1999–2006: Career beginnings and Katy Hudson
At the age of 17, Perry left her home for Los Angeles, where she worked with Glen Ballard on an album for Island Records.[18] Growing up listening to mostly Country Gospel, she had few references when she began recording songs.[10] Asked by the producer with whom she would like to collaborate, Perry had no idea. That night, she went with her mother to a hotel. Inside, she turned on VH1 and saw producer Glen Ballard talking about Alanis Morissette;[10] Ballard produced Morissette's Jagged Little Pill, which had a "huge influence" on her.[15] She expressed interest in working with Ballard to her initial collaborator, who arranged a meeting for her with Ballard in Los Angeles. Perry presented one of her songs to Ballard, who then helped develop her songwriting over the next few years.[10] The album was initially planned to be released during the Fall of 2004 along with a promotional DVD, according to a promotional video on the Java Records website.[19] The album was due for release in 2005,[15][16] but Billboard reported it also went nowhere.[16] Subsequently, Perry was dropped by The Island Def Jam Music Group.[20] Some of her collaborations with Ballard, including "Box", "Diamonds", and "Long Shot", were posted on her official MySpace page.[21] "Simple", one of the songs she recorded with Ballard, was released on the soundtrack to the 2005 film The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.[22][23] Kelly Clarkson later used "Long Shot" and "I Do Not Hook Up" for her 2009 album All I Ever Wanted.[24] Perry signed to Columbia Records in 2004. However, the label was not amenable with her vision and did not put her in the "driver's seat".[16] Instead, one of Columbia's ideas was to pair her with the record production team The Matrix, who was working on an album, to serve as its female vocalist. Although the album was later shelved,[25] she caught the attention of the music press. Her burgeoning music career led to her being named "The Next Big Thing" in October 2004 by Blender magazine.[16] With no album project ongoing, Perry began recording her own, titled Fingerprints.[26] Eighty percent completed, however, Columbia decided not to finish it and dropped her from the label.[16] In 2004, Perry and Kaya Jones provided backing vocals on Mick Jagger's song "Old Habits Die Hard", which won the 2005 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song.[27] While waiting to find another label, she worked in an independent A&R company called Taxi Music. In 2006, she was featured in the tail-end of the video to P.O.D.'s single "Goodbye for Now".[28]
