Katy Perry Live: Witness World Wide life, which occurred following her 2012 divorce from Russell Brand, and led her to write the song "By the Grace of God" in 2013. As Perry broke down emotionally, a member of her entourage suggested she end the session, but she declined. She also addressed her sexuality and the reasons why she went public with her feud with Taylor Swift. Perry, who was born Katheryn Hudson, talked about her pop star persona, saying "the fantasy of Katheryn went into Katy and made this bigger-than-life personality," and shared that her new very short haircut was because she "didn't want to look
Katy Perry performed as Katheryn Perry to avoid confusion with actress Kate Hudson. She later adopted the stage name Katy Perry, using her mother's maiden name. In 2004, Perry signed to Ballard's label, Java, which was then affiliated with The Island Def Jam Music Group. She began work on a solo record, but the record was shelved after Java was dropped. Ballard then introduced Perry to Tim Devine, an A&R executive at Columbia Records, and she was signed as a solo artist. Over the course of the next two years, Perry wrote and recorded material for her Columbia debut, and worked with