Katy Perry - Performs Firework live at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show on the 11/30/2010.

Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known by her stage name Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Perry grew up with gospel music, and during her first year of high school she pursued a music career as Katy Hudson, releasing her first studio album called Katy Hudson which failed to chart. She recorded a solo album later, which was never released. After signing with Capitol Music Group in 2007, her fourth record label in seven years, she adopted the stage name Katy Perry.

Perry is the only artist to spend over 52 consecutive weeks in the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100, and has since extended this to 69 weeks. As of 2012, Perry has been nominated for eight Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year (Teenage Dream) and Record of the Year ("Firework"). She was named 2011's "Artist of the Year" by MTV. She has sold 37.6 million digital tracks in the United States and 11 million albums worldwide, and sold over 74.6 million digital tracks worldwide. Perry was a guest judge on the seventh series of The X Factor UK and the ninth season of American Idol. She has released fragrances "Purr" and "Meow". She ventured into film, voicing Smurfette in the 2011 film The Smurfs and upcoming 3D biopic-concert film Katy Perry: Part of Me. Perry was married to British comedian Russell Brand from 2010 to 2012.
Perry appeared as a guest judge alongside Simon Cowell, Cheryl Cole and Louis Walsh during the Dublin audition stage of the seventh series of the British television show The X Factor on June 28, 2010. She was one of the many celebrities chosen to fulfil the role of judge whilst Dannii Minogue was on maternity leave.

In May 2010, Perry released the first single from her second studio album, Teenage Dream entitled, "California Gurls". The single peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for six consecutive weeks. "Teenage Dream" was released as the second single from her album, and it also topped the Billboard Hot 100, becoming her third number one and second from the album. Teenage Dream was released August 24, 2010 and debuted atop the Billboard 200 chart with sales of 192,000 copies in its first week. The album has since sold over two million copies in the US, being certified Platinum by the RIAA. Following the album's release, the third single "Firework" was released and became the third consecutive single from Teenage Dream to top the Hot 100. With this, Perry became the first female in eleven years to have three consecutive number-ones from one album.

In February 2011, Perry released the fourth single, "E.T.", a remixed version featuring Kanye West, that peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for five non-consecutive weeks. The music video for "E.T." was directed by Floria Sigismondi and features Shaun Ross as the main love interest. With "E.T." at number one on the chart of May 12, 2011, Perry became the first artist to spend 52 consecutive weeks in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100. In June 2011, Perry released the fifth single, "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)". A remixed version featuring American rapper Missy Elliot was released in early August. The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 on August 17, 2011, making Perry the first female and second artist (tied with Michael Jackson) ever to have five No. 1 singles from one album. Also, when the song reached number 1 in the Pop Songs airplay chart, "Teenage Dream" became the first album to have 5 number 1's from the same album on that chart. Additionally, when the song reached number one in the Adult Pop Songs airplay chart, the album become the first to have 4 number 1's from the same album on the chart.

In April 2012, Perry performed in India for the first time at the opening ceremony of 5th edition of Indian Premier League, cricket match, in Chennai. She performed her songs "Teenage Dream" and a remix version of "California Gurls". In April 2012, Perry stated that she is working on new music and changing her musical style, "My music is about to get real f—ing dark. You'd never see my face because my hair would be in it." On June 5, 2012, Perry released her first PC game named The Sims 3: Katy Perry's Sweet Treats in The Sims game franchise (see more here). The game is set around her candy-themed franchise with candy-themed objects, styles, clothes, hair, patterns, and more. The second and final single from the re-release (and eighth and final single from the Teenage Dream era overall) was "Wide Awake", which released in May, reached No. 4 the Billboard Hot 100 chart, making it her eighth consecutive single to reach the top five of the chart since "California Gurls". In June 2012, Perry revealed that she is in the process of launching her own record label, which will be an imprint of Capitol Records.