In advance of the release of Katy Perry's new album, Prism, due in October, the full version of her new single "Roar" has leaked. Those in the Perry camp, including the song's co-writer Bonnie McKee, call the song a drastic stylistic change for the pop tart best known for momentarily finding Russell Brand attractive.
"I used to bite my tongue and hold my breath
Too scared to rock the boat and make a mess
So I sat quietly, agreed politely.
I guess I forgot I had a choice
I let you push me past the breaking point
I stood for nothing, so I fell for everything
You held me down, but I got up
Already brushing off the dust
You hear my voice, you hear that sound
Like thunder gonna shake the ground
You held me down, but I got up
Get ready cuz I've had enough
I see it all, I see it now
I've got the eye of the tiger
CHORUS:
A fighter, dancing through the fire
Cuz I am a champion and you're gonna hear me roar
Louder than a lion cuz I am a champion
And you're gonna hear me roar"
If "Roar" is anything, it is a "Mad Libs"-esque amalgamation of tired cliches seemingly strung together at random in the lieu of an original thought from either McKee or Perry.
Hell, by the time the first chorus has come and gone, Perry and McKee have borrowed from Chumbawumba's "Tubthumping", Survivor's "Eye Of The Tiger", Paul Weller's "You Do Something To Me", Queen's "We Are The Champions" and Helen Reddy's "I Am Woman".
The only thing missing is a little vocal stutter hook, a la every other pop tart single these days and, lo and behold, there it is tagged onto the end of the first chorus.
Thing is, for all of Perry's supposed "ferocity", the song totally runs out of gas in the middle of the second verse, where we find Perry already repeating lines from the first verse as she kills time between choruses.
Perry's camp is calling "Roar" a stylistic departure, but, like most of her other best-known tracks, it merely sounds like another song Perry inherited because Avril Lavigne thought it was too cheesy. Seriously, with a song this defiantly unoriginal, I almost wish Lou Gosset Jr. was still making movies because this song was born to be on the "Iron Eagle 12" soundtrack.
Verdict: Pfft.