Katy Perry Movie Trailer: 13 Fun Facts Before You See Part of Me (+Video)

Just like Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, the Jonas Brothers, and many others before her, Katy Perry released a 3-D concert movie documenting her 2011 tour “California Dreams.”

And, according to critics, Perry’s film – which portrays the star’s musical successes as well as personal failures (as expected, her recent divorce from British actor Russell Brand is referenced to in the movie) – is actually not that bad.

However, as a poster child of America's pop music industry, Perry plays it safe with her collection of bright-colored outfits, break up tweets and cotton candy bras. And it works…for her fans. For everybody else, though, the movie fails to stand out -- and not because Perry is necessarily boring or unoriginal.

Don’t get me wrong. I appreciate some of Perry’s songs and videos. They’re entertaining, she’s cute (and she even featured Rebecca Black once). But if Part of Me would have included at least some of the following 13 random and obscure facts about Katy Perry, it would have been a more interesting film: Not only another concert movie, but a real documentary about the evolution and transformation of one of America's best selling pop acts. 

Following, 13 random and obscure Katy Perry facts you didn't know:

1. At age 15, when she was a church singer, Perry started being mentored by Nashville rock and roll veterans who trained her in music writing.

2. Besides gospel, Perry also traces her musical influences to rock and roll and country music.

3. She used to go by the name Katy Hudson, which she decided to change because it sounded too much like actress Kate Hudson.

4. In one of Perry's first tours, "The Strangely Normal Tour," she performed along Phil Joel, LaRue, Luna Halo, and Earthsuit.

5. Perry, a hardcore Christian, was so isolated from the world of pop music that when she first made it to Los Angeles and was asked by a producer who would she like to collaborate with she couldn't come up with a name. 

6. One of Perry's first pop music influences was Alanis Morrisette’s Jagged Little Pill album.

7. When her songs "Box," "Diamonds," and "Long Shot" failed, Perry was dropped from The Island Def Jam Music record label. She then became a "MySpace artist," relying on the social media page to publish her songs and get online plays.  

8. Other songs recorded by Perry, “Long Shot” and “I Do Not Hook Up,” where then recorded by American Idol Kelly Clarkson for her 2009 album All I Ever Wanted.

9. Katy Perry’s mom is of Portuguese origin

10. One of Perry’s great-grandmothers wrote a book called The Unpardonable Sin.

11. Perry's grandfather survived the 1906 San Francisco earthquake when he was a baby. His big brother recalled the city "being in flames" while they evacuated with all their possessions in a shopping cart.

12. Perry's great-great-grandfather served the Union in the Civil War.

13. Before Brand, Perry dated Gym Class Heroes' lead singer Travie McCoy