Five Things You May Not Know About Katy Perry

Katy Perry is provocative, over the top, and lives a very public life. Most recently the singer grabbed headlines over the holidays when her husband of 14 months, Russell Brand, filed for divorce. Even though this celebrity lives her life out in the open, there may be some things you may not know about her. Here's a list of five fun facts about Ms. Perry.

She wasn't allowed to watch MTV as a kid

Katy's super-strict upbringing didn't allow for any MTV viewing as a kid. So it's pretty amazing how her videos have such a 'concept' quality to them, when she really didn't have the frame of reference to music videos that most of us do. But then again, when Katy was a kid, MTV wasn't playing many videos anyway and was mostly reruns of "Real World."

She can play guitar

Katy can play both acoustic and electric guitar. Her parents got Perry her first guitar at the age of 13, and she's been playing ever since. She also dabbles in piano, and has taken voice lessons most of her life.

'Perry' isn't her real last name

Katy changed her last name from 'Hudson' to 'Perry' because she felt it was too close to the actress Kate Hudson -- Perry is actually her mother's maiden name. She hasn't made any moves to make the change legal, and it remains only a stage name.

She released a Christian Album before she became a Pop Star

As '! Katy Hud son', Perry released a self-titled Christian album before her big break in 2008. The album had gone to several producers before being shelved permanently. Perry has never publicly commented on whether or not she plans on releasing it again.

Early in her career, Perry had 4 record labels in 7 years

Was this a bit of an identity crisis? Executives recognized that Katy had talent, but didn't know exactly where to place that talent when signing her, and as a result, she went through 4 labels in the 7 years leading up to her 2008 release "One of the Guys."

So there you have it, five things you might not have already known Katy Perry. Even someone always in the public eye has some hidden nuances in them that made them what they are today. She's definitely more than your average "California Gurl".

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