Katy Perry

If Katy Perry seems like a manufactured pop star, that’s because, well, she is. After launching her career as a teenage Christian singer under her given name of Katy Hudson, Perry started working with such image-molding hit-makers as The Matrix and Glen Ballard, to no avail. A few record deals later, she found herself singing songs produced by a new slew of studio whizzes, eventually striking gold with ubiquitous international hits like “I Kissed A Girl” and the freakishly catchy “California Gurls.” It doesn’t hurt, really, that she’s a bonafide sexpot, shooting whipped cream from her bra as she romps in fields of music video cotton candy. Perry doesn’t try to change the world with her pop ditties—she just wants to make it sweeter. 

Updated 06/28/2011