User:Prism/Katy Hudson
| Katy Hudson | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 8 February 2001 | |||
| Recorded | 2000–01 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 48:11 | |||
| Label | Red Hill | |||
| Producer | Tommy Collier, Otto Price, David Browning | |||
| Katy Hudson chronology | ||||
| ||||
Katy Hudson is the eponymous debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Katy Hudson, who would later adopt the stage name of Katy Perry, after her mother's maiden name. It was released on February 2001 as an audio cassette by extinct label Red Hill Records, having its physical release the month after. In the album, Hudson utilized primarily Christian rock and Contemporary Christian music in the songs' composition, while keeping a lyrical theme which revolves around her faith in God and that of teens and children.
Upon its release, Katy Hudson received positive reviews from music critics, who praised Hudson's songwriting for being "insightful" and deemed her talentous due to her voice. Though, a reviewer dismissed the album's music for being overproduced. Commercially, the album was a failure, selling less than 200 copies. It was promoted with Hudson embarking on two tours and releasing singles "Trust in Me" and "Search Me".
Background and recording
[edit]Hudson, raised in a "deeply" religious family[1] with evangelical parents,[2] started performing in church. Eventually, her "passion" for music grew and with various trips to Nashville at the age of 15, she started to write and record demos.[1] She was discovered by Nashville producers while singing in a church, and was signed to Red Hill Records.[3] During an interview, Perry stated about writing for the album:
| “ | I started writing songs when I realized that singing other people’s lyrics was more an expression of their heart than mine. Writing for this album was very important to me. I felt I had been given a message and was supposed to voice it in my own words. I want to be an artist, not just someone who puts her voice on a CD. And I didn’t want to be written off as just another teenager who was handed a record deal.[4] | ” |
Perry wrote the album with the recurring theme of God being there for anyone, and that "there's a best friend who will never let [anyone] down". The first song she composed for the album was "Trust in Me". She also spoke on the initial recording sessions: "When we first started recording, it seemed like everybody knew everybody else and I didn’t know anyone—it made me feel like the new kid all over again, just like growing up. I would even feel intimidated about playing the five chords I knew pretty well".[4]
Composition
[edit]
Katy Hudson saw Perry exploring various Christian-based music sub-genres, for example, Christian rock and Contemporary Christian music (CCM).[5] Amongst what was described as an "alternative" direction, were prominent influences of pop rock and soft rock.[6] During an interview for her official website at the time, Perry cited artists Jonatha Brooke (who she later worked with on the track "Choose Your Battles" from her fourth studio album Prism in 2013), Jennifer Knapp, Diana Krall and Fiona Apple as her musical influences.[4]
"Trust in Me", "Naturally" and "My Own Monster" were said to capture "loneliness, fear and doubt often ascribed to teens".[4] The first features "haunting" strings with "electronica effects" and "solid rock roots".[7] An "aggressive" track, "Piercing" depicts the "infatuation" people have with expendable things,[8] singing: "Lord, help me see the reality / That all I’ll ever need is You".[4] "Last Call" was written by Perry while reading the book Last Call for Help: Changing North America One Teen at a Time, written by Dawson McAllister.[8] Musically, it sees Perry going into a more jazz-oriented sound.[5] Perry described "Growing Pains" as an anthem for children and adolescents, explaining that society shares a miscontructed image of them, often viewing them as individuals that do not believe in or do not know much about God. Written by Perry when she was in eighth grade, "Spit" addresses the hypocrisy she faced in Christian school.[8]
"Faith Won't Fail" was inspired by faith always sufficing in Bible situations and chapters; and Perry commented on "Search Me": "I was struggling with the fact that I would have the huge responsibility of how others would be affected through what I was doing or saying on stage. I don’t want to put on some kind of front that everything is good when it’s not. I wanted to keep it real, but still give people hope." The record closes with "When There's Nothing Left", which has been described as a "crisp and clean 'love note' to God".[8]
