KATY PERRY - ROAR
I Used To Bite My Tongue And Hold My Breath
Scared To Rock The Boat And Make A Mess
So I Sat Quietly, Agreed Politely
I Guess That 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 (Hey)
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 (Hey)
Get Ready 'Cause I've Had Enough
I See It All, I See It Now
I Got The Eye Of The Tiger The Fighter
Dancing Through The Fire 'Cause I Am A Champion
And You're Gonna Hear Me Roar
Louder, Louder Than A Lion
'Cause I Am A Champion
And You're Gonna Hear Me Roar
Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh
Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh
Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh, You're Gonna Hear Me Roar
Now I'm Floating Like A Butterfly
Stinging Like A Bee I Earned My Stripes
I Went From Zero, To My Own Hero
You Held Me Down, But I Got Up (Hey)
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 (Hey, Got Up)
Get Ready 'Cause I've Had Enough
I See It All, I See It Now
I Got The Eye Of The Tiger The Fighter
Dancing Through The Fire 'Cause I Am A Champion
And You're Gonna Hear Me Roar
Louder, Louder Than A Lion
'Cause I Am A Champion
And You're Gonna Hear Me Roar
Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh
Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh
Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh, You're Gonna Hear Me Roar
Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh
Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh (You'll Hear Me Roar)
Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh, You're Gonna Hear Me Roar
Roar, Roar, Roar, Roar, Roar
I Got The Eye Of The Tiger The Fighter
Dancing Through The Fire 'Cause I Am A Champion
And You're Gonna Hear Me Roar
Louder, Louder Than A Lion
'Cause I Am A Champion
And You're Gonna Hear Me Roar
Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh
Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh (Yeah)
Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh, You're Gonna Hear Me Roar
Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh
Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh (You'll Hear Me Roar)
Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh, You're Gonna Hear Me Roar
SONG FACTS
Writer(s): Katy Perry, Lukasz Gottwald, Max Martin, Bonnie McKee, Henry Walter
Producer(s): Dr. Luke, Max Martin, Cirkut
The Lead Single From Katy Perry's Prism Album Was Written By The Singer In Collaboration With Her Friend Bonnie Mckee And Produced By Max Martin And Dr. Luke. The Same Team Also Helped Craft Most Of Perry's Biggest Hits On Teenage Dream, The Exception Being "Firework."
The Song Is A Bouncy Statement By Perry Of Moving Forward Into The Next Stage Of Her Life After The Tumultuous End Of Her Marriage To Russell Brand. Talking To Bbc Radio 1 Dj Scott Mills, She Revealed: "It's A Bit Of A Self-Empowering Type Of Song. I Wrote It Because I Was Sick Of Keeping All These Feelings Inside And Not Speaking Up For Myself, Which Caused A Lot Of Resentment. Obviously I've Been Through A Lot Of Therapy Since My Last Record And That's What This Is About."
The Song Has Hit #1 In 15 Countries And Entered The Top 10 In 38 Charts Worldwide; It Is Easy To See Why When Looking At The Fine Songwriting Craft On Display. Of Course, As With Any Smash Hit, The Song Employs A Great Deal Of Repetition To Ingrain Itself In The Listener's Head, Making It Hooky And Memorable; However, The Repetition Suitably Expresses The Songs Primary Theme, Which Is One Of Empowerment.
The Titular "Roar" Appears 16 Times In The Song, Cleverly Emphasized At The End Of Chorus Lines (And Even Beginning One) To Squeeze Out Every Last Bit Of Its Sing-A-Long Credentials. This Makes The Title Almost A Mantra For Those Who Are Listening For The Empowerment Themes (A Subject Perry Has Tackled Before, Notably On Her Smash Hit "Firework"). There Is Also The Added Payoff Of The Sing-Along "O-O-O-O-Ar", A Songwriting Technique That, Through Its Transcending Of Language, Universalizes The Song.
The Song Also Piques Our Curiosity As It May Be Interpreted As A Commentary On Her Much Publicized Divorce With Comedian Russell Brand. As Her First Release Since Their Split, Many Of Her Fans Were Curious To Hear How She Responded Musically To This Development In Her Personal Life.
Though The Song's Generic Similarities To Previous Hits Like "Firework" Show A Conservative Attempt To Maintain Her Current Fan Base, The Pop Culture References To Muhammad Ali, Helen Reddy's "I Am Woman," And The Rocky Movie Franchise Show Perry's Attempt To Connect With A More Mature Audience.
Perry's Two Previous Lead Singles Had Been "I Kissed A Girl" And "California Gurls." "Roar" Marked The First Time She Had Led An Album Cycle With A Straightforward Message Rather Than A Novelty Song.
The Song Sold 557,024 Downloads During Its First Week Of Release, Giving Perry The Biggest Digital Song Sales Week Of Her Career To Date, Surpassing "Firework" With 509,000 In The Last Week Of 2010.
The Song Was Criticized By Some For Sounding Similar To Sara Bareilles' Hit Tune "Brave."
The Song's Music Video Sees Perry In A Tropical Forest, Much Like Sheena, Queen Of The Jungle. The Clip Was Shot Over Three Days By Grady Hall And Mark Kudsi And Filmed At The Los Angeles County Arboretum And Botanic Garden. It Co-Stars Actor And Model Brian Nagel As Her Boyfriend, Who Meets An Unfortunate End. Perry Got To Work With Exotic Animals While Filming, But There Was One Clear Favorite. "Suzy The Elephant Cause She Wouldn't Stop Eating Everything!" She Tweeted.
A Lyric Video Was Released Depicting Perry Texting The Lyrics Of The Song To Her Friends, While Also Substituting Some Words For Emoji Icons. Producer Dillon Francis Accused The Californian Singer Of Copying On Her Clip. Writing On Twitter, Francis Said That The Singer's Visual Ripped Off The Ideas Used In The Promo For His Track "Message," Which Also Showed The Lyrics Being Unveiled Via Text. However, Perry's Clip Also Shows Her Doing Mundane Activities Such As Going To The Bathroom And Playing With Her Cat.
This Won Both Favorite Song And Favorite Music Video At The 2014 People's Choice Awards.
When Perry Was The Featured Performer At The 2015 Super Bowl Halftime Show, She Opened Her Set With This Song, Appearing Atop A Giant, Mosaic-Textured Lion That Was Walked To The Stage. This Was The Only Lion To Perform At The Game, As The Detroit Team Lost In The Playoffs (The Patriots Won, Beating The Seahawks 28-24).
Katy Perry Appeared At The Democratic National Convention On July 28, 2016 To Extol Hillary Clinton's Run For President. She Entreated The Crowd To "Use Your Voice" Before Performing "Rise" And This Song. "Let's Roar For Hillary," Perry Said Before Going Into This Tune.