"Scary Mask" is a song by Poppy featuring Fever 333. It served as the second single from her second extended play Choke and is the third track on the EP. It was released on May 29th, 2019 alongside a music video. The music video currently has over 5 million views on YouTube.
Background
Poppy revealed the title of the song in February 2019 during an interview with Interview Magazine.[1] In the same interview, she stated that the song had a feature with someone who she is a fan of and had been "wanting to work with for a while". Poppy would later reveal the featured artist to be Fever 333, as well as the single's release date of May 29th, 2019, in an interview on the Billboard Music Awards red carpet.[2]
The single was teased extensively throughout April 2019. Poppy began to include the phrase "Scary Mask is coming" in her video descriptions, starting with "Your Mommy". She also uploaded a video of the same name to promote the single. She would later upload the video "The Scary Mask Warning", where she reveals that the Icky Babies warned her about the "power of the scary mask", and that if she puts the mask on, she will "never be the same Poppy again". At the end of the video, she puts on the "scary mask" that had previously been seen in promotional material for the single.
To further promote the single in May 2019, Charlotte made an Instagram post stating that she would "leak" "Scary Mask" if the post garnered 10,000 likes.[3] The goal was not reached, as the post only had approximately 5,000 likes by the time of the single's release.
Theme
In an interview with Paper Magazine, Poppy said that the song is about "wearing your scary mask when you feel like you don't belong".[4] She further explained in an interview with Revolver that "people act in a way they normally wouldn't when they have a disguise on. I think it's freeing." She said in the same interview that the "mask" has control over her and that she has to do what it says.[5]
Musically, the song continues Poppy's venture into songs she describes as "Poppymetal"[6] that alternate between heavy metal and pop music, following the songs "X" and "Play Destroy" from her album Am I a Girl?. This would be followed by the single "Concrete" from her album I Disagree.
Lyrics
[Verse]
I wear my scary mask when I'm afraid I don't belong
You can't read my brain until it's off
Not coming off, not coming off
Get up
[Chorus]
I'm never gonna take it off, so don't touch me
Never gonna take it off, stop looking at me
Never gonna take it off, so don't touch me
Never gonna take it off, stop looking at me
[Post-Chorus]
I'm alright, I'm alright, I'm alright
You ain't gonna see me tonight
[Break]
M-A-S-K, am I okay?
M-A-S-K, am I okay?
M-A-S-K, am I okay?
M-A-S-K, am I okay?
Pop, pop, pop, pop (Are you wearing your mask?)
Pop, pop, pop (Are you wearing your mask?)
I wasn't me but I ain't scared now
I wasn't me and I don't care now
I wasn't me, I ain't scared now
I wasn't me, I don't care now
[Verse]
I wear my scary mask when I'm afraid I don't belong
You can't read my brain until it's off
Not coming off, not coming off
You can't read my brain until it's off
Not coming off
[Chorus]
I'm never gonna take it off, so don't touch me
Never gonna take it off, stop looking at me
Never gonna take it off, so don't touch me
Never gonna take it off, stop looking at me
[Post-Chorus]
I'm alright, I'm alright, I'm alright
You ain't gonna see me tonight
[Outro]
I said don't look at me
Well, you heard the woman, so fucking look away
I'm never gonna take it off, so don't touch me
Never gonna take it off, stop looking at me
Videos
Promotional Images
Poppy promoted the song by posting photos from the scene of the music video before and after its release. She also promoted the song using screenshots of the music video that were converted to ASCII art, similar to the promotional artwork for "Time Is Up".
Trivia
- This is the sixth Poppy era song containing a feature, the first being the cut "Lowlife" verse with Travis Mills, the second being "My Style" featuring Charlotte, the third being "Time Is Up" featuring Diplo, the fourth being "Aristocrat" featuring Garibay, the fifth being "Play Destroy" featuring Grimes, and the seventh being "Screammm" featuring GASM.
- This is the fifth Poppy song to contain explicit lyrics. However, the song is not marked as explicit on streaming services such as Apple Music and Spotify.
- Titanic Sinclair made a reference to the song's title on Twitter over two months prior to its release.[7]
- Poppy wrote the song on October 9th, 2018, the same day she attended the American Music Awards.[8] This ties in to the outfit she wore at the event's red carpet, which consisted of a black latex mask that covered half of her face.
- On May 21st, 2019, an official teaser for the music video was released.
- The yellow Viktor & Rolf dress Poppy wears on the single artwork and in the music video is the same outfit she wore at the 2019 iHeartRadio Music Awards.
- The "scary mask" seen on the single artwork and in the music video was once purchasable on Poppy's official webstore for $19.99 USD. It is no longer available for purchase.
- According to Chris Greatti, the song has been banned in several countries.[9]
- In an interview with Gigwise, Poppy revealed that "Scary Mask" was originally going to be on Am I a Girl?.[10]
- In the same interview, she also said that "Scary Mask" and "X" were written a week apart.
- The music video was filmed at The Paramour Estate[11] in Los Angeles, California.[12]
- Chris Greatti sings the male background vocals.
- Poppy has stated that this is her favorite song from Choke.[13]
References
- ↑ https://www.interviewmagazine.com/music/poppy-is-your-mommy-in-her-video-for-voicemail
- ↑ https://twitter.com/BBMAs/status/1123722275985997824
- ↑ https://poppy.fandom.com/wiki/File:CharlotteScaryMask1.jpg
- ↑ http://www.papermag.com/poppy-vidcon-2636693847.html
- ↑ https://www.revolvermag.com/music/poppy-slipknot-new-song-video-scary-mask-fever-333
- ↑ http://time.com/5455221/poppy-am-i-a-girl/
- ↑ https://twitter.com/titanicsinclair/status/1110719418265305089
- ↑ https://twitter.com/PoppyUpdate/status/1126577061659840512
- ↑ https://www.radio.com/blogs/tiana-timmerberg/poppy-and-fever-333s-new-song-so-evil-its-been-banned-several-countries
- ↑ https://www.gigwise.com/features/3326493/poppy-s-track-by-track-guide-to-new-ep-choke
- ↑ https://www.theparamour.com
- ↑ https://play.acast.com/s/someonewhoisntme/32cc5865-f7bd-48db-ab31-99f1e8a047ad
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/popheads/comments/emutlq/poppy_i_disagree_ama/fdr6eac/
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