Release and promotion
[edit]"Trust in Me" preceded the album's release, being serviced to radios in February 2001.[9][10] Katy Hudson was released on 8 February 2001 as an audio cassette,[11] and later on 6 March 2001 as a CD,[12] despite its release date being incorrectly listed in Amazon as 23 October 2001.[13] "Search Me" was released in June 2001.[10] The online merchandise store for Katy Hudson also had various products related to Perry, for example, necklaces, T-shirts and posters.[14] Perry went on a tour with Phil Joel, Earthsuit, and V*Enna, in which Perry performed three songs, including "Search Me", and was dressed with a jean jacket and glittery eyeshadow.[15] Perry also went on a solo promotional tour for Katy Hudson, visiting the United States, starting 6 September 2001 in Texas and finishing in 18 November of that year, in Virginia. It consisted of 46 dates.[16]
| Katy Hudson promotional tour dates | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | City | Country | Venue | ||
| North America[16] | |||||
| 6 September 2001 | Sherman | United States | Austin College Auditorium | ||
| 7 September 2001 | San Antonio | University United Methodist Church | |||
| 8 September 2001 | Abilene | Hardin–Simmons University | |||
| 9 September 2001 | Austin | Westlake Bible Church | |||
| 11 September 2001 | Wichita Falls | The Wichita Theater | |||
| 13 September 2001 | Dallas | The Door | |||
| 14 September 2001 | Norman | Common Ground CoffeeHouse | |||
| 15 September 2001 | Houston | 1st Baptist Church-Metro Worship | |||
| 16 September 2001 | Bryan | VFW Wall | |||
| 19 September 2001 | Lubbock | Indiana Avenue Baptist Church | |||
| 21 September 2001 | Bartlesville | Bartlesville Weslyan College | |||
| 22 September 2001 | Shiloam Springs | JBU Cathedral of the Ozarks | |||
| 23 September 2001 | Jonesboro | First Baptist Church | |||
| 26 September 2001 | Arkadelphia | Ouchita Baptist University | |||
| 28 September 2001 | Grove City | Grove City College (Crawford Auditorium) | |||
| 29 September 2001 | Grantham | Messiah College (Brewbaker Auditorium) | |||
| 3 October 2001 | Malibu | Pepperdine University | |||
| 6 October 2001 | Deerfield | Trinity College | |||
| 7 October 2001 | Westbrook | Westbrook Christian Church | |||
| 9 October 2001 | Upland | Taylor University | |||
| 11 October 2001 | Toledo | University of Toledo | |||
| 12 October 2001 | Dubuque | Emmaus Bible College Auditorium | |||
| 13 October 2001 | Wilmore | Asbury College | |||
| 14 October 2001 | Nashville | Belcourt Theater | |||
| 15 October 2001 | |||||
| 16 October 2001 | Lafayette | University Church at Purdue University | |||
| 18 October 2001 | Bloomington | Sherwood Oaks Christian | |||
| 20 October 2001 | Grand Rapids | Calvin College Chapel | |||
| 21 October 2001 | Milwaukee | Crossroads Presbyterian | |||
| 22 October 2001 | New Brighton | O'Shaughnessy Education Center | |||
| 23 October 2001 | Sioux Falls | University of Sioux Falls | |||
| 25 October 2001 | Colorado Springs | Vanguard Church | |||
| 26 October 2001 | Boulder | Flat Irons Theater | |||
| 27 October 2001 | Denver | Regis University Auditorium | |||
| 28 October 2001 | Buena Vista | Mountain Heights Baptist | |||
| 31 October 2001 | Hattiesburg | William Carey College (Smith Auditorium) | |||
| 1 November 2001 | Gainesville | Florida Theater | |||
| 2 November 2001 | Tallahassee | Lawton Chiles Auditorium | |||
| 4 November 2001 | Orlando | Wesley Foundation | |||
| 9 November 2001 | West Palm | Palm Beach Atlantic College | |||
| 11 November 2001 | Clemson | Clemson University | |||
| 12 November 2001 | Montgomery | The Train Shed | |||
| 13 November 2001 | Auburn | Auburn University | |||
| 16 November 2001 | Columbia | Shandon Baptist Church | |||
| 17 November 2001 | Elon | 1st United Methodist Church of Elon | |||
| 18 November 2001 | Harrisonburg | Court Square Theater | |||
Reception
[edit]Critical reaction
[edit]| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [5] |
| Christianity Today | Positive[7] |
| Cross Rhythms |   [17] |
Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic awarded Katy Hudson three stars out of five, stating that with the album, Perry had "betray[ed] a heavy, heavy debt to Alanis Morissette". Erlewine also interpreted some of the songs' lyrics as having sexual overtones, and identifying those as "the most interesting things" in the album, describing the record's overall sound as "the kind of assaultive, over-produced Wall of Sound that some CCM rockers do in order to prove they're contemporary".[5]. Christian periodical Christian Today writer Russ Breimeier was positive about Katy Hudson, highlighting Perry's songwriting style for being "insightful and well matched to the emotional power" of Perry's music. He further deemed Perry a "young talent" and expected to hear more from her in the next year.[7] Similarly, Tony Cummings from Cross Rhythms also considered Perry to be a "vocal talent", recommendating readers to listen to the album.[17]
Commercial response
[edit]Upon its release, Katy Hudson proved to be a commercial failure for Red Hill Records, selling an estimate value from 100[18] copies to 200.[3]
Track listing
[edit]Credits extracted from Katy Hudson liner notes.[19]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Trust in Me" | Katy Hudson, Mark Dickson | Otto Price | 4:46 |
| 2. | "Piercing" | Hudson, Tommy Collier, Brian White | Collier | 4:06 |
| 3. | "Search Me" | Hudson, Scott Faircloff | Collier | 5:00 |
| 4. | "Last Call" | Hudson | David Browning | 3:07 |
| 5. | "Growing Pains" | Hudson, Dickson | Browning | 4:05 |
| 6. | "My Own Monster" | Hudson | Browning | 5:25 |
| 7. | "Spit" | Hudson | Price | 5:10 |
| 8. | "Faith Won't Fail" | Hudson, Dickson | Price | 5:14 |
| 9. | "Naturally" | Hudson, Faircloff | Browning | 4:33 |
| 10. | "When There's Nothing Left" | Hudson | Browning | 6:45 |
| Total length: | 48:11 | |||
Credits and personnel
[edit]Adapted from Katy Hudson liner notes.[19]
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References
[edit]- ^ a b "Mini Bio". IMDb. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
- ^ Summers, Kimberly. Katy Perry p. 9
- ^ a b Summers, Kimberly. Katy Perry. p.10
- ^ a b c d e "Katy's bio". katyhudson.com. Archived from the original on 12 March 2001. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
- ^ a b c d Erlewine, Stephen. "Katy Hudson - Katy Hudson". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation.
{{cite web}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Missing or empty|url=(help) - ^ "Katy Hudson". Rate Your Music. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
- ^ a b c Breimeier, Russ (1 January 2001). "Katy Hudson: Katy Hudson". Christianity Today. Christianity Today International.
{{cite web}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Missing or empty|url=(help) - ^ a b c d "Growing Pains lyrics (incorrect title)". katyhudson.com. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
{{cite web}}:|archive-date=requires|archive-url=(help) - ^ Friedlander, Noam. Katy Perry p. 24/25
- ^ a b "Katy Hudson". KatyHudson.ca. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
- ^ "Katy Hudson". Amazon.com. 1 January 1970. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
- ^ "About Katy Hudson". MTV Artists. Viacom Media Networks. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
- ^ "Katy Hudson". Amazon.com. 1 January 1970. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
- ^ "Online Store". Fut-Inc. Archived from the original on 12 October 2001. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
- ^ Martin, David (6 May 2003). "The Strangely Normal Tour - Phil Joel, Earthsuit, V*Enna & Katy Hudson". Epinions.com. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
- ^ a b "Katy's tour info". katyhudson.com. Archived from the original on 16 August 2001. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
- ^ a b Cummings, Tony (26 July 2001). "Katy Hudson - Katy Hudson". Cross Rhythms. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
- ^ Hiscock, John (30 June 2012). ""I want to be a mother but now's not the right time": Katy Perry says she still believes in love and likes London boys (except one)". Mirror.co.uk. Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
- ^ a b Katy Hudson (liner notes). Red Hill Records. 2001.
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External links
[edit]- Book Last Call for Help: Changing North America One Teen at a Time on Amazon.ca, which is referenced on the Composition section regarding the album's song "Last Call".