Katy Hudson (album)

Katy Hudson
Archivo:Katy Hudson album.jpg
Studio album by Katy Hudson
Released	March 6, 2001 (2001-03-06)
Studio	The Velvet Elvis, Nashville House of Tom, Cool Springs Sound Kitchen, Cool Springs Kong's Cage, Franklin, Tennessee
Genre	Christian rock, contemporary Christian music
Length	48:11
Label	Red Hill
Producer	Tommy Collier Otto Price David Browning
Katy Perry chronology
Katy Hudson (2001) Ur So Gay (2007)

Katy Hudson is the eponymous debut studio album by American singer Katy Hudson (later known as Katy Perry). It was released on March 6, 2001 by Red Hill Records. The album primarily incorporates Christian rock and contemporary Christian music elements with lyrical themes of childhood, adolescence, and Hudson's faith in God. Before its release, Red Hill went bankrupt, preventing it from marketing and promoting the album, which subsequently sold about 200 copies and received mixed reviews.

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.

"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 eschewing bubblegum pop and evoking Christian pop songstresses Rachel Lampa and Jaci Velasquez.

Promotion

To promote the album, Hudson went on a tour, the Strangely Normal Tour, with Phil Joel, Earthsuit, and V*Enna and later embarked on 46 solo performances throughout the United States. The song "Trust in Me" spent two weeks on the Radio & Records Christian Rock chart, peaking at number 17.

Solo performance dates
Date	City	State	Venue
North America
September 6, 2001	Sherman	Texas	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	Oklahoma	Common Ground CoffeeHouse
September 15, 2001	Houston	Texas	1st Baptist Church-Metro Worship
September 16, 2001	Bryan		VFW Wall
September 19, 2001	Lubbock		Indiana Avenue Baptist Church
September 21, 2001	Bartlesville	Oklahoma	Bartlesville Weslyan College
September 22, 2001	Shiloam Springs	Arkansas	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	California	Pepperdine University
October 6, 2001	Deerfield	Illinois	Trinity College
October 7, 2001	Bolingbrook		Westbrook Christian Church
October 9, 2001	Upland	Indiana	Taylor University
October 11, 2001	Toledo	Ohio	University of Toledo
October 12, 2001	Dubuque	Iowa	Emmaus Bible College Auditorium
October 13, 2001	Wilmore	Kentucky	Asbury College
October 14, 2001	Nashville	Tennessee	Belcourt Theater
October 15, 2001
October 16, 2001	Lafayette	Indiana	University Church at Purdue University
October 18, 2001	Bloomington	Illinois	Sherwood Oaks Christian
October 20, 2001	Grand Rapids	Michigan	Ground Floor, Res Life Church
October 21, 2001	Milwaukee	Wisconsin	Crossroads Presbyterian
October 22, 2001	New Brighton	Minnesota	O'Shaughnessy Education Center
October 23, 2001	Sioux Falls	South Dakota	University of Sioux Falls
October 25, 2001	Colorado Springs	Colorado	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	Mississippi	William Carey College (Smith Auditorium)
November 1, 2001	Gainesville	Florida	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	South Carolina	Clemson University
November 12, 2001	Montgomery	Alabama	The Train Shed
November 13, 2001	Auburn		Auburn University
November 16, 2001	Columbia	South Carolina	Shandon Baptist Church
November 17, 2001	Elon	North Carolina	1st United Methodist Church of Elon
November 18, 2001	Harrisonburg	Virginia	Court Square Theater

Release and reception

Professional ratings

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

Katy Hudson was released on March 6, 2001. Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic awarded the record three stars out of five, stating that with the album, Hudson had "betray[ed] a heavy, heavy debt to Alanis Morissette". Erlewine described 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". The album was a commercial failure for bankrupted Red Hill Records, only selling between 100 and 200 copies.

Musical change

Katy Hudson is the only Christian music-influenced album by Hudson, who subsequently adopted Katy Perry as her stage name. After her popularity increased, previously sold copies of Katy Hudson have become a sought-after item amongst her fans.

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, Collier, 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

Personnel

Adapted from Katy Hudson liner notes.

• Katy Hudson – lead vocals (1–10), background vocals (2, 7, 8)
• Tommy Collier – production (2, 3), acoustic guitars (1), guitars (3), keyboards (2, 3), loops (2, 3)
• Otto Price – production (1, 7, 8), synthesizers (1, 7, 8), bass (1, 2, 4–10), loops (2), programming (1, 7, 8), B-3 (1, 8), additional guitars (7,8)
• Scott Faircloff – piano (2), keyboards (2, 3), wurlitzer (3)
• David Browning – production (4–6, 9, 10), keyboards and programming (4–6, 9, 10), B-3 (7), piano (8), string arrangements (5, 9, 10)
• Chris Graffagnino – guitars (4-6, 9, 10)
• Barry Graul – electric guitars/12-str (1), guitars (7,8)
• Tony Morra – drums (2–6, 9, 10)
• Scott Williamson – drums (7, 8)
• Greg Herrington – drums (1), additional drums (7)
• Matt Pierson – bass (3)
• Jeffrey Scot Wills – saxophone (4)
• Otto Price, III – wah guitar (8)
• David McMullan – brass (7)
• Kim Palsma – woodwinds (1, 8)
• David Davidson – violin (1, 7)
• Kristin Wilkinson – viola (1, 7)
• John Catchings – cello (1, 7)
• Mark Stuart – background vocals (1)
• Stacy Tiernan – background vocals (3)

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".
• Book Katy Perry - A Biography on Amazon.com, which is referenced in the Opening, Release & Reception and Musical Change sections regarding the album's sales, and commercial failure for Red Hill Records.