Perri grew up in Bensalem, Pennsylvania (a suburb of Philadelphia) with her older brother, Nick Perri, who formerly played guitar with Shinedown, among other artists. She attended Archbishop Ryan High School, and at age 16 taught herself how to play guitar by watching a videotape of Shannon Hoon from the group Blind Melon performing on VH1. On her 21st birthday, Perri moved to Los Angeles. Later that year she got married and began to produce music videos. She divorced 18 months later and moved back to Philadelphia toward the end of 2009. During this time, she wrote her first song, “Jar of Hearts.” She moved back to Los Angeles, where she spent her time waitressing at the Melrose Cafe during the day and recording music at night. Perri’s song “Jar of Hearts” was featured on “So You Think You Can Dance” during the June 30, 2010 broadcast. The song was featured in a performance by Billy Bell and Kathryn McCormick. Perri’s friend Keltie Colleen passed the song to show choreographer Stacey Tookey, and later Perri and Colleen watched the performance in the audience. Following its exposure on the show, “Jar of Hearts” sold 48,000 digital copies, debuting on the Billboard Hot 100 at #63 and reaching #28 on Billboard’s Hot Digital Songs. Within a month, it sold more than 100,000 copies. Then, her music video for “Jar of Hearts” landed on the VH1 top 20 music video countdown. Shortly after, Perri made her debut on national day time and prime time television, performing the song live on the July 10, 2010 episode of “The Early Show” on CBS as well as the July 15, 2010 episode of “So You Think You Can Dance.” Perri signed a deal with Atlantic Records in July 2010. Perri recorded a five-single EP named “The Ocean Way Sessions,” recorded live and released in November 2010. Perri’s debut album is titled “Lovestrong” and was released on May 10, 2011. It followed the release of its lead single, “Arms.” |
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