The singer took to social media recently to make a lengthy post about the highs and lows of 2025 so far, and shed light on how the reception to her latest album ‘143’ has affected her. “My best friend once gave me a framed 19th century book called What Katy Did Next. I’ve never read it, but the title has always stuck with me. That’s the point – it’s about continuing to move forward, and dream,” she shared. “We celebrate the wins and reflect on the losses. All of it is valuable,” Perry told her 202 million followers on Instagram.
Katy Perry
Perry added that her fans have joined her on the “rollercoaster” of her career and most recent album release, and thanked them for “the community we are and growing to become.” Ahead of the one-year milestone for the album, Perry shared a lengthy response to the backlash she has faced earlier this year. “Please know I am ok, I have done a lot of work around knowing who I am, what is real and what is important to me,” she told fans. Before then, she faced intense scrutiny after being a part of a highly criticised space flight earlier in April, where she was one member of the first all-female space mission in history.
Katy Perry Details Being “Tested and Tried” During Rollercoaster Year
As a teenager, she learned to play the guitar and sought a musical career in Nashville with a Christian record label, but her debut album, the gospel-influenced Katy Hudson (2001), sold poorly. By then, however, Hudson had found new musical models in such rock artists as Freddie Mercury and Alanis Morissette, whom she had discovered through friends. She soon moved to Los Angeles to pursue success in the secular music realm, adopting her mother’s maiden name, Perry, to avoid confusion with the actress Kate Hudson. 143 was billed as a major pop comeback but faced backlash when fans learned producer Dr. Luke had contributed to the record.
Filmography
- The lead single, “Woman’s World,” underperformed commercially, and the album drew the lowest Metacritic score in over a decade.
- “I am proud of where and how I have landed in this moment… proud of myself, proud of my fans and proud that I keep on swinging.”
- She made a greater splash several months later with the single “I Kissed a Girl,” an assertive ode to sexual curiosity backed by a hard-edged electro-pop beat.
- Perry added that her fans have joined her on the “rollercoaster” of her career and most recent album release, and thanked them for “the community we are and growing to become.”
Katy Perry issued a personal statement on Monday, reflecting on the past “rollercoaster” year as she marked the first anniversary of her latest album, 143. The singer addressed her fans as she took to Instagram to pen the heartfelt message alongside a carousel of photographs that captured poignant moments throughout her tour. The 40-year-old addressed her “wins” as well as her “losses” while she admitted that she has been “beloved, tested and tried” over the course of her nearly 20-year music career. After recording the stripped-down live album MTV Unplugged (2009), Perry returned to the studio. At 16, Perry released a gospel album titled Katy Hudson (2001) under Red Hill Records, which was unsuccessful.
Perry’s fifth studio album, Witness (2017), more introspective than her earlier work, was less well received. Controversy continued when Perry was fined over £5,000 for filming the music video for the ‘Lifetimes’ single in a protected area of Spain without permission. “Records are snapshots of an artist trying to tell their story of where they are now or have been, and hope someone will hear themselves in some of the messages,” the post continued. Next month she will continue the tour with some stops in the UK, where the ‘E.T.’ singer will perform in Manchester, Sheffield and Birmingham, and wrap up the stint with a closing night at London’s O2 Arena. Those shows will also see her make efforts to help support the UK’s grassroots music scene, with £1 ticket from every ticket sold will be given to Music Venue Trust (MVT) – providing security for local music venues and emerging talent. The reflective post comes after Katy and Orlando Bloom called off their engagement in July with a joint statement.
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“Due to the abundance of recent interest and conversation surrounding Orlando Bloom and Katy Perry’s relationship,” the statement began, “representatives have confirmed that Orlando and Katy have been shifting their relationship over the past many months to focus on co-parenting.” Perry also said she is letting go of control and allowing her next steps to unfold naturally. “No forcing, no controlling — just trusting the angels, the fans, and the music to guide me where I’m meant to go,” she wrote. The singer, 40, took to Instagram on Monday, September 22, to share several behind-the-scenes photos and videos, as well as a heartfelt letter to her fans.
Perry and Trudeau Staying Close
The lead single, “Woman’s World,” underperformed commercially, and the album drew the lowest Metacritic score in over a decade. The Grammy nominee shared a slideshow of photos and videos from the past year, including behind-the-scenes images from the “Woman’s World” music video shoot and moments from her tour stops. Perry’s post included behind-the-scenes photos and videos of the making of the album and Perry rehearsing onstage for the Lifetimes Tour. The tour is an encapsulation of Perry’s discography, including smash hits like “Firework,” “The One That Got Away” and “California Gurls.”
