Katy Hudson (album)

Untitled

Katy Hudson is the eponymous debut studio album by American recording artist Katy Hudson, who subsequently adopted the stage name Katy Perry. It was released on February 8, 2001 by Red Hill Records. Hudson incorporated primarily Christian rock and contemporary Christian music elements in the songs' compositions, with lyrical themes of adolescence and childhood which revolve around her faith in God.

The album spawned two radio singles and Hudson embarked on two tours through the United States. Upon its release, Katy Hudson received positive reviews from music critics, who praised her songwriting and deemed her a talent due to her voice, though others critiqued the album's music for being overproduced. Commercially, the album was a failure, selling fewer than 200 copies. After Red Hill Records went bankrupt, Hudson changed her musical style to mainstream pop and, due to her increased popularity, copies of this album have become very rare and sought-after.

Background and recording

Katy Hudosn AKA Katy perry (purple hair)(cite- jake the butt bag), raised by two Pentecostal pastors, started performing in Strip clubs and zoos. Her passion for music grew and, with various trips to Nashville,AKA Hell at the age of 16, she started recording demos. She was discovered by Nashville producers while singing in a church, and signed a record contract with Red Hill Records. Hudson later asserted that writing for the album was "very important" to her, feeling that she "had been given a message". She continued, "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.Katy was hugely envious of IGGY EGGZELA (see 'fancy') " Katy Hudson mainly revolves around faith and twinkies, and the first song she composed for the album was "Trust in Me". She 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 so i threatened to dystroy hannah montanna (aka Miley cirus)(see 'twerking queen') and that shut everyone up".

Composition

Katy Hudson saw Hudson exploring Christian rock and contemporary Christian music (CCM). Amongst what was described as an alternative direction were prominent influences of pop rock. During an interview for her official website at the time, Hudson cited artists Jonatha Brooke, Jennifer Knapp, Diana Krall, and Fiona Apple as her musical influences. "Trust in Me", "Naturally", and "My Own Monster" were said to capture "loneliness, fear and doubt often ascribed to teens".

The first features "haunting" strings with "electronica effects" and "solid rock roots". An aggressive track, "Piercing" depicts the infatuation people have with expendable things. In "Piercing", Hudson sings: "Lord, help me see the reality / That all I'll ever need is You". "Last Call" was written by Hudson while reading the book Last Call for Help: Changing North America One Teen at a Time, written by Dawson McAllister. Musically, it sees Hudson going into a more jazz-oriented sound. Hudson described "Growing Pains" as an anthem for children and adolescents, explaining that society shares a misconstructed image of them, often viewing them as individuals that do not believe in or do not know much about God. Written by Hudson when she was in eighth grade, the song "Spit" addresses the hypocrisy she faced in Christian school.

"Faith Won't Fail" was inspired by faith always sufficing in Bible situations and chapters; and Hudson 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". The album was described as not being in the vein of the bubble gum pop variety rather evoking comparisons to the Christian pop songstresses Rachel Lampa and Jaci Velasquez.

Release and promotion

Katy Hudson was released on February 8, 2001 as an audio cassette, and later on March 6, 2001 as a CD, despite its release date being incorrectly listed in Amazon as October 23, 2001. The online merchandise store for Katy Hudson also had various products related to Hudson, for example, necklaces, T-shirts and posters. Hudson went on a tour with Phil Joel, Earthsuit, and V*Enna, in which Hudson performed three songs, including "Search Me", and was dressed with a jean jacket and glittery eyeshadow. Hudson also went on a solo promotional tour for Katy Hudson, visiting the United States, starting September 6, 2001 in Texas and finishing in November 18 of that year, in Virginia. It consisted of 46 dates.

