Christina Perri, born 1986 in Philadelphia, is a singer-songwriter, guitarist, and pianist. She initially rose to fame with her 2010 debut single “Jar of Hearts,” which charted in the top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart after being used in the popular television show, “So You Think You Can Dance.”
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.
Having moved to Los Angeles on her 21st birthday, Perri later that year got married and began to produce music videos. She divorced 18 months later and moved back to Philadelphia by the end of 2009; during this time she wrote her first song, “Jar of Hearts.” She moved back to Los Angeles; waitressing at the Melrose Cafe during the day and recording at night.
Perri’s song “Jar of Hearts” was featured on “So You Think You Can Dance” during the June 30, 2010 broadcast. It was featured in performance by Billy Bell and Kathryn McCormick. Perri’s friend Keltie Colleen passed the song to show choreographer Stacey Tookey; Perri and Colleen watched the performance in the audience.
