Katy Perry tour hits the road in 2009 with headlining gigs

She stormed the international airwaves with her hit “I Kissed a Girl,” and now Katy Perry is storming the world’s stages, too. The overnight singing sensation has announced plans for her first headlining tour, which kicks off in early 2009 with stops across North America and Europe.

Perry kicks off the first North American tour leg on January 23 with a concert at the Showbox at The Market in Seattle, WA, and travels across the West Coast through a February 5 gig at the House of Blues in San Diego, CA. Following a 10-city European tour, the singer is back in North America from her March 20 show at the House of Blues in Houston, TX, through an April 28 concert at Jannus Landing in St. Petersburg, FL.

During both North American jaunts, Perry is slated to play two dates in Canada: first on January 25 at the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver, BC, followed by a March 30 show at the Kool Haus in Toronto, ON. Highlights for the U.S. include a January 31 gig at The Wiltern in Los Angeles, CA, and an April 7 concert at the Fillmore at Irving Plaza in New York, NY.

Perry burst onto the music scene in spring 2008 with the catchy and controversial single “I Kissed a Girl,” which topped 18 different song charts around the world, including its No. 1 spots on Billboard‘s Hot 100 and Pop 100 lists. The song also ranked in the Top 5 in a handful of other countries, including France, Finland, Greece, Russia and Turkey.

The track is on Perry’s debut studio album, “One of the Boys,” which was released in June and certified Gold in September. The album’s second single, “Hot N Cold,” hit the airwaves late in September and has entered the Top 10 on almost a dozen charts around the world, including spots at No. 2 on the Pop 100 and No. 4 on the Hot 100.

Despite this commercial success, Perry’s album has received generally poor reviews. Rolling Stone gave the album 2/5 stars, calling the singer “a total snooze.” Meanwhile, NME‘s reviewer trashed the album with 3/10 stars, writing, “If you’ve got even passing interest in actually enjoying a record, don’t buy this one.”

Katy Perry itinerary:
(Dates subject to change.)