Roar (song)

"Roar"
Single by Katy Perry
from the album Prism
Released	August 10, 2013 (2013-08-10)
Format	CD single digital download
Recorded	March 2013
Genre	Power pop
Length	3:42
Label	Capitol
Writer(s)	Katy Perry Lukasz Gottwald Max Martin Bonnie McKee Henry Walter
Producer(s)	Dr. Luke Max Martin Cirkut
Katy Perry singles chronology
"Hummingbird Heartbeat" (2012) "Roar" (2013) "Who You Love" (2013)

"Roar" is a song by American singer Katy Perry for her fourth studio album, Prism (2013). It was released as the lead single from the record on August 10, 2013. The song was written by Perry, Bonnie McKee, Dr. Luke, Max Martin, and Cirkut, and produced by the latter three. It is a power pop song, containing elements of glam rock and arena rock, with lyrics centering on standing up for oneself and self-empowerment.

"Roar" received generally mixed reviews from music critics; many appreciated its overall production, while others felt that its lyrical content contained "clichés". The song was a commercial success, becoming Perry's eighth non-consecutive number one song on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, and also topping charts in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Additionally, it also reached the top five in most international charts, including France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Switzerland.

To promote the song, Perry performed under the Brooklyn Bridge at the closing ceremony of the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards, on The X Factor Australia, at the Sydney Opera House in late October 2013, and on the German TV show Schlag den Raab. Grady Hall and Mark Kudsi directed the song's music video, which features Perry trying to adapt to the jungle where she survived a plane crash, and taming a tiger. It garnered generally mixed reviews from music critics. "Roar" was nominated for Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards. The song topped the charts in 14 countries and sold 9.9 million units (combined sales and track-equivalent streams) globally according to the IFPI.

Production and composition

The song was mixed by Serban Ghenea at MixStar Studios. "Roar" was recorded in four other studios: Luke's in the Boo, Playback Recording Studio and Secret Garden Studios, all located in the state of California, as well as MXM Studios in Stockholm, Sweden. All its development took place in March 2013. McKee told MTV that "Roar" is "kind of a 'pick yourself up and dust yourself off and keep going', female-empowerment song" and "kind of an epiphany song." Perry said she wrote the song after undergoing therapy, saying she was "sick of keeping all these feelings inside and not speaking up for myself".

Musically, "Roar" is styled in power pop, and features elements of glam rock and arena rock. Throughout the song, Perry "flexes diva-like vocals", singing the lyric "Hey!" several times in a way resemblant of The Lumineers. The song's instrumentation is composed of "pounding" pianos and "booming" bass drums. According to the sheet music published by Alfred Publishing Co., Inc. on Musicnotes.com, "Roar" is composed in the key of B♭ major and set in a ⁴
₄ time signature at a moderate tempo of 90 beats per minute. The melody spans the tonal range of B♭₃ to D₅, while the music follows the chord progression of B♭–Cm–Gm–E♭. The song shares the theme of empowerment with Perry's single "Firework". Perry described the track as a song speaking about standing up for oneself.

Release

The song's release was announced with the release of a video teaser, entitled "Burning Baby Blue", that saw Perry burning a blue wig. More video teasers were released onto YouTube, that showed Perry at a funeral with a coffin decorated with the singer's famous pink and white pinwheels dress, and entering a recording booth while dressed with a "throwback" jacket featured in the single's cover art, which was revealed on August 8, 2013. It features a tiger print border around Perry, who wears a blue Japanese silk sukajan jacket, with the image of a tiger printed on its back. On the same day of the song's digital release, a lyric video for it, produced by Joe Humpay, Aya Tanimura, Tim Zimmer, and Tuan Le, was released onto YouTube. It primarily shows Perry doing daily activities such as eating breakfast, going to the bathroom, and taking a bath, while texting the lyrics of "Roar" to friends. Some words are substituted with various Emoji characters. It was target of plagiarism accusations by music producer Dillon Francis, who felt it copied the concept of instant messaging from his video entitled "Messages".

The first video teaser for "Roar" was released on August 2, 2013 along with an announcement that the American release was scheduled for August 12 with a subsequent release to mainstream radio on August 13. However, the song debuted two days earlier than expected by 'leaking' on August 10. The UK release was originally scheduled for September 8, but on August 30 Perry announced the release date would be moved up to September 1.

