Sara Bareilles & Katy Perry
People claim that most Pop songs sound the same and I agree a lot of the time they do but what happens when one artist releases a song and then four months later another song surfaces that is an exact replica?
I admire both Katy Perry and Sara Bareilles, they are both credible artists in the industry and have had worldwide success. However, there has been a controversy in the media that states that Katy Perry’s new chart topper Roar is a rip off of Bareilles recent tune Brave. I have to agree with this accusation. There is no denying that the tunes are the same.
The astounding similarities I have recognized between the two songs are as follows, Roar has a 92 BPM tempo, Brave is only slightly slower with a BPM of 90, they are both in the key of Bb and the chord progression in both songs move from a Bb to a G Minor. The choruses are almost identical and the lyrical theme in both of the songs is empowerment. There is no hiding the similarity, is this a bad move for Katy?
Perry has always been a fan of Bareilles and back in May of this year the Pop star tweeted
shortly after the release of Brave. Perry started to receive complaints from fans that not only did her new tune Roar sound like Brave it also had a striking resemblance to the Annie classic Hard Knock Life in the beginning of the track, poor Katy.
Now let’s cut her a little slack, it is extremely hard to find a distinctive Pop song these days. A large percentage of the songs on the charts for the last forty years have shared the same chord progression of G, C, Em and D. Jessie J’s Price tag, Lady Gaga’s Paparazzi. Rihanna’s I Love The Way You Lie and Every Breath You Take by the Police are just a few examples of this.
The controversy has failed to hurt either artist though; all is not lost for Sara Bareilles. When Roar dropped earlier this month, pop obsessives were quick to note the song’s similarity to Brave and this resulted in a swift climb up the charts for Miss Bareilles.
Roar opened at the number 2 spot on Billboard‘s Hot 100, and Yahoo’s Chart Watch notes that Brave got swept up in the song’s mad dash toward the top. Sara’s song jumped from number 66 to 46, with 51,000 digital sales this week compared to last week’s 28K, which is an 80% increase.
Or maybe it was nothing to do with Perry? Sara’s recent live performance of Brave with Taylor Swift on Monday night could have easily increased her popularity. Teaming up with Swift to promote her single was a smart move for Bareilles. You should never underestimate the power of Taylor Swift fans. Whoever Taylor likes, the fans will like.
What do you think of the recent controversy? Is Katy Perry’s new song Roar a rip off or is it an unlikely coincidence?
Head over to YouTube to listen to both of the tracks and see for yourself. Comment below with your thoughts.
Tagged in Katy Perry Taylor Swift Sara Bareilles Entertainment