Katy Perry's 'Rise' Makes Me Feel Like an Olympian Instead of a Worthless Lump of Skin and Bone

By Bobby Finger  |  July 15, 2016 | 3:30pm
Entertainment

Over the past several years, Katy Perry has proven herself to be a master of several things: dating men who I’d never recommend for her if I were her friend, shading Taylor Swift, and—my personal favorite—the empowerment anthem. Songs like “Roar,” “Wide Awake,” “Part of Me,” and “Choose Your Battles” are montage-ready powerhouses that turn even the most unconfident among us into step-climbing Rocky wannabes. Or, at least, that’s their effect on me.

Her latest, “Rise,” was released late Thursday, and is every bit as melodramatic and inspirational as I’d hoped it would be based on the title and cover art alone. And once you get into the lyrics, hoo boy.

  • “I won’t just survive, oh you will see me thrive”
  • “I’m beyond the archetype”
  • “Victory is in my veins”
  • “I must stay conscious through the madness and chaos”

The song is Perry’s first release off her forthcoming album (which has neither a name nor release date) and is being billed as “the soundtrack to NBC’s coverage of the Rio Games,” which is a perfect backdrop to lyrics as wildly empowering as those. It’s about time something good came out of Rio 2016.

 
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