Billboard’s Top 25 Pop Stars of the 21st Century: Katy Perry at No. 25

With the first quarter of the 21st century coming to a close, Billboard is spending the next few months counting down staff picks for the 25 greatest pop stars of the last 25 years. We’ve already done our Honorable Mentions, and now at No. 25, we remember Katy Perry — whose dizzying, era-defining early-2010s peak still burns brightly in the minds of pop fans, even as it gets farther away.

For those who lived through her commercial zenith, Katy Perry will always be one of the names most synonymous with pop music. Few performers of the last 25 years have been as committed to maxing out top 40 superstardom at its biggest, brightest, and best. When Perry ruled the mainstream at the turn of the 2010s, she seemed to wring every ounce of potential from her albums, singles, videos, live performances, TV appearances, fashion choices, and public persona. Her approach mirrored the iconic pop legends of early MTV and matched their success in ways no other artist of this century has managed.

Few would have foreseen this fate for Perry when she initially emerged – first in the early ’00s as Katy Hudson, a contemporary Christian artist, and later as a snotty Warped Tour singer-songwriter. Her first Perry-era EP “Ur So Gay” suggested great promise for word-of-mouth cult success but seemed too cheeky and edgy for top 40 success. At the time, the mainstream was dominated by hip-hop, Auto-Tune, and pop-rock seriousness. There appeared to be little room for the technicolor, attitude-driven turbo-pop Perry offered.

Nevertheless, Perry’s next song, “I Kissed a Girl,” was forceful enough to push through. The bicurious anthem arrived as a juggernaut, with writing credits from pop royalty Max Martin and Cathy Dennis and cutting-edge production from Lukasz “Dr. Luke” Gottwald and Benny Blanco. The song’s relentless edge made it louder, brasher, and even more divisive than “Ur So Gay,” drawing criticism from both conservative groups and LGBTQ critics.

Despite the noise, “I Kissed a Girl” blazed its way to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in July 2008. Her album “One of the Boys” entered the Billboard 200’s top 10, spawning three more hit singles. “Hot n Cold” and “Waking Up in Vegas” both landed in the Hot 100 top 10, with “Thinking of You” peaking at No. 29.

Perry’s sophomore set, “Teenage Dream,” ultimately made the previous success look like a warm-up. The album’s first single “California Gurls,” featuring Snoop Dogg, was a love letter to the Golden Coast. Its candyland music video made Perry iconic on MTV and YouTube. The album title track, an anthem of young love, also shot to No. 1. “Teenage Dream” topped the Billboard 200 and produced five No. 1 hits on the Hot 100: “California Gurls,” “Teenage Dream,” “Firework,” “E.T.” featuring Kanye West, and “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.).”

With its fifth No. 1, “Teenage Dream” joined Michael Jackson’s “Bad” as the second album to spawn five Hot 100 No. 1 hits, highlighting Perry’s innovative strategies for building excitement in the digital age. Perry dominated pop culture for years through award show appearances, commercial endorsements, and her California Dreams tour, which grossed nearly $60 million. The deluxe edition of “Teenage Dream” yielded another No. 1 with “Part of Me” and nearly another with “Wide Awake.”

More than a commercial triumph, Perry helped define a golden age for pop enthusiasts, marked by stars like Rihanna, Lady Gaga, and Beyoncé, and massive hitmakers like Kesha and the Black Eyed Peas. Her vibrant aesthetic and collaboration with hitmakers set the tone for the era.

However, Perry’s time at the forefront of pop would be briefer than expected. “Prism,” her 2013 album, spawned two major hits, “Roar” and “Dark Horse,” and she headlined Super Bowl XLIX. Despite its success, subsequent singles underperformed, and her later albums saw diminishing returns.

“Witness” (2017) debuted at No. 1 but had a complicated rollout, and “Smile” (2020) did not produce any top 10 hits. Still, Perry remained visible, joining “American Idol” as a judge and launching a successful Las Vegas residency. She also had successful collaborations with Calvin Harris, Daddy Yankee, and Zedd.

In 2024, Perry prepares for a comeback with the album “143.” Its lead single “Woman’s World” faced criticism, partly due to its association with Dr. Luke. Yet, Perry’s influence on pop culture remains. Today’s pop artists reflect her eye-popping style, and the controversy surrounding “Woman’s World” highlights her enduring stardom. Perry’s highest achievements represent a teenage dream that millennial and Gen Z pop fans still cherish.

Source: Billboard