The Rebels of The World

Katy Perry { American Pop Singer }

Katy Perry, original name Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson, (born October 25, 1984, Santa Barbara, California, U.S.), American pop singer who gained fame for a string of anthemic and often sexually suggestive hit songs, as well as for a playfully cartoonish sense of style.26-Jan-2022Born: October 25, 1984, Santa BarbaraTV show: American IdolRecord labels: Capitol RecordsAlbums: Teenage Dream

Perry's initial efforts at mainstream stardom were fruitless, with two separate record labels signing and subsequently dropping her before any material was released. In 2007, however, Capitol Records put out Perry's EP Ur So Gay, which attracted modest attention for its cheerfully title track. She made a greater splash several months later with the single "I Kissed a Girl," an ode to sexual curiosity backed by a hard-edged electro-pop beat. The song quickly stirred controversy, as some critics derided it for promoting same-sex relations and others charged that the racy scenario it depicted catered to male fantasies of female sexuality. Nevertheless, the combination of titillation and polished melodicism helped "I Kissed a Girl" become a number one hit in multiple countries, powering sales for her album One of the Boys (2008). With its bouncy, sharp-tongued second single, "Hot N Cold," also proving popular, the album—much of which Perry wrote herself—eventually registered sales of more than one million copies in the United States.

By late 2009 Perry had become frequent tabloid fodder, largely because of her quirky, vividly coloured fashions—which borrowed variously from 1940s pinup models, performers, and the kawaii ("cute") cultural of Japan—as well as her high-profile relationship with English comedian , to whom she was briefly married (2010–12). After recording the stripped-down live album MTV Unplugged (2009), Perry returned to the studio. The resulting release, Teenage Dream (2010), which provided a broader showcase for her full-throated voice, was even more commercially successful than One of the Boys, spawning such hits as the warm-weather frivolity "California Gurls" (featuring rapper ) and the inspirational "Firework." When "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)" reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart in mid-2011, Perry tied 's record of five number one songs from a single album. 

While critics often Perry's songs as vapid, the music industry was generally kinder, rewarding her with several nominations, including album of the year for Teenage Dream. In 2011 she made her big-screen acting debut, providing the voice of Smurfette in the The Smurfs, and she the role for a 2013 sequel. She was also the subject of the concert-tour documentary Katy Perry: Part of Me (2012). In 2018 Perry became one of the judges on the new incarnation of the singing competition TV show .

American Idol, American reality television series in which aspiring singers competed for a recording contract and a shot at wealth and fame. Following its debut on the , American Idol (2002–16) became one of the most-watched shows in the and produced numerous imitations. After a two-year , it returned to TV in 2018, airing on .

The American Idol format was imported from the , where Pop Idol, the creation of and executive Simon Fuller, aired. Both shows followed the same premise: judges travel throughout the country in search of its most-talented singer. In the American version a series of auditions narrowed the candidates to a top few, who competed against each other on a studio set in Hollywood. Originally, contestants had to be between 16 and years of age; the age rules were later modified, eventually allowing for performers aged 15 to 28. The early auditions tended to focus on the spectacle offered by tone-deaf contestants warbling before the judges. As the field of candidates narrowed, the show became a more-stylized showcase for talented contestants. 

In the American version a series of auditions narrowed the candidates to a top few, who competed against each other on a studio set in Hollywood. Originally, contestants had to be between 16 and years of age; the age rules were later modified, eventually allowing for performers aged 15 to 28. The early auditions tended to focus on the spectacle offered by tone-deaf contestants warbling before the judges. As the field of candidates narrowed, the show became a more-stylized showcase for talented contestants. The performers sang well-known pieces, which usually corresponded to a set theme that varied from week to week, and celebrity guests routinely made appearances on the show. In the contest's final stages, the home audience—rather than the panel of judges—voted via telephone call, text message, or the show's and thereby decided the winner.

Fast FactsMediaMorepopular musicAlternate titles: pop music Cite Share MoreBy • the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan ShowKey People: Related Topics:

popular music, any commercially oriented music principally intended to be received and appreciated by a wide audience, generally in literate, technologically advanced societies dominated by . Unlike traditional , popular music is written by known individuals, usually professionals, and does not evolve through the process of oral transmission.

Historically, popular music was any non-folk form that acquired mass popularity—from the songs of the and to those elements of fine-art music originally intended for a small elite audience but that became widely popular. After the , true folk music began to disappear, and the popular music of the and the early 20th century was that of the and , with its upper reaches dominated by waltz music and . In the United States, performed the of songwriters such as . In the 1890s emerged as the first popular song-publishing industry, and over the next half century its lyricism was combined with European operetta in a new kind of play known as the . Beginning with in the 1890s, African Americans began combining complex African rhythms with European harmonic structures, a synthesis that would eventually create .

Music audiences greatly expanded, partly because of technology. By 1930 records had replaced sheet music as the chief source of music in the home. The enabled more-intimate vocal techniques to be commercially adapted. The ability of broadcasting to reach rural aided the dissemination of new styles, notably . American popular music achieved international dominance in the decades after .

By the 1950s the migration of African Americans to cities in the North had resulted in the cross-fertilization of elements of with the up-tempo rhythms of jazz to create . , pioneered by figures such as , soon developed as an amalgam of rhythm and blues with country music and other influences (see ). In the 1960s British rock groups, including the , became internationally influential and popular. Rock and (especially the sophisticated but hook-laden variety of the latter, which took its name from the company that created it, ) quickly attracted the of Western teenagers and eventually became the sound track for young people throughout the world. The history of pop into the 21st century has basically been that of rock and its variants, including , , , , , and increasingly pop-oriented .

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