Critical reception

Many critics have noted similarities between "Roar" and Sara Bareilles's "Brave"

Miriam Coleman from Rolling Stone appreciated the songs's "easy poppy beat" and its "repeated refrains", factors she believed contributed to make the song a "determined note for the new album". James Montgomery of MTV described it as "one of the more perfect pop songs to come down the pipeline in quite a while". Gerrick D. Kennedy from Los Angeles Times also gave a positive review, classifying "Roar" as a "sweet, poppy confection with a bit of bite". Melinda Newman from HitFix saw the song as a "change of pace" for Perry, whilst Andrew Hampp from Billboard believed it to be a return to the style of her album One of the Boys, but criticized its tempo and its lyrics that "rarely rise above easy clichés and rhymes". Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine described the song as "more of a yelp than a roar".

Controversy

Upon the release of "Roar", many accused Perry of copying Sara Bareilles' "Brave". When Bareilles herself was asked about the controversy between the two songs, she responded: "Katy's a friend of mine and we've known each other a really long time", and was upset that there was a "negative spin on two artists that are choosing to share positive messages." She also mentioned she had known about "Roar" before its release and stated "If I'm not mad I don't know why anybody else is upset". In response to the accusations, Dr. Luke tweeted on August 14, 2013: "Roar was written and recorded before Brave came out." In direct response to the attention "Brave" received as a result of the plagiarism accusations, Bareilles' record label, Epic Records, decided to promote "Brave" to the mainstream pop radio format.

Commercial performance

North America

On the Billboard Hot 100, the song debuted at number 85 on the week-ending August 14, 2013 due to radio airplay. The following week, during its first week on sale, "Roar" sold 557,000 digital copies, earning Perry the highest first-week sales numbers of 2013 and also her biggest digital song sales week ever, breaking her previous record held by "Firework", which sold 509,000 digital copies for the week ending January 8, 2011. The song soared eighty-three positions to number two in its second week, kept from the top spot by only Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines", while becoming Perry's twelfth top-ten hit single in the United States, and her ninth consecutive single to peak within the top three on the Hot 100. After another week at number two, "Roar" reached number one for the chart dated September 4, 2013, becoming Perry's eighth number one on the Hot 100 and her ninth digital number-one single, after selling 448,000 copies. "Roar" spent a total two weeks at number one before it was surpassed by Miley Cyrus' "Wrecking Ball". On its seventh frame, the song moved 2-1 (peak audience impressions of 159 million) and became Perry's sixth number one on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay, as well as becoming her fastest climb to the top position.

"Roar" also reached number one on both the US Mainstream Top 40 and Adult Pop Songs. The number-one position on the Pop Songs chart gave Perry her tenth number one, tying her with Rihanna for the most number ones on the airplay-based chart. The number-one position on the Adult Pop Songs chart also gave Perry multiple milestones; it became her eighth chart topper, tying her with Maroon 5 and P!nk as the act with the most number-ones there. It also made the fastest ascension to the top spot; a record previously held by Perry's own single "California Gurls" (2010). It also set airplay records in both of the charts, by becoming the most weekly-played song in history, with 16,065 and 5,309 plays per week, respectively.

The song has also reached the top spot on both the Adult contemporary chart and Hot Dance Club Songs. In addition to this, the track also reached number one on both the On Demand and Streaming charts, with a weekly peak of 2.1 million and 12 million, respectively. "Roar" surpassed digital sales of four million in its seventeenth week, faster than any other song in digital history. Its sales reached 4.41 million by the end of 2013, becoming the sixth best-seller of the year. Perry has seven of her songs with sales more than four million, the most for any artist. By February 2014, "Roar" had surpassed five million sales, and was Perry's fifth song to reach that level. Perry is the only artist to have six songs go 5x Platinum. As of October 2015, the single has sold 6,110,000 copies in the US.

On August 31, 2013, "Roar" debuted at number one on the Canadian Hot 100 on the strength of digital downloads. In doing so, it became only the eleventh song to debut at number one on the chart, and it also became Perry's third number-one debut, making her the artist with most number-one debuts at the time. It also became Perry's ninth Canadian Hot 100 number one, breaking the tie she shared with Rihanna for the most chart toppers. It has so far spent five non-consecutive weeks atop the chart. "Roar" was also in the top of the Canadian Digital Chart for three non-consecutive weeks; there, it was Perry's sixth number-one single. In Mexico, it reached number one on the Monitor Latino English-language airplay chart.

Europe and Oceania

In the United Kingdom, "Roar" entered at number one on the UK Singles Chart on September 8, 2013, selling 179,500 copies in its first week and ending the prolonged number-one run of Ellie Goulding's "Burn". The song became Perry's fourth UK number-one single. The single spent two weeks atop the chart before being succeeded by "Talk Dirty" by Jason Derulo ft. 2 Chainz. The song also debuted atop the adjacent UK chart of Scotland and the Irish Singles Chart. It has been certified Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry, denoting sales of over 600,000 copies in the UK. "Roar" was the 6th best-selling song of 2013 in the United Kingdom and has sold a total of 1.02 million copies as of January 2015, thus making Katy Perry one of only 18 artists ever to achieve more than one million sales in the UK, where it became her second single after "Firework" to sell over a million copies.

