Three years removed from Teenage Dream, KATY PERRY is eatin’, but she’s still thirsty. Her new single “Roar” was slated to drop on August 12th and even with a handful of quirky promotional videos, the song found its way on the Internet two days prior. As most know, it’s a stupidly good pop song that will become your Mom’s go-to at karaoke.
Admit it, you’re swooning on the floor right now. Given how pop has lusted for dubstep like a Belieber on HGH, Perry’s dumped Calvin Harris scraps for a rollercoaster of a song that uses a massive chorus for a drop. It’s simple and radio-ready – leaning on a little bit of Sleigh Bells confidence and an “oh oh oh oh oh oh” part that shows KP’s aware of who Charli XCX is. She gives no fucks about new Guetta because let’s face it, M83 and Icona Pop do it better.
From all angles, “Roar” tames pop to be basic again. It opts for that original roll of papers and not that pack of Mike Will Made It blunts Miley’s been grinding in videos for. The song’s also a sign that her new album Prism will likely reflect more than one side of Perry (she’s recruited Max Martin, Dr. Luke, Greg Wells and Diplo for the new LP) while keeping things twerk-free. A simple music video could change that but for now, it shouldn’t be surprising to see this song blow up on Billboard and ESPN. Hell, LeBron’s probably bumping it right now, shouting “THIS IS MY JAM”.
It’s not punk to out your pop peers with a song that’s more mainstream than Coachella, but at least Katy Perry didn’t regurgitate Teenage Dream II: Cherry On Top and give 13-year-old boys another reason as to why they can pitch tent poles in CD stores. She strapped on some gloves and went to it like her Rocky references, writing a song that fits jogging and candy red Priuses. Hell, she even convinced us to post this bit before the premiere of Breaking Bad.
If you’ve heard the phrase “YEAH BITCH! MAGNETS!”, then you get where we’re coming from. Welcome back KP.
Katy Perry’s Prism will see the light of day on October 22nd via Universal/Capitol Records