WATCH: Katy Perry's gratingly emoji-packed 'Roar' video

(Image credit: Vimeo screen shot)

last updated 8 January 2015

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Because we don't already spend enough time looking at our cell phone screens, enterprising pop star Katy Perry has released a video for her new single "Roar" that relies heavily on an iPhone text message screen, with a series of emoji-laden "text messages" spelling out the lyrics to the song.

"I got the eye of the tiger," sings Perry, in a totally original metaphor that's not shamelessly cribbed from the Rocky III soundtrack at all. "You're gonna hear me roar — louder, louder than a lion, 'cause I am a champion," continues Perry — who is, incidentally, receiving some of these text messages while sitting on the toilet, in a blatant violation of both texting etiquette and basic sanitary concerns.

The video closes with a POV shot of Perry kissing her cat in the bathtub, and the cat's blank-eyed stoicism is a fairly accurate visual representation of what it feels like to listen to "Roar" — just hanging, limply, as Perry drowns you in another inescapably auto-tuned anthem. But love it or hate it, you should probably get used to hearing "Roar" now — if it's anything like "Firework" or "California Gurls," you'll be hearing it for years to come on the Top 40 station that plays on a loop at your local gas station.

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Scott Meslow is the entertainment editor for TheWeek.com. He has written about film and television at publications including The Atlantic, POLITICO Magazine, and Vulture.