Perry performing "Roar" during Super Bowl XLIX halftime show

The song reached number four on the Italian Singles Chart, where it was eventually certified Platinum by the Federation of the Italian Music Industry, for sales of over 15,000 digital copies. In Spain, the single peaked at number five on the sales chart, according to PROMUSICAE. In Austria, it became a number-one on the Ö3 Austria Top 40, while in Germany and Switzerland it reached numbers two and three, respectively. In the Belgian Ultratop 50, "Roar" peaked at number five in Flanders and number seven in Wallonia. In France the song peaked at number six. The single also reached the top five in Norway. "Roar" found placings among the top-ten of the airplay charts in Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia. Within the unofficial digital charts of Greece, Luxembourg and Portugal, compiled outside of the respective countries by Billboard, "Roar" peaked at number two in both the Greece and Luxembourg charts and at number eight in the Portuguese chart.

"Roar" entered at the top of the New Zealand Singles Chart after just four days on sale, becoming Perry's ninth number-one single, second top debut and her eleventh top ten. After less than five weeks, the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand certified the single quadruple-platinum, denoting sales exceeding 60,000 units. The song is listed as the 48th best-selling single of all time in New Zealand, making Perry the only singer to have the most entries, which including "California Gurls", "Firework" and "E.T.. In Australia, the song debuted at number three on the ARIA Singles Chart, before climbing to number one the following week; thus becoming Perry's third number one single in Australia. In less than a month, Australian Recording Industry Association certified the single two-times platinum, and as of October 2013, the song received a quadruple-platinum certification, denoting sales of 280,000 copies. "Roar" has been certified 11× Platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association and has sold 630,000 copies in Australia alone. "Roar" peaked at number two in the Venezuelan Pop Rock Chart. On the Gaon Chart of South Korea, it reached number one on the international chart. In Japan, the song entered the Japan Hot 100 at number seven. The reached number one in both the Media Forest airplay chart in Israel, and the Lebanese Singles Chart. Similarly, in South Africa, the song peaked at number two on the EMA airplay chart.

In Russia, on the Tophit Weekly General Airplay chart the song debuted at number 395 on August 25, 2013 and it has climbed the chart, peaking so far at number five on November 17, 2013. On the Top Hit Weekly Audience Choice chart, it peaked at number three on the issue dated October 27, 2013. According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), "Roar" sold 9.9 million units (combined sales and track-equivalent streams) globally throughout 2013 and was the fifth best-selling single of the year.

Music video

Filming of the official music video for "Roar" began on August 7, 2013 and ended on August 9, 2013. The video was released on September 5, 2013, directed by Grady Hall and Mark Kudsi, and filmed at the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden. A 21-second teaser of the video had previously been uploaded on August 25, 2013. Nokia posted a two-minute behind the scenes video on September 4, 2013. On November 14, 2013, an extended 17-minute behind-the-scenes video was uploaded to Perry's official VEVO account.

Synopsis

At the beginning of the video, Katy and her boyfriend (played by actor and model Brian Nagel) have crashed their plane in the middle of the jungle. Katy shows signs of worry, while her boyfriend takes pictures of himself and dumps his bags on her to explore. As it turns to night, they wander through the jungle as he throws things back at her. Suddenly, he is attacked by a tiger and Katy dumps her bags and runs off screaming. She approaches a lake and is almost bitten by a crocodile when she puts her hand in the water. She sits on a rock and ends up covered in tarantulas. As she looks into the lake while singing the chorus, she sees a reflection of a tiger instead of herself. Behind her in the darkness there are dozens of pairs of blinking eyes, but they are revealed to be fireflies which fly around her before forming an image of a roaring tiger in the sky.

Perry in the music video for "Roar" dressed as "Queen of the Jungle".

Presumably a few days later, Katy has since made friends with a monkey and uses her stiletto heel to form a spear. She uses it to shoot a banana, which she gives to the monkey. In another scene, she bathes in the lake, with the help of an elephant who sprays her with water from the lake using its trunk. Katy helps a crocodile by brushing its teeth using a toothbrush she has salvaged, and tries to reach her clothes which have been taken by the elephant. At night, she holds a torch and explores a cave. Inside, she watches an animated drawing on the wall in which humans try to kill a tiger with fire; attempting to burn it as it grows stronger and shooting spears which it sends firing back towards them. The next morning, Katy emerges from the cave, wearing a leopard-print bikini top, a grass skirt, laced up legs and bare feet, displaying a boost of confidence and holding the spear she made earlier. She stands on top of a waterfall, overlooking the jungle, and then swings across the sky on a vine.

