Jagged Little Pill At age 17, she began working with hitmaker Glen Ballard, who had produced and co-written Alanis Morissette's chart-topping Jagged Little Pill in 1995. Several years later, she teamed up with the Matrix, a Grammy-nominated production/songwriting team whose r¨¦sum¨¦ included collaborations with Avril Lavigne, Shakira, and Korn. Tired of producing music for other artists, the Matrix had plans to record an album of their own, with Perry serving as one of the group's two singers. The project was ultimately shelved, but not before Perry appeared in a 2004 write-up by Blender magazine, who hailed her as "the Next Big Thing!"
California Gurls Such success meant that Katy Perry had officially become one of the industry's biggest pop stars, celebrated as much for her outsized behavior and outrageous fashion choices as the music itself. She continued touring through the summer of 2009 (albeit without McCoy, whose boyfriend status had been revoked earlier that year) and found time to tape an installment of MTV Unplugged, which was released in November. Meanwhile, she worked on a new album and started up a whirlwind romance with comedian Russell Brand, eventually becoming his wife, a short-lived marriage that would last for only a year. She would later begin an on-again, off-again relationship with adult-alternative singer/songwriter John Mayer. Recording sessions for her album wrapped up in early 2010, and Perry scored her second number one single with "California Gurls," which was released that May. The accompanying album, Teenage Dream, followed in August. The album would be reissued in 2012 as Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection, with the bonus track "Wide Awake," earning Perry a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Solo Performance. In 2013, Perry announced the release of her fourth album with the single "Roar," which mixed hip-hop beats with an '80s power ballad style. The album itself, Prism, was created in collaboration with a host of artists and producers including Sia, Diplo, Max Martin, Bloodshy, and Emeli Sand¨¦. Musically it was inspired by Robyn, Britney Spears, Mariah Carey, and Prince, and lyrically by her past relationships.