Most of us know Poppy from her eerie videos she made earlier during her YouTube days. Today, she collaborates with metal musicians, goes on tour with them and even gets nominated for Best Metal Performance.
But why did she ditch her YouTube career for metal music? Let’s dive in.
YouTube Career
Poppy’s career started in YouTube, teaming up with Titanic Sinclair to make abstract promotional videos people thought was strange and weird. She often played an android, commenting on and satirizing internet culture and society. She created her channel ThatPoppyTV in 2011. Her first skit, ‘Poppy Eats Cotton Candy,’ was uploaded in November 2014.
Early Days Of Her Music
Along with her videos, Poppy also made music. In 2015, she released her first singles, ‘Everybody Wants to Be Poppy’ and ‘Lowlife’ from the EP, ‘Bubblebath,’ describing it as a dance-pop and punk record. In 2017, Poppy’s debut, and first art-pop record ‘Poppy.Computer’ was released.
In 2018, however, the sound of Poppy’s music started to change. In July of that year, Poppy released a cover of Gary Numan’s ‘Metal.’ Her second album, ‘Am I a Girl?,’ came out on October 31, featuring her first heavy song ‘X’ compared to her previous releases.
Shifting Into Metal
Before releasing her next, and perhaps the most controversial album in 2020, she released a single titled ‘Scary Mask,’ featuring Fever 333 and appearing in the EP, ‘Choke.’
In August 2019, Poppy signed with Sumerian Records and released her first single with them, ‘Concrete.’ In October, the second single, ‘I Disagree,’ was released along with the album preorder. In November, ‘Bloodmoney’ became the third single from the record, and even earned a Grammy nomination for Best Metal Performance.
Poppy’s third studio album, ‘I Disagree,’ was released on January 10, 2020. And with the release came the controversy. Fans of Poppy’s pop music started to question what happened to her music, with some saying it took a drastic turn.
Is Poppy Really Metal?
While this question still bothers some fans, Poppy later released three new records, ‘Flux,’ ‘Zig’ and ‘Negative Spaces.’ The first two might not be your cup of tea if you are into metal, but ‘Negative Spaces’ highlights Poppy’s love for metal music and her affinity for it.
However, this might not be the case for Poppy. Just a short time before releasing ‘I Disagree,’ the singer said she never called her music metal. “A lot of people who have written about the new music have said it’s metal and pop, but I think that’s because they like the juxtaposition of that,” Poppy told Kerrang in an interview. “I’ve never said my music is metal, but I do listen to that music. To clarify: post-genre. Or prog rock or pop. We’re turning a new page.”
Though she may not believe so, Poppy proved she is metal at heart by collaborating with Knocked Loose, and Bad Omens, receiving two Grammy nominations, and touring with Bring Me The Horizon.
