Did Katy Perry Graduate High School?
The path to success isn’t always a straight line. While high school is an important step for many, not everyone needs to graduate to have a successful career. Just look at Katy Perry. The music superstar never got her degree, but that didn’t stop her from booking the Super Bowl halftime show. Perry regrets not getting a good education, but according to Insider, she’s still trying.
Katy Perry started singing for her parent’s ministry
Perry started singing at a young age. As soon as her parents noticed her talent, they put her in voice lessons. Soon, Perry was singing for her parents’ ministry. Perry had a very religious upbringing, and even sometimes attended religious schools. Perry’s first album was pure gospel. The self-titled Katy Hudson was a critical success, but Perry wanted something different. She was just 17, and had already dropped out of high school for her music career.
When her first album dropped, Perry was living in Nashville, the perfect city for a gospel singer. She decided that her career needed to go in another direction. The Teenage Dream performer moved due west, landing in Los Angeles to focus on pop rock music. She adopted her mother’s maiden name of Perry, and eventually released One of the Boys. Though technically her second album, it is widely considered her debut, and oh, what a debut it was. The album smashed records and roped in lifelong fans. But Perry never forgot about her education.
Unfortunately Katy Perry was unable to finish high school
Perry dropped out of high school at 15 to focus on her music career, and her lack of formal education has always bothered her. The Kissed a Girl singer told Yahoo that “I’m kind of bummed at this stage that I didn’t have a great education because I could really use that these days.” After all, Perry has to negotiate record contracts, and seal business deals. There have doubtlessly been times when more formal education may have helped Perry navigate those situations.
Not only did Perry not graduate high school, but most of her primary schooling was woefully inadequate. According to Perry, who spoke to Yahoo in 2014, her parents’ religious views led to her receiving an inconsistent education as a child. “I was being pulled out of school even in the middle of school and sometimes being home-schooled. Sometimes we were sent to these really half-Christian, half-education, I-don’t-know-what-they-were schools.” Constantly changing schools can be damaging for kids, and Perry didn’t feel like she received enough formal education as a child. She did end up getting her GED, which is a big achievement.
Katy Perry may not have a diploma, but she does have some awards
The truth is Perry didn’t need a high school diploma to make it big. Her hard work and musical prowess carried her. Although she doesn’t have a high school diploma to hang on her wall, she does have some awards for her shelf. She’s got a few MTV VMA awards. The Teenage Dream singer won her first VMA in 2011, when her video for Firework took home the prestigious Video of the Year, according to IMDB. She won again in 2014, for Best Lyric Video.
Despite a prolific career, Perry has yet to receive a Grammy award. According to the Grammys, she has been nominated 13 times total. Her hit song, I Kissed a Girl was nominated for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 2008. The next year, Perry was nominated again for Hot N Cold. Her most recent nomination was in 2014, for her album Prism, and one for her single Dark Horse. Despite all the nominations, Perry has never taken a golden gramophone, at least not yet.
