"Bloodmoney" (stylized as "BLOODMONEY") is a song by Poppy. It served as the third single from her third studio album I Disagree and is the third track on the album. It was released on November 6th, 2019 alongside a music video. The music video currently has over 6 million views on YouTube.
Background
Titanic Sinclair first confirmed the song's title in an interview with SWIM Podcast.[1] A teaser for the music video and song was later posted on Poppy's social media on October 23rd, 2019, accompanied by the caption "Your Soul Can't Be Saved * 11.6 *🩸".[2] A second teaser titled "Scream" was uploaded to Poppy's YouTube channel on October 29th, 2019[3], while a third teaser titled "Mouth" was uploaded on November 1st, 2019.[4] A fourth and final teaser, "Punch", was uploaded on November 5th, 2019.[5]
Theme
The song is about negative experiences that both Poppy and Titanic Sinclair have gone through as artists, such as dealing with hypocrisy and liars. Sinclair revealed that the song was made out of frustration and writer