has also framed it as democratizing the user-verification process.
Twitter pulled the “legacy” check-marks for accounts including some of the most-followed celebs on the site, including Katy Perry, Cristiano Ronaldo, Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, Kim Kardashian, Selena Gomez, Justin Timberlake, Shakira, Jennifer Lopez, Oprah Winfrey and Beyoncé.
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