E! Entertainment Special: Katy Perry Premieres December 29th at 10:00 PM ET/PT on E!

(Los Angeles, CA, December 23, 2010) ? When Katy Perry burst onto the music scene in 2007/2008 with the hits ?You?re So Gay? and ?I Kissed A Girl,? it was a far cry from the sheltered minister?s daughter who began her career singing Christian-themed music. Since then, the adored pop-star has ruled the Billboard charts with her catchy songs and provided endless fodder for the tabloids with her eye-popping style and whirlwind romance with Russell Brand that led to the couple?s recent marriage. In this E! Special, Katy sits down to share her highly entertaining story of perseverance, dedication and success. Also opening up to E! are Perry?s brother and sister, David and Angela, friend Bonnie McKee, manager Bradford Cobb, record producer Glen Ballard and many more. The E! Entertainment Special Katy Perry premieres on December 29th at 10:00 PM, ET/PT only on E!.

?From the time I learned how to really form a sentence I was learning about [the] afterlife and heaven and hell and so it was really intense,? Perry tells E! of her early life growing up in Santa Barbara as the middle child of loving, but very strict, parents. Perry was still a teenager when she moved to L.A. to pursue her dream of having a music career under the wing of successful producer, Glen Ballard. ?It was definitely a challenge for my parents to let their 17-year-old daughter move to big Los Angeles. But they were supportive ?cause they knew that that?s where she needed to be for this career,? explains her brother, David.

To Katy?s chagrin, over the next few years she was signed and then dropped by two major record labels. ?No one particularly ?got? Katy Perry at that moment,? explains Ballard. ?I remember her just sitting on my bedroom floor crying and there was a moment where I thought I don?t know if Katy?s gonna make it. She was just heartbroken,? adds friend, Bonnie McKee.

The singer, however, was not about to give up and she continued to fight for her music ? broke, late on car payments and saying prayers for checks to clear ? until she was finally re-signed by Capitol Records. The rest, as they say, is history.

Also in this exclusive, in-depth special, Perry dishes on her early days with now husband Russell Brand. She tells E! about throwing an empty water bottle at the actor during rehearsals for the MTV VMA?s in an effort to grab his attention. She explains, ?It was like a modern day Cupid. And it just landed right on his head and he looked over. And I was like, ?Hi,? you know. I think it was kind of like, ?you?ve met your match,? but I didn't say that, of course. But that?s when the flirting began.?

From her unique upbringing through her days barely making ends to her wild success of today, Katy Perry bares all in this not to be missed E! Entertainment Special: Katy Perry premiering December 29th, only on E!.

About Comcast Entertainment Group

Based in Los Angeles, Comcast Entertainment Group operates E! Entertainment Television, the 24-hour network with programming dedicated to the world of entertainment, and E! Online; The Style Network, the destination for women 18-49 with a passion for the best in relatable, inspiring and transformational lifestyle programming; and G4, offering the last word on gaming, technology, animation, interactivity and "geek culture" for the male 18-34 demo. E! is currently available to 97 million cable and satellite subscribers in the U.S. and the E! Everywhere initiative underscores the company's dedication to making E! content available on all new media platforms any time and anywhere from online to broadband video to wireless to radio to VOD. The Style Network currently counts 65 million cable and satellite subscribers and Mystyle.com keeps women up to date on all the latest fashion and beauty news on the web. G4 is available in 60 million cable and satellite homes nationwide and G4tv.com is a top web destination for video game news and information.