Katy Perry’s ‘Roar’ vs. Sara Bareilles’ ‘Brave’

Rumblings on the internets claim that Katy Perry’s new song, “Roar,” sounds way too close for comfort to Sara Bareilles’ “Brave.”  What’s more, another artist thinks the production style for Perry’s lyric video for “Roar” is similar to his own video.

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Campaign rally for Barack Obama, Las Vegas, Nev.

This is one of those situations where it would really be nice to have an in-house musicologist that could examine both songs and then tell us beyond a shadow of a doubt whether the tunes are similar in structure, composition, and such. Lacking such a highly educated expert, we’re turning to the next best thing for music analysis – namely you, the Pollstar.com user.

We’ll start with Perry’s lyric video for “Roar.”

Now that you have “Roar” fresh in your mind, here’s Bareilles’ video for “Brave” a tune she co-wrote with Jack Antonoff from fun.

Now comes the tricky part.  Do you think “Roar” sounds so similar to “Brave” that this might be a case for plagiarism lawyers?  Or is it just one of those coinky-dinks of life?

Before you answer our poll below, check out one of the several mashups featuring the two songs.  Just click here.

But any perceived similarities regarding Perry’s “Roar” haven’t been limited to the song itself.  Electronic music producer Dillon Francis thinks the lyric video’s look and feel is influenced by his own video for “Messages” which featured Simon Lord.

Now it’s time for our super-scientific opt-in poll about whether “Roar” might contain musical DNA from sources outside the Katy Perry universe.  Cast your vote now. 


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