It’s been three years since Katy Perry released her most recent album, Prism, and two years since she dropped a single, “This Is How We Do.” That’s a long time for a pop star to go into hiding, and it seems even longer — Perry introduced Left Shark during the Super Bowl XLIX halftime show in 2015, but that’s like a million memes ago. Time travels much faster on the internet.
What’s Perry been up to?
Inspiring crazy conspiracy theories about JonBenet Ramsey, for one thing, but also, working on new music (!) for the 2016 Olympics in Rio (?). “Rise” is an empowering, electronically distorted call to “rise above the fear,” Perry said in a statement. “I can’t think of a better example than the Olympic athletes, as they gather in Rio with their strength and fearlessness, to remind us how we ALL can come together, with the resolve to be the best we can be. I hope this song can inspire us to heal, unite, and rise together.” The song’s not as cotton-candy enjoyable as her previous singles like “Part of Me” and “Roar,” but it’s still nice to have Perry back, if only for her beefs with Taylor Swift.
Speaking of: Perry’s fans, or KatyCats, along with everyone else in the world, are spamming Swift’s Instagram photos with the snake emoji. As in, she’s a distrustful snake in the grass after her ex-boyfriend, Scottish DJ Calvin Harris, tweeted, “I know you’re off tour and you need someone new to try and bury like Katy ETC but I’m not that guy, sorry.” I need a “KATY ETC” shirt.
And Swift needs to scrub her Instagram.
This is what we’ve become: dueling snake and heart emojis. Anyway, check out Katy Perry’s “Rise” below.”
