“Roar”
Writer: Katy Perry (with Lukasz Gottwald, Max Martin, Bonnie McKee, and Henry Walter)
Original Release Date: August 10, 2013
I’m sure you know about Katy Perry’s ties to our scene; before she was famous for songs about kissing girls (and liking it), she was playing Warped Tour and dating Gym Class Heroes’ Travie McCoy. Now, she sings poppy self-empowerment anthems while stomping through jungles and befriending monkeys.
When the song first came out, there was a lot of comparison to Sara Bareilles’ “Brave”. Admittedly, the songs have a similar progression and almost identical content, but Perry gives “Roar” her signature spin, making the song vibrant and, to me, more memorable than “Brave”. Either way, it’s great to see a singer as famous as Perry (or Bareilles, for that matter) put an emphasis on how important it is to be able to stand up for yourself.
As impressive as Katy Perry’s vocals are, Symmetry’s pop-punk cover makes me roar with delight. Stylistically, the Los Angeles band’s cover isn’t that different from the original. It’s a little sharper, with less tribal drums and a more laid-back vibe overall than Katy Perry’s technicolor rendition. Basically, if you didn’t know it was a cover, it would be easy to assume you were listening to a standard pop-punk song, complete with thrashing guitars in the last chorus.