You're Gonna Hear Her Roar

Hello, everyone, and a happy first of February to all of you reading this!

February may be the shortest month of the year, but I promise that this February, I'll be cramming in the pop culture.  At the same time, I'll continue to bring in more of myself this year.  After all, you can't have a true blog if you aren't willing to share a little bit about yourself.

So, I imagine that many of you will be gathered around the television later on tonight to get prepared for the Super Bowl - an annual tradition since January 15, 1967.  This is the 49th edition of the Super Bowl, and the two teams battling each other for the title are the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots.  Good luck to both teams, and play safe!

Certainly when it comes to this year's Super Bowl, there are lots of keywords that are floating around.  Words like halftime, football, Deflategate, and commercial.  And it is estimated that over one hundred million people will be tuning in for the sports event.

Count me out as one of those hundred million.

Look, it's not that I have anything against the Super Bowl.  I understand that it's just as big of a sporting event as the World Series, the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and even the FIFA World Cup.  And if you are having a Super Bowl party where you're surrounded by great friends, chicken wings, and nachos, that makes the experience even more fun. 

But I have never claimed to be a football fan.  I can't even throw a football.  To me, watching football is about as stimulating as watching grass grow in the middle of a field.  Nothing against anyone who eats, breathes, and sleeps football, but I'd rather binge watch an entire season of some bad 1980s sitcom than watch football on television.

Truth be told, the only time I would ever watch any of the Super Bowl is during halftime.  At least the music fan in me appreciates a good Super Bowl Halftime Show!  It doesn't even matter to me who the entertainment is during that year's performance - you're guaranteed to have a good time.

Take 2012 for instance.  Many people dismissed Madonna as being long past her "Like A Virgin" years and trying to hard to stay relevant, but you have to give her credit - she put on a hell of a show.

2013 was also quite memorable, as Beyonce reunited with her Destiny's Child bandmates for the first time in years.  Some complained that Beyonce turned down the microphones of both Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams so that Beyonce could be heard better, but in the long run, it was a great performance.

Unfortunately, I missed last year's Super Bowl halftime show which had Bruno Mars and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.  I was violently ill with a stomach virus and spent the whole day in bed.  I have heard that it was also a fantastic show.

This year, we have a lady that continues to live out her teenage dream - a woman who literally burst out onto the scene seven years ago with her single "I Kissed A Girl".  Since then, she has catapulted onto the pop scene with songs such as "Firework", "Wide Awake", and "Dark Horse".

And I have to admit, I'm quite intrigued to see what Katy Perry has in store for us at tonight's halftime show.  In a music industry that is dominated by artists who sound the same, I consider Katy Perry to be one of the standouts, and I will be perfectly honest.  There's not really a Katy Perry song out there that I DON'T like.  I think they all have their place in the world, and it'll be interesting to see what songs she will include in her setlist.

I wonder if THIS song will be one of them?

ARTIST:  Katy Perry
SONG:  Roar
ALBUM:  Prism

DATE RELEASED:  August 10, 2013

PEAK POSITION ON THE BILLBOARD CHARTS:  #1 for 2 weeks

A few factoids about Katy Perry's "Roar" before we continue with this entry.

- This was Katy Perry's eighth #1 single on the Billboard Charts

- This was the first single from Katy's fourth album, "Prism"

- The song peaked at #1 in several other countries including Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Ireland, Israel, Lebanon, Mexico, New Zealand, Scotland, South Korea, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.

- The song has sold a total of nearly ten million copies as of January 2015.

Some might even consider this single to be Katy Perry's official signature song.

I don't know if I would agree with that statement, but I agree that the song is a fantastic one, not necessarily because of the fact that it became a worldwide hit, but because of the message that it gives in the lyrics.

Of course, Katy, never one to completely shed her whimsical side, has a spectacular music video for this song which has her taming the tiger that ate her boyfriend! 

TRIVIA:  The tiger is named "Kitty Purry".

But there's a powerful, more deeper message included in this song.  The song is all about empowerment and standing up for yourself, or as co-writer of "Roar" Bonnie McKee stated in an interview with MTV describes it, "a pick yourself up and dust yourself off and keep going, female-empowerment song".

And certainly, Katy Perry had a lot of that to deal with when she was recording "Prism".  Her marriage to comedian Russell Brand had just broken up, and judging by some of the songs on "Prism", she obviously had a lot of pent-up frustration that she had to work through.  Katy herself admits that she was inspired to write "Roar" after a therapy session where she admitted that she was "sick of keeping all these feelings inside and not speaking up for myself".

The end result?  Probably one of Katy's most powerful songs to date.  I mean, yes, the reviews of the single were mixed according to critics, but who really cares what they think, right?  The important thing is that this song is Katy's own personal declaration that she will survive anything and that she will make it even though she went through something tough.

And look at her now, performing at tonight's Super Bowl!  Excellent job, Katy!

Who knows?  She could very well could be singing this song at the halftime show.  The question is...which of the two teams will be singing this song alongside her at the end of the championship?

The game starts at 6:30pm Eastern Standard Time.  Not much longer to wait now.