Katy Perry

Prevented from listening to pop music by her parents - who were Evangelical Christian pastors - Katy grew up on a strict diet of gospel music before prancing her way to international fame as a flirtatious starlet. Spotted singing in her parents' church at 15, she honed her skills in Nashville and released an unsuccessful gospel rock album in 2001 under her real name Katy Hudson. She moved to LA, changed her name due to its similarity to actress Kate Hudson and reinvented herself as a bubbly, outspoken, pop minx - "a fatter version of Amy Winehouse and a skinnier version of Lily Allen" (her words). Her single Ur So Gay won the admiration of Madonna before I Kissed A Girl shot her to worldwide stardom in 2008. Album One For The Boys produced further hits Waking Up In Vegas and Hot N Cold and she hosted the 2008 and 2009 MTV Europe Video Music Awards in a bizarre range of outfits.