WATCH: Katy Perry sings 2016 Rio Olympics anthem
American singer-songwriter Katy Perry is the angelic voice behind the anthem of the much-awaited 2016 Rio Olympics.
Perry released the uplifting Olympics song “Rise” on Thursday night, hitting over 10 million views on YouTube and 2.8 million views on NBC Olympic’s Facebook page.
This was the 31-year-old singer’s comeback since her 2013 album “Prism.” Many listeners have found the chorus of the track particularly soul-stirring as her voice soars through it: “When the fire’s at my feet again, and the vultures all start circling…They’re whispering, ‘You’re out of time,’ but still I rise.” Among the popular faces seen in the music video are American Olympian swimmer Michael Phelps and Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt.
The track’s artwork was also publicly released, which features Perry rising out of the water surface with the caption “Rise.”
TOGETHER WE #RISE https://t.co/wP3dnMEdAx
— KATY PERRY (@katyperry) July 15, 2016
In a press statement via music news site Billboard, Perry described the hit as a song that has brewing inside her for years which has magically unveiled into a majestic song.
“I was inspired to finish it now, rather than save it for my next album, because now more than ever, there is a need for our world to unite. I know that together we can rise above the fear – in our country, and around the world. 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. I am honored that NBC Olympics has chosen to use it as an anthem before and during the Rio Games,” Perry explained. Gianna Francesca Catolico