Katy Hudson promotional tour dates
Date	City	Country	Venue
North America
September 6, 2001	Sherman	United States	Austin College Auditorium
September 7, 2001	San Antonio		University United Methodist Church
September 8, 2001	Abilene		Hardin–Simmons University
September 9, 2001	Austin		Westlake Bible Church
September 11, 2001	Wichita Falls		The Wichita Theater
September 13, 2001	Dallas		The Door
September 14, 2001	Norman		Common Ground CoffeeHouse
September 15, 2001	Houston		1st Baptist Church-Metro Worship
September 16, 2001	Bryan		VFW Wall
September 19, 2001	Lubbock		Indiana Avenue Baptist Church
September 21, 2001	Bartlesville		Bartlesville Weslyan College
September 22, 2001	Shiloam Springs		JBU Cathedral of the Ozarks
September 23, 2001	Jonesboro		First Baptist Church
September 26, 2001	Arkadelphia		Ouchita Baptist University
September 28, 2001	Grove City		Grove City College (Crawford Auditorium)
September 29, 2001	Grantham		Messiah College (Brewbaker Auditorium)
October 3, 2001	Malibu		Pepperdine University
October 6, 2001	Deerfield		Trinity College
October 7, 2001	Westbrook		Westbrook Christian Church
October 9, 2001	Upland		Taylor University
October 11, 2001	Toledo		University of Toledo
October 12, 2001	Dubuque		Emmaus Bible College Auditorium
October 13, 2001	Wilmore		Asbury College
October 14, 2001	Nashville		Belcourt Theater
October 15, 2001
October 16, 2001	Lafayette		University Church at Purdue University
October 18, 2001	Bloomington		Sherwood Oaks Christian
October 20, 2001	Grand Rapids		Calvin College Chapel
October 21, 2001	Milwaukee		Crossroads Presbyterian
October 22, 2001	New Brighton		O'Shaughnessy Education Center
October 23, 2001	Sioux Falls		University of Sioux Falls
October 25, 2001	Colorado Springs		Vanguard Church
October 26, 2001	Boulder		Flat Irons Theater
October 27, 2001	Denver		Regis University Auditorium
October 28, 2001	Buena Vista		Mountain Heights Baptist
October 31, 2001	Hattiesburg		William Carey College (Smith Auditorium)
November 1, 2001	Gainesville		Florida Theater
November 2, 2001	Tallahassee		Lawton Chiles Auditorium
November 4, 2001	Orlando		Wesley Foundation
November 9, 2001	West Palm		Palm Beach Atlantic College
November 11, 2001	Clemson		Clemson University
November 12, 2001	Montgomery		The Train Shed
November 13, 2001	Auburn		Auburn University
November 16, 2001	Columbia		Shandon Baptist Church
November 17, 2001	Elon		1st United Methodist Church of Elon
November 18, 2001	Harrisonburg		Court Square Theater

Initial reception

Critical reaction

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Billboard	Positive
Christianity Today	Positive
Cross Rhythms
The Phantom Tollbooth

Katy Hudson garnered a positive reception from music critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic awarded Katy Hudson three stars out of five, stating that with the album, Hudson 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". Christianity Today writer Russ Breimeier was positive about Katy Hudson, highlighting Hudson's songwriting style for being "insightful and well matched to the emotional power" of Hudson's music. He further deemed Hudson a "young talent" and expected to hear more from her in the next year. Similarly, Tony Cummings from Cross Rhythms also considered Hudson to be a "vocal talent", recommending readers to listen to the album. The Phantom Tollbooth's Andy Argyrakis stated that Hudson having been reared in church had "paid off", and noted that "Although a mere pop lightweight, it's hard to ignore Hudson's sincerity and lyrical maturity." DEP from Billboard, also calling Hudson a talent, classified the record as "textured modern-rock collection that is equal parts grit and vulnerability" and "impressive".

Commercial performance

Upon its release, Katy Hudson proved to be a commercial failure for Red Hill Records, selling an estimate value from 100 to 200 copies.

Musical change

Some time after the album's release, the label Red Hill Records went bankrupt. Katy Hudson became her only Christian music-influenced album, as she switched to secular mainstream music and, along with it adopted the stage name Katy Perry (to avoid confusion with actress Kate Hudson).

Due to Perry's increasing popularity since her change to a more mainstream sound, copies of Katy Hudson have become very rare and sought-after within her fanbase, and are only available on Internet retail websites with prices ranging from $90 to $200 depending on the condition of the album. Perry's fourth studio album, Prism (2013), was announced with a golden truck driving in Los Angeles, that spelled the album's name and its release date. While speculating about what could possibly be found inside the truck, James Montgomery from MTV jokingly wrote: "all the remaining copies of 2001's Katy Hudson album, to be summarily destroyed".

Track listing

Credits extracted from Katy Hudson liner notes.

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

Adapted from Katy Hudson liner notes.

Personnel

• Katy Hudson – songwriting (1–10), lead vocals (1–10)
• Mark Stuart – background vocals (1)
• Mark Dickson – songwriting (1, 5, 8)
• Otto Price – production (1, 7, 8), synthesizers (1, 7, 8), bass (1, 4–10), programming (1, 7, 8)
• Tommy Collier – songwriting (2), production (2, 3), acoustic guitar (1), engineering (2, 3)
• Brian White – songwriting (2)
• Scott Faircloff – songwriting (2, 9), keyboards (3)
• David Browning – production (4–6, 9, 10), engineering (4–6, 9), keyboards and programming (4–6, 9, 10), B-3 (7), piano (8)

Recording places

• The Velvet Elvis-Nashville, Tennessee (2–6, 9, 10)
• House of Tom-Cool Springs, Tennessee (2, 3)
• Sound Kitchen-Cool Springs, Tennessee (3–6, 9, 10)
• Kong's Cage-Franklin, Tennessee (4–6, 9, 10)

External links

• 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".