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Katy Perry’s Teenage Dream album cover is a painting by artist Will Cotton, titled Cotton Candy Katy. Perry first contacted Cotton about buying paintings from his Cotton Candy Clouds series; he invited her to pose, and photographs and sketches from a studio sitting informed the finished artwork.
How Katy Perry and Will Cotton began working together
In early 2010, Perry emailed Cotton under her given name, Katheryn Hudson, to ask about buying paintings from his 2004 Cotton Candy Clouds series. Cotton recognized her from her music career and, after looking at photographs from her One of the Boys era, suggested that she pose for a painting. Perry accepted. Rolling Stone’s 2023 account describes the exchange and Cotton’s recollection of how the collaboration took shape.
The candy landscapes and pin-up figures were already part of Cotton’s artistic vocabulary. In a 2014 Smithsonian interview, he said he had been curious about what a person might look like within those settings, and that Perry’s pop-culture presence connected with interests he already explored as a painter.
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![Teenage Dream[2 LP]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41OfH43619L._SL160_.jpg)
- 2023 marks a momentous year in the iconic career of Katy Perry
How Cotton made the cover painting
The image is not simply a publicity photograph: Cotton used photographic reference to make a composite painting. Perry spent a day posing in his studio, where he photographed and sketched her. Cotton also rented a cotton-candy machine for the session. CBS News reported in July 2010 that he used photographs of Perry posing with real cotton candy to create the painting; Cotton later discussed the sitting with Smithsonian and Rolling Stone.
The album-cover work is titled Cotton Candy Katy. It should not be confused with Cupcake Katy, a separate portrait that Cotton made using photographs and sketches from the collaboration. The sitting also supplied reference material for other portraits, as Cotton explained in the Smithsonian interview.
Rank #2
- Double Vinyl
- Silver Vinyl
The painting and the wider album-era imagery
Cotton’s contribution extended beyond the cover. He worked on the art direction for Perry’s “California Gurls” video, bringing related candy-colored imagery into the album era. The video and the album cover are distinct works: the former expanded the visual world around the record, while Cotton Candy Katy is the painting used for the cover. Cotton discussed his creative approach and the video collaboration in a 2011 Daily Beast interview.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the original album packaging smelled like
Contemporary reports said the original release extended the candy theme with scented packaging. In a 2010 interview, Perry told The Guardian that each cover was individually spritzed to smell like candyfloss, which she associated with childhood. CBS News reported that the first-run Digipak used cotton-candy-scented paper.
Rank #3
- Records and cover are still sealed and in their original condition.
- Gatefold cover.
- 2 LP release.
Those descriptions refer to the initial release period. They do not establish that later editions, reissues, or every format retained the scent or used the same packaging.
Quick Recap
Best Value
![Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection[Picture Disc 2 LP] [UO]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41rd1BsWBDL._SL160_.jpg)
- Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection (UO Exclusive) is an exclusive re-pressing to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of Katy Perry's hit album Teenage Dream
Rank #4
- Exclusive Limited Edition Flamingo Pink Colored Vinyl LP
