Katy Perry Rises with new Olympic single

[JackSparrow]

Katy Perry's new single Rise has been "brewing inside" her for years.

The 31-year-old singer has been silent on the music front since she released This Is How We Do in 2014, from her 2013 album Prism. But fans were delighted when she took to Twitter on Thursday night (14Jul16) to announce news of a shiny new track entitled Rise.

The single is to tie in with NBC's coverage of the Rio Olympic Games, which kick off in Brazil next month (Aug16), and includes lyrics such as: "When, 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."

In a statement following the announcement of Rise's release, Katy explained: "This is a song that’s been brewing inside me for years, that has finally come to the surface. 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 honoured that NBC Olympics has chosen to use it as an anthem before and during the Rio Games."

Rise is available to stream on Apple Music and to download at iTunes.

Katy's new release comes after the singer hit headlines when she appeared to involve herself in the feud between Calvin Harris and his ex Taylor Swift. Katy has long been rumoured to have beef with Taylor, and chose to retweet a message she had posted on Twitter at the height of the reported feud back in 2015 on Wednesday.

Calvin had responded after Taylor revealed she was responsible for writing his and Rihanna's hit This Is What You Came For, insisting he wouldn't let the singer "bury him" like she had attempted to do with Katy.