Katy Perry gets political: Listen to her new song ‘Chained to the Rhythm’

You know America’s in a troubling spot when even Katy Perry is singing about the illusion of freedom.

That’s the subject of “Chained to the Rhythm,� the once-carefree pop star’s new single, which appeared online Thursday night amid a series of Perry tweets and retweets about revolution, George Orwell’s “1984� and the need to “question everything.�

“Are we crazy? / Living our lives through a lens,� she sings, “Trapped in our white picket fence / Like ornaments.� The song goes on to point out how comfortable we are “living in a bubble� where we “dance to the distortion.�

Then Perry — whose Twitter bio now reads “Artist. Activist. Conscious.� — really drops the hammer: Turns out that distortion is leading each of us to stumble around “like a wasted zombie.�

Is this the first major pop song about fake news?

The initial sampling from Perry’s upcoming studio album (her follow-up to “Prism� from 2013), “Chained to the Rhythm� was co-produced by the singer’s old pal Max Martin and features a guest appearance by Skip Marley (a.k.a. Bob’s grandson), who announces in his verse that “time is ticking for the empire.�

Perry is scheduled to perform the song Sunday night at the Grammy Awards.

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Twitter: @mikaelwood

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