Heavy/Getty Pop star and "American Idol" judge Katy Perry
Pop superstar and “American Idol” judge Katy Perry‘s longtime manager, Martin Kirkup, has died at age 75. According to Billboard, Kirkup’s family shared that he died while vacationing in Hawaii on February 4, 2024. A cause of death has not been released.
Perry has been in Honolulu this week filming “American Idol,” but it’s not clear if the singer saw Kirkup in Hawaii before his unexpected death. As co-founder of Direct Management Group, he had managed her career for nearly 20 years, per Billboard, helping her career take off in 2008 with hits like “I Kissed a Girl” and “Hot N Cold.”
Here’s what you need to know:
Talent Manager Martin Kirkup First Signed Katy Perry in 2004
Kirkup co-founded Direct Management Group in 1985 with Steven Jensen as a firm devoted to representing unique artists, according to the company’s web site, and enjoyed early success with groups like the B-52’s and Counting Crows. Through the 90s, they added artists like Tracy Chapman, David Byrne, k.d. lang, and the New Radicals to their roster, as well as a third business partner, Bradford Cobb.
After signing Perry in 2004, the trio helped her transition from Columbia Records, where she was struggling to make waves, to Capitol Records, where she had more creative freedom, they told Billboard in 2012.
“We didn’t have to motivate her; she motivated herself,” Kirkup recalled. “She’d come in every couple of weeks and bring her acoustic guitar into our office and say, ‘You guys have to hear this,’ and have something new to play for us. It was always exciting. There was never a feeling we were floating dead in the water.”
In 2015, Forbes reported that as Perry’s career took off, the trio split up duties managing her career. Kirkup focused on marketing, Cobb handled most of her music-related affairs, and Jensen concentrated on touring at the time.
In recent years, Kirkup also helped Perry nurture the careers of the artists she has signed to her own label, Unsub Records — including Cynthia (Cyn) Lovely and “Idol” season 16 finalist Michael J. Woodard. The label is a division of Capitol Records.
Kirkup also mentored talent manager Austen Rose, who now oversees Lovely and Woodard’s careers. On February 7, she posted on Instagram that she had talked with Kirkup a week before his death, writing that he “guided me through management and life.”
Katy Perry Comments on Tribute to Martin Kirkup
At the time of publication, Perry had not issued any statements or social media posts about Kirkup’s death. But she did comment when, on February 7, Lovely posted an Instagram photo of herself with Perry and others members of her team, including Kirkup.
In a lengthy tribute to him, Lovely wrote, “Being in the room with Martin felt serious and awe inspiring. Martin came up during the good ol’ days of the biz and ushered in incredible talents. I pinch myself thinking of how blessed I am to have been sharing my creative vision with him just a few weeks ago, and I owe a lot of my successes to his generous advocacy of my art.”
In the comment section, Perry wrote, “this is beautiful my darling” and Lovely replied, “love u girl ❤️”
On February 8, Woodard also posted a photo in his Instagram Stories of himself and Perry in a recording studio with a team including Krikup standing behind them, holding glasses of champagne.
Above the photo, Woodard wrote, “rest in peace Martin 🤍”
According to Billboard, Kirkup is survived by his wife Lale Kirkup, daughter Melisa Kirkup Blatt and son-in-law Ben Blatt, son John Kirkup and daughter-in-law Lorien Kirkup. He also had three grandchildren — Sam, Abigail, and Ivy.