Does Katy Perry have a new album coming out soon? You bet she does, and she's promoting it in Esquire UK the same way many recording artists and movie starlets have been promoting their new works lately: topless
 pictures. From Vanessa Hudgens to Rihanna, topless and naked pictures (most of which were "unknowingly leaked" to the internet) have become the rage in the preceding weeks leading up to a movie or album premiere. According to the Huffington Post, Katy Perry, recently voted the #1 woman on Maxim's 2010 Hot 100 list, has joined the growing number willing to take off some clothes for a bit of shameless promotion in the current issue of Esquire UK. But unlike the aforementioned, Katy Perry is going topless without the benefit of having been "leaked."

Katy Perry, a contemporary Christian singer, raised a lot of eyebrows when she released her first pop single, "I Kissed A Girl." The video did the same, it's homosexual-seeming slant becoming a much debated topic for months following its release. She continued to raise eyebrows with her costumes, which she tells Esquire is a combination of Lucille Ball and Bob Mackie, and her somewhat goofy stage shows. But "I Kissed A Girl" went on to become an enormous #1 Billboard hit with awards and nominations trailing. And now, with her follow-up album on the way, Katy Perry seems to be going after that gravity-defying eyebrow reaction one more time.

Katy Perry doesn't just do topless in the Esquire UK magazine. She also does several other stunning pictures. She does not, however, get naked (not totally). The topless picture that seems to have everyone in an advanced state of titillage shows the singer in a pair of black waist-high bottoms with her arms atop her breasts. She's visibly topless but her bare top is not visible in the picture -- for the most part.

But it is all done in good promotional fun. In the Esquire interview, Katy Perry talks about her music, her obsession with fruit and Freddie Mercury, the legendary and flamboyant lead singer of Queen -- both of which are common topics in her interviews. This isn't Perry's first go-round with Esquire, either. She posed for some sultry pictures for the magazine in April 2009 as well.

Katy Perry's second album (her first mainstream album), "One Of The Boys," has sold over 5 million copies.Besides the #1 Billboard Hot 100 song "I Kissed A Girl," the album  produced two other Top 10 songs ("Hot 'n Cold" and "Waking Up In Vegas") and a Top 30 hit ("Thinking Of You").

"Teenage Dream," Katy Perry's upcoming third studio album, has already scored a #1 hit with its first single, "California Gurls." The song was written in answer to Jay-Z's song "Empire State of Mind." As far as topless promotional schemes, Beyonce, Jay-Z's wife, appeared naked on her last release, the multi-platinum five-time Grammy winning "I am... Sasha Fierce."