With the help of the monkey, Katy builds a cat toy which she uses to distract the tiger who ate her boyfriend earlier in the video. She lures it into an area of the jungle, and traps it inside. She comes face-to-face with the tiger and the two of them roar at each other, until her roar tames the tiger as it sits in front of her submissively. Afterwards, she is shown sitting on a giant grass throne, wearing a flower crown as the rest of the jungle animals sit around her, including the tiger, monkey and elephant. The tiger is shown wearing a collar that says "Kitty Purry", a reference to her real-life cat of the same name. Katy takes selfies with the monkey on her boyfriend's phone, applies lipstick made from berry juice, and gives the elephant a pedicure. She then awakens from sleeping in the plane, leading the viewer to think all the previous events have just been a dream, but walks out of the plane still in the jungle, stretching her arms and yawning with the animals sitting around her.

Reception

Upon its release, the music video received mixed reviews from critics. Idolator contributors Robbie Daw, Sam Lansky, and Carl Willott gave it mostly lackluster reviews. Daw considered that the release of such a "safe" video was a disappointment for Perry and expressed eagerness to her next single; while Lansky likened its "edg[iness]" to that of a "woman's antiperspirant commercial"; and the latter divided the video in what he considered to be of "good cheesy" and "bad cheesy": he highlighted the fake set, Perry's acting and the ending, but criticized the CGI, which he deemed "dopey", the product placement and Perry's "overly literal roar-off with a tiger". The only writer for the website that gave the visual a favorable review was Mike Wass, who appreciated the "campy element[s]" in it, while noting that it drew inspiration from the music video for "Doctor Jones" by the dance-pop group Aqua. In total, the reviews had an average score of approximately 6 out of 10.

James Montgomery from MTV believed that the video drew inspiration from Sheena, Queen of the Jungle and stated the video did not take itself too seriously, describing it as "camp". Slant Magazine writer Sal Cinquemani was neutral about the video, noting that although Prism was being billed as a departure for Perry, both "Roar" and its video were not. Perry was criticized by PETA for using exotic animals in the video for "Roar". Merrilee Burke from PETA stated: "Animals used for entertainment endure horrific cruelty and suffer from extreme confinement and violent training methods." Burke also declared that the animals involved in the music video were allegedly provided by a company who was criticized by US officials. Perry responded by obtaining a letter from the American Humane Association, which had representatives present at the three-day shoot. It stated that "After reviewing the reports, we believe that the Guidelines for the Safe Use of Animals in Filmed Media were followed and that no animal was harmed in the making of this music video".

On July 7, 2015, the music video for "Roar" became the fourth video to reach 1 billion views on Vevo, making Perry the first artist in history to have two music videos with 1 billion views. The music video for "Roar" is the eleventh most viewed YouTube video of all time, receiving over 1.39 billion views as of May 2016.

Promotion and live performances

Perry performing "Roar" during The Prismatic World Tour in New Jersey on July 11, 2014

On September 16, 2013, the song was unexpectedly used during player introductions by the Cincinnati Bengals in their home opener against the rival Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday Night Football, to tie in the song's jungle theme with the team's nickname. Throughout the game, the song was also played sporadically during game breaks. Although the Bengals won the game 20-10, the song drew much criticism by Bengals fans and even some of the team's players. One Bengals fan even told the Wall Street Journal that Steeler fans sitting near him were laughing at the Bengals fans throughout the game; the Steelers themselves have used the Styx song "Renegade" frequently at Heinz Field since 2001. Four days after the game, the team publicly apologized, announcing that while the song would not be nixed from Paul Brown Stadium's playlist completely, the team would use a hard rock or classic rock song for player introductions moving forward.

"Roar" was also used as the theme song of world number 1 tennis player Serena Williams during the 2014 US Open Championships. Williams, dressed in a matching leopard-themed dress, won the championship.

Perry first performed "Roar" at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards, under the Brooklyn Bridge, during the ceremony's closing. She performed the song on Saturday Night Live on October 12, 2013. While hosting We Can Survive: Music for Life on October 23, 2013, she performed the song with Sara Bareilles, Bonnie McKee, Ellie Goulding, Kacey Musgraves, and duo Tegan and Sara. She also performed the song on the Australian version of The X Factor on October 28, 2013. Perry then performed the song the following day at the Sydney Opera House. She performed the song on German TV show Schlag den Raab on November 16, 2013. On December 14, 2013, Perry performed "Roar" at the NRJ Music Awards, but suffered technical difficulties which resulted in her performance being stopped by the host halfway through who asked for it to be restarted. This led many to believe that Perry had initially been lip-syncing the performance. NRJ later released an apology to Perry, stating that she had been singing live but that the wrong mix of the song was played over her live vocals, which resulted in her being visually out of sync with the backing track.

