Katy Perry releases 'Rise.' How does it measure up to other Olympics songs?

Singer Katy Perry has released a new song, “Rise,” that will be used for the Rio 2016 Summer Games, the newest track to provide an Olympics soundtrack.

The song by Ms. Perry, who has also released hits such as “Roar” and “Dark Horse,” will be used during NBC's upcoming Olympics broadcast, which begins August 3. 

The track is currently at number two on the sales chart for songs on iTunes. For the moment, it is only available there and through Apple Music.

Critics so far seem mostly impressed with the song, with Rolling Stone writer Daniel Kreps calling it "galvanic" and Billboard writer Lars Brandle writing that "Perry returns to her motivational best."

Meanwhile, the song "Live Forever," which was created by the country ensemble The Band Perry, will be the song for Team USA at this year's Olympics. 

Having official songs accompany the Olympics Games has become a tradition for the sporting event, with artists including Queen's Freddie Mercury, Nelly Furtado, Celine Dion, and Whitney Houston creating songs for the competition. 

However, some have proven to be more memorable than others. One of the most famous is singer Whitney Houston's "One Moment in Time," which became part of the celebrations in Seoul in 1988. The song hit number five on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, which measures the success of singles. 

Another more recent success was American Idol winner Phillip Phillips' song "Home," which was used during the 2012 London Olympics and, like Perry's, was part of NBC's coverage of the Games. It placed sixth on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. 

Tyler White of the Midland Reporter-Telegram also highlighted the song "Barcelona," which was part of the 1992 Olympics in that city, as one of the best tracks used for the Olympics. The song is by opera soprano Montserrat Caballe and Mr. Mercury. "[Caballe] complement[s] his operatic vocal tendencies," Mr. White wrote of Ms. Caballe working with Mr. Mercury.

But creating a successful song for the Olympics is easier said than done, Q Magazine music writer John Aizlewood told The Atlantic ahead of the 2012 London games.

"You can't capture a nation's mood with an Olympic song because there isn't the same fanaticism for the event as there is for, say, the national football [soccer] team," Mr. Aizlewood said. "It's more a groundswell of goodwill: The public hopes the athletes will do well, but you can't rally around the individual athletes in the same way that you can with more of a traditional team."