The star explained that despite the challenges she’s faced, she remains “proud” of herself for overcoming the hardship. “Lately I have been seeing 341 which has me thinking now after giving so much… do I love myself, finally? Well, I get the opportunity to answer that question anew every day,” she explained. Nearly two months after being spotted with former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the two are “still speaking and very interested in each other,” multiple sources told US Weekly. The criticism continued into her “Lifetimes” Tour, with some mocking her onstage dance moves. In April, she faced online backlash for taking part in the first all-female Blue Origin spaceflight just weeks before the tour began. Katy Perry marked the first anniversary of her album 143 with a candid Instagram post about what she called a “rollercoaster” year.
Musical style and themes
She moved to Los Angeles at 17 to venture into secular music, and later adopted her stage name from her mother’s maiden name. Perry recorded an album while signed to Columbia Records, but was dropped before signing to Capitol Records. She rose to fame with One of the Boys (2008), a pop rock album containing her debut single “I Kissed a Girl” and follow-up single “Hot n Cold”, which reached number one and three on the U.S. Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. She is one of the best-selling music artists in history, having sold over 151 million records worldwide.
- As a teenager, she learned to play the guitar and sought a musical career in Nashville with a Christian record label, but her debut album, the gospel-influenced Katy Hudson (2001), sold poorly.
- “Whatever comes next, I’m letting it unfold naturally. No forcing, no controlling — just trusting the angels, the fans, and the music to guide me where I’m meant to go,” she wrote later in the post, seemingly alluding to a year of change in her personal life.
- She ended her message to fans with optimism, writing, “Let’s hope we get to evolve together for years to come… and at the end of it all be proud and at peace with how we tried our best in this imperfect world.”
- The 40-year-old addressed her “wins” as well as her “losses” while she admitted that she has been “beloved, tested and tried” over the course of her nearly 20-year music career.
- Weeks before the album arrived in September 2024, fans were divided over the contributions from Dr. Luke, who Kesha accused of emotional abuse and sexual assault in 2014, culminating in a decade-long lawsuit.
Perry is known for her influence on pop music and her camp style, being dubbed the “Queen of Camp” by Vogue and Rolling Stone. The world’s highest-paid female musician in 2015 and 2018, Billboard named her one of the greatest pop stars of the 21st century. Taking to Instagram, recurring absence she shared a number of videos and photos from the past few months, including shots of her travelling for the ‘Lifetimes Tour’, meeting fans and more. She started the caption by explaining that while she usually shies away from anniversary posts, she thought it would be “negligent” to not “acknowledge the incredible impact this last year has had on me”. 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 flippant title track.
She made a greater splash several months later with the single “I Kissed a Girl,” an assertive 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 three million copies in the United States. Katy Hudson was raised in southern California, the middle child of two itinerant born-again Christian ministers. Nonreligious music was forbidden in the Hudson household, and she grew up singing church hymns and gospel tunes.
The mom of 5-year-old Daisy Dove (with Orlando) admitted that she’s entering her next era with ease as she wraps the final legs of her Lifetimes tour. Perry, who recently split from ex Orlando Bloom and has been quietly seeing former Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau, will take her globe-trotting Lifetimes Tour to Europe next month. Perry also spoke on the nature of her evolving fame, writing, “Through my years in the spotlight, I have been beloved, tested and tried. That’s the journey. I am blessed to know that there’s always two sides to each coin, and I learn that even when I hit tails, somehow through it all, I keep making my wishes.”
Sharing how she has been “through a rollercoaster” of highs and lows since the record was shared, she added that she was “proud” of how her fanbase stuck together. Bloom later told “Today” that the split was amicable and said, “We’re going to be great. Nothing but love.” The pop star reflected on both her professional setbacks and personal challenges, saying she feels “proud” of where she has landed. Perry said she’s “proud that I keep on swinging,” and reflected on the ups and downs of her long journey making pop music. New figures were then shared by Page Six and Billboard, showing that even despite the setbacks, her recent run of tour dates have grossed more than $80million (£59million) in sales.
“My best friend once gave me a framed 19th century book called What Katy Did Next,” the Grammy nominee wrote. While celebrating the first anniversary of 143, the 40-year-old looked back on the highs and lows she experienced since the album’s release. “I tend to be mostly a futurist but it would be negligent of me to not acknowledge the incredible impact this last year has had on me.” Katy Perry achieved mainstream success in 2008 with her single “I Kissed a Girl,” which became a number one hit in multiple countries. Her album One of the Boys (2008), featuring the hit “Hot N Cold,” sold more than three million copies in the United States.
“I am proud of where and how I have landed in this moment… proud of myself, proud of my fans and proud that I keep on swinging.” “Records are snapshots of an artist trying to tell their story,” she wrote on Instagram, adding that 143 has become about “reconnecting” with her fans on tour. Perry, 40, told fans that she usually avoids anniversary posts but felt compelled to recognize the impact of the past year.