On February 1, 2015, Perry performed the song during the Super Bowl XLIX halftime show.

Cover versions

In 2013, the song was covered on the episode "A Katy or a Gaga" of the TV series Glee.

Formats and track listings

CD single
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Roar"	3:42
2.	"Roar" (Instrumental)	3:42
Total length:		7:24

Charts

Weekly charts

Charts (2013–14)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)	1
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)	1
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)	5
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)	6
Brazil (Billboard Brasil Hot 100)	28
Brazil Hot Pop Songs	5
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)	1
Canada AC (Billboard)	1
Canada CHR/Top 40 (Billboard)	1
Canada Hot AC (Billboard)	1
Croatia (Airplay Radio Chart)	1
Czech Republic (Rádio Top 100)	2
Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)	22
Denmark (Tracklisten)	2
Europe (Euro Digital Songs)	1
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)	4
France (SNEP)	5
Germany (Official German Charts)	2
Greece Digital Songs (Billboard)	2
Hungary (Rádiós Top 40)	3
Ireland (IRMA)	1
Israel (Media Forest)	1
Italy (FIMI)	4
Japan (Japan Hot 100)	4
Lebanon (Lebanese Top 20)	1
Luxembourg Digital Songs (Billboard)	2
Mexican Anglo Chart (Monitor Latino)	1
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)	2
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)	1
Norway (VG-lista)	4
Poland (Polish Airplay Top 100)	2
Portugal Digital Songs (Billboard)	8
Russia (Tophit Weekly General Airplay)	5
Scotland (Official Charts Company)	1
Slovakia (Rádio Top 100)	2
Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100)	81
South Africa (EMA)	2
South Korea (Gaon Chart International)	1
Spain (PROMUSICAE)	5
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)	5
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)	3
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)	1
US Billboard Hot 100	1
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)	1
US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)	1
US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)	1
US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)	1
US Rhythmic (Billboard)	6
Venezuela Pop Rock (Record Report)	2

Year-end charts

Chart (2013)	Position
Australia (ARIA)	1
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)	22
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)	38
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)	48
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)	10
Denmark (Tracklisten)	33
Germany (Media Control AG)	23
Hungary (Rádiós Top 40)	25
Ireland (IRMA)	9
Italy (FIMI)	24
Japan (Japan Hot 100)	21
Netherlands (Mega Single Top 100)	14
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)	3
South Korea (Gaon International Chart)	67
Spain (PROMUSICAE)	43
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)	35
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)	29
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)	6
US Billboard Hot 100	10
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)	21
US Adult Pop Songs (Billboard)	20
US Hot Dance Club Songs (Billboard)	27
US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)	13

Chart (2014)	Position
Australia (ARIA)	60
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)	40
Italy (FIMI)	81
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)	38
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)	88
US Billboard Hot 100	46

Certifications

Region	Certification	Sales/shipments
Australia (ARIA)	11× Platinum	770,000
Austria (IFPI Austria)	Platinum	30,000
Belgium (BEA)	Gold	15,000
Canada (Music Canada)	5× Platinum	400,000
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)	2× Platinum	120,000
Germany (BVMI)	Platinum	300,000
Italy (FIMI)	2× Platinum	100,000
Mexico (AMPROFON)	2× Platinum+Gold	150,000
New Zealand (RMNZ)	4× Platinum	60,000
Norway (IFPI Norway)	3× Platinum	30,000
South Korea (Gaon Chart)		128,034
Sweden (GLF)	4× Platinum	160,000
United Kingdom (BPI)	2× Platinum	1,200,000
United States (RIAA)	9× Platinum	6,110,000
Venezuela (APFV)	4× Platinum	40,000^
*sales figures based on certification alone ^shipments figures based on certification alone xunspecified figures based on certification alone

Since May 2013 RIAA certifications for digital singles include on-demand audio and/or video song streams in addition to downloads.

See also

• List of best-selling singles
• List of best-selling singles in Australia
• List of best-selling singles in the United States
• List of Hot 100 number-one singles of the 2010s (U.S.)
• List of number-one dance singles of 2013 (U.S.)
• List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 2013 (U.S.)
• List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 2014 (U.S.)

External links

• Music video on YouTube
• Lyric video on YouTube
• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics