The song was a commercial success, topping charts in Australia, Austria, Canada, Ireland, Israel, Lebanon, New Zealand, Scotland, Slovenia, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States. "Roar" was the fifth-best-selling single worldwide in 2013 according to theInternational Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), and has since gone on to sell 15 million copies. "Roar" has sold 6.6 million copies in the US, over 1 million in the United Kingdom, and was Australia's best-selling song of the year with 560,000 copies sold within that time. It was also the seventh-bestselling single of the entire 2010s decade in Australia. It is certified five times diamond in Brazil, two times diamond in Australia, and fifteen times platinum in the US. When "Roar" was certified Diamond by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Perry became the first artist to have three Diamond-certified singles in the country, the others being "Firework" and "Dark Horse".
The song was mixed bySerban 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 ofCalifornia, as well asMXM Studios inStockholm, Sweden. Perry co-wrote the song with Bonnie McKee and its producers Dr. Luke, Max Martin, and Cirkut.[1] All its development took place in March 2013.[2] McKee toldMTV 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."[3] 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".[4]
Musically, "Roar" is apower pop[5][6][7] song that features elements ofarena rock.[8][9] Throughout the song, Perry "flexes diva-like vocals", singing the lyric "Hey!" several times in a way resemblant ofThe Lumineers.[10] The song'sinstrumentation is composed of "pounding" pianos and "booming" bass drums.[10] Musicnotes published this song in the key ofB♭ major[11] in a4 4 time signature with a moderatetempo of 90beats per minute. Perry's vocal range spans from the low note B♭3 to the high note E♭5, while the music follows thechord progression of B♭–Cm–Gm–E♭.[12] The song shares the theme of empowerment with Perry's single "Firework".[13][14] Perry described the track as a song speaking about standing up for oneself.[15]
Perry announced "Roar" would be the first single fromPrism with the release of a video teaser featuring the singer burning a blue wig.[16] More video teasers were released ontoYouTube, showing Perry at a funeral with a coffin decorated with the singer's famous pink and white pinwheels dress,[17] and entering a recording booth while dressed with a "throwback" jacket featured in the single's cover art,[18] which was revealed on August 8, 2013.[18] It features a tiger print border around Perry, who wears a blueJapanese silksukajan jacket, with the image of a tiger printed on its back.[19] 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 ontoYouTube. 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 variousEmoji characters.[20][21] It was target of plagiarism accusations by music producerDillon Francis, who felt it copied the concept of instant messaging from his video entitled "Messages".[22]
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[23] with a subsequent release tomainstream radio on August 13.[24] However, the song debuted two days earlier than expected by leaking on August 10.[25] 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.[26]
Many critics have noted similarities between "Roar" andSara Bareilles's "Brave".
Miriam Coleman fromRolling Stone appreciated the song's "easy poppy beat" and its "repeated refrains", factors she believed contributed to make the song a "determined note for the new album".[27] James Montgomery ofMTV News described it as "one of the more perfect pop songs to come down the pipeline in quite a while".[28] Gerrick D. Kennedy fromLos Angeles Times also gave a positive review, classifying "Roar" as a "sweet, poppy confection with a bit of bite".[29] Melinda Newman fromHitFix saw the song as a "great change of pace" for Perry,[30] whilst Andrew Hampp fromBillboard believed it to be a return to the style of her albumOne of the Boys, but criticized its tempo and its lyrics that "rarely rise above easy clichés and rhymes".[31] Sal Cinquemani fromSlant Magazine described the song as "more of a yelp than a roar".[32]
Upon the release of "Roar", many accused Perry of copyingSara Bareilles's "Brave".[29][74][75][76] When asked about the controversy between the two songs, Bareilles answered: "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 knowing about "Roar" before its release and stated "If I'm not mad I don't know why anybody else is upset".[77]Dr. Luke replied to the accusations on August 14, 2013: "Roar was written and recorded BEFORE Brave came out."[78] In response to the attention "Brave" received as a result of the plagiarism accusations, Bareilles's record label,Epic Records, decided to promote "Brave" to themainstream popradio format.[79]
According to theInternational 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.[80] As of November 2019, the song has sold 15 million copies worldwide.[81]
On theBillboard Hot 100, the song debuted at number 85 on the week ending August 24, 2013, due to radio airplay.[82] 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.[83] The song soared eighty-three positions to number two in its second week, becoming Perry's twelfth top-ten entry in the United States, and her ninth consecutive single to reach the top three on the Hot 100.[84] After another week at number two, "Roar" reached number one for the chart dated September 14, 2013, becoming Perry's eighth number one on the Hot 100 and her ninthdigital number-one single, after selling 448,000 copies.[85] "Roar" spent a total two weeks at number one before it was surpassed byMiley Cyrus's "Wrecking Ball".[86] On its seventh frame, the song moved 2-1 (peak audience impressions of 159 million) and became Perry's sixth number one on theBillboard Hot 100 Airplay, as well as becoming her fastest climb to the top position.[87][88]
"Roar" also reached number one on both the USMainstream Top 40 andAdult Pop Songs. The number-one position on thePop Songs chart gave Perry her tenth number one, tying her withRihanna for the most number ones on the airplay-based chart.[89] The number-one position on theAdult Pop Songs chart also gave Perry multiple milestones; it became her eighth chart-topper, tying her withMaroon 5 andPink 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).[90] 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.[91]
The song has also reached the top spot on both theAdult contemporary chart andHot Dance Club Songs.[90][92][93] In addition to this, the track also reached number one on both the On Demand andStreaming charts, with a weekly peak of 2.1 million and 12 million, respectively.[94][95] "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.[96][97] The track has sold 6,600,000 copies in the US as of August 2020,[98] and when it was certified Diamond by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in June 2017, Perry became the first artist to achieve this with 3 singles.[99] In July 2024, was certified 15× Platinum by the RIAA.
On August 31, 2013, "Roar" debuted at number one on theCanadian Hot 100 on the strength of digital downloads.[100] 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.[100] 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.[101] "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.[102]
In the United Kingdom, "Roar" entered at number one on theUK Singles Chart on September 8, 2013, selling 179,500 copies in its first week and ending the prolonged number-one run ofEllie Goulding's "Burn". The song became Perry's fourth UK number-one single.[105] The single spent two weeks atop the chart before being succeeded by "Talk Dirty" byJason Derulo ft.2 Chainz. The song also debuted atop the adjacent UK chart of Scotland and theIrish Singles Chart.[106][107] "Roar" was the 6th best-selling song of 2013 in the United Kingdom[108] where it became her second single after "Firework" to sell over a million copies in January 2015, thus making Katy Perry one of only 18 artists ever to achieve more than one million sales in the nation.[109] It has sold 1,112,787 copies in the United Kingdom as of September 2017,[110] and has been certified quadruple platinum by theBritish Phonographic Industry (BPI).[111] According toPhonographic Performance Limited (PPL), "Roar" was the seventh most played song across the nation in 2014.[112]
"Roar" reached number four on theItalian Singles Chart, where it was eventually certifiedplatinum by theFederation of the Italian Music Industry, for sales of over 15,000 digital copies.[113] In Spain, the single peaked at number five on the sales chart, according toPROMUSICAE.[114] In Austria, it became a number-one on theÖ3 Austria Top 40, while in Germany and Switzerland, it reached numbers two and three, respectively.[115][116] In the BelgianUltratop 50, "Roar" peaked at number five inFlanders and number seven inWallonia.[117][118] In France the song peaked at number five and stayed 53 weeks, becoming Perry's fourth top-five hit after "I Kissed A Girl", "If We Ever Meet Again", and "California Gurls".[119] In Norway, it stayed 24 weeks and peaked at number four, becoming Perry's fifth top five in the country.[120] "Roar" found placings among the top-ten of the airplay charts in Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia. Within theBillboard digital charts of Greece, Luxembourg and Portugal, "Roar" peaked at number two in both the Greece and Luxembourg charts and at number eight in the Portuguese chart.[121][122][123]
"Roar" entered at the top of theNew Zealand Singles Chart after just four days on sale, becoming Perry's ninth number-one single, second top debut and her eleventh top ten.[125] After less than five weeks, theRecording Industry Association of New Zealand certified the singlequadruple platinum, denoting sales exceeding 60,000 units.[126] 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.".[127] In Australia, the song became Perry's third song to top theARIA Singles Chart after "I Kissed a Girl" and "California Gurls".[128] It was the country's highest performing song of the year, topping the charts for 9 weeks and selling 560,000 copies by the end of 2013.[129] "Roar" has since been certified 20× platinum by theAustralian Recording Industry Association (ARIA).[130] On theGaon Chart of South Korea, it reached number one on the international chart.[131] In Japan, the song entered theJapan Hot 100 at number seven.[132] They reached number one in both theMedia Forest airplay chart in Israel, and theLebanese Singles Chart.[133][134] Similarly, inSouth Africa, the song peaked at number two on theEMA airplay chart.[135]
Filming of the music video for "Roar", began on August 7, 2013 and ended on August 9, 2013. A lyric video was released on August 12, 2013. The video was released on September 5, 2013, directed by Grady Hall and Mark Kudsi, and filmed at theLos Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden.[136] A 21-second teaser of the video had previously been uploaded on August 25, 2013.[137]Nokia posted a two-minutebehind the scenes video on September 4, 2013.[138] On November 14, 2013, an extended 17-minute behind-the-scenes video was uploaded toVevo.[139]
The music video for "Roar" was the fourth most viewed music video in 2013 worldwide.[140] On July 7, 2015, the music video became the fourth video to reach one billion views on Vevo, making Perry the first artist in history to have two music videos with over a billion views.[141] Four years later, it was ranked fifth globally among the most-watched videos of the2010s decade, and it also ranked fourth in the United Kingdom.[142] During May 2024, it reached four billion views, becoming the most viewed music video by a female artist on YouTube at that time.[143]
At the beginning of the video, Perry and her negligent boyfriend (played by actor and model Brian Nagel) have crashed their plane in the middle of the jungle. Perry shows signs of worry, while her boyfriend takesselfies 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 atiger as the music abruptly pauses and Perry dumps her bags and runs off screaming. She approaches a lake and is almost bitten by acrocodile when she tries to take a drink. She sits on a rock and ends up with atarantula crawling on her. 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 befireflies 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, Perry has since made friends with amonkey and uses herstiletto heel to form a spear where she is now barefoot and only wearing what is left of her outfit. She uses the spear to shoot abanana, which she gives to the monkey. In another scene, she bathes in the lake, with the help of anelephant who sprays her with water from the lake using its trunk. Perry helps acrocodile 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 withfire; attempting to burn it as it grows stronger and shootingspears which it sends firing back towards them with its roar. The next morning, Perry emerges from thecave wearing a leopard-printbikini top, agrass skirt, and unspecified lacings on her legs. She displays a boost of confidence and holds the spear she made earlier. She stands on top of awaterfall, overlooking thejungle, and then swings across the sky on avine.
With the help of the monkey, Perry builds acat toy that she uses to distract the tiger who killed her boyfriend earlier in the video. The two of them roar at each other until her roartames the tiger as it sits in front of her submissively. Afterwards, she is shown sitting on a giant grass throne, wearing aflower crown as the rest of the jungle animals sit around her, including the tiger, monkey and elephant. The tiger is shown wearing acollar that says "Kitty Purry", a reference to her real-life cat of the same name. Perry takesselfies with the monkey on her boyfriend'sphone, applies lipstick made from berry juice, and gives the elephant a pedicure with paint made from berries.
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 wreckage still in the jungle, stretching her arms and yawning with the animals sitting around her.
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 for 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 thecomputer-generated imagery (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 groupAqua. In total, the reviews had an average score of approximately 6 out of 10.[144]
James Montgomery fromMTV News believed that the video drew inspiration fromSheena, Queen of the Jungle and stated the video did not take itself too seriously, describing it as "camp".[145]Slant Magazine writer Sal Cinquemani was neutral about the video, noting that althoughPrism was being billed as a departure for Perry, both "Roar" and its video were not.[146]
Ramon Jimenez Jr., former secretary ofPhilippines'Department of Tourism, highlighted the appearance ofTaal Volcano in the music video. He concluded that Perry was blown away by the sight when she visited the Philippines in 2012 where she wrapped the final show ofCalifornia Dreams Tour. He stated "Yes, [it is] a picture of the Philippines in what is obviously paradise. I am very happy, it's no secret that when Katy Perry went to the country, she fell in love with Philippines. I would not be surprised if she made the choice [of including Taal in the video]. [But] I do not know that for a fact."[147]
One month after its release,People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) accused Perry of 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 allged that the animals involved in the music video were provided by a company that was criticized by US officials.[148] Perry responded by obtaining a letter from theAmerican 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".[149]
On September 16, 2013, the song was unexpectedly used during player introductions by theCincinnati Bengals in their home opener against therivalPittsburgh Steelers onMonday Night Football, to tie in the song'sjungle theme with theteam'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 theWall Street Journal thatSteeler fans sitting near him were laughing at the Bengals fans throughout the game; the Steelers themselves have used theStyx song "Renegade" frequently atHeinz Field since 2001.[150] Four days after the game, the team publicly apologized, announcing that while the song would not be nixed fromPaul Brown Stadium's playlist completely, the team would use ahard rock orclassic rock song for player introductions moving forward.[151]
Perry first performed "Roar" at the2013 MTV Video Music Awards, in a specially-made boxing ring under theBrooklyn Bridge, at the end of the ceremony.[154] She performed the song onSaturday Night Live on October 12, 2013.[155] While hostingWe Can Survive: Music for Life on October 23, 2013, she performed the song withSara Bareilles,Bonnie McKee,Ellie Goulding,Kacey Musgraves, and duoTegan and Sara.[156] She also performed the song on theAustralian version ofThe X Factor on October 28, 2013.[157] Perry then performed the song the following day at theSydney Opera House.[158] She performed the song on German TV showSchlag den Raab on November 16, 2013.[159] On December 14, 2013, Perry performed "Roar" at theNRJ 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.[160] 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.[161]
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. † Streaming-only figures based on certification alone.
^The Number One Award for singles was first introduced by theOfficial Charts Company (OCC) in December 2011, followed by the introduction of the Number One Award for albums in 2015.[35]
^The Specialist Number One Awards were launched in January 2021. These awards recognize all number one albums and singles that have reached the top of any OCC chart, excluding theOfficial Singles andOfficial Albums charts, for any prior years.[37]
^The Official Vodafone Big Top 40 Number One Awards were introduced in 2009 and are given to artists who top theBig Top 40 chart. They are awarded for each week they spend at number one.[38]
^The lyric video for "Roar" received an honorary award.
^"Canadian Hot 100".Billboard. October 5, 2013.Archived from the original on November 23, 2013. RetrievedSeptember 26, 2013.
^"Digital Tracks".Music Canada. Nielsen SoundScan Charts. September 11, 2013. Archived fromthe original on September 30, 2013. RetrievedSeptember 15, 2013.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic.Note: Select 34. týden 2013 in the date selector. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic.Note: Select 18. týden 2014 in the date selector. Retrieved July 2, 2014.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic.Note: insert 201350 into search. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic.Note: Select SINGLES DIGITAL - TOP 100 and insert 201432 into search. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
^"ARIA Top 100 Singles 2014". ARIA Charts. Australian Recording Industry Association.Archived from the original on January 9, 2015. RetrievedFebruary 14, 2015.
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