By OLIVIA QUATTRONE
Pop star Katy Perry released her fourth studio album, Prism, on Oct. 18, which unsurprisingly was well-received by the masses and has quickly reached number one on several charts.
The first single from Perry’s album, “Roar“, released on Aug. 30, is a so-called “empowerment anthem,” but comes off as a standard, run-of-the-mill, mediocre, mainstream pop tune. There’s nothing to set “Roar” apart from the countless other pop tracks cranked out by record companies each month. Catchy, perhaps, but catchy in this case has far too much potential to become irritating as the track will inevitably infiltrate every aspect of our daily lives, from appearing on the radio ever waking moment, to blaring in every shop you walk into and on countless commercials.
Then, of course, there was the controversy surrounding this single, with cries of plagiarism being thrown about. Apparently, Perry’s song sounds too similar to Sara Bareilles‘ “Brave.” Maybe, but don’t all pop songs sound the same? Perry has fared just fine despite the controversy, as “Roar” is her eighth number one single.
The video for this average song released on Aug. 12. As expected, it wasn’t a high concept video, but it was fun and campy and was a great showcase for Perry’s looks, which typically receive more attention than her music.
Though Perry is far from the greatest musical talent on the scene today, she continues to hold the attention of the public and is sure to continue to rake in the cash from this latest venture.
The 411
Song Title: “Roar”
Release date: 8/30/2013
Cost: $1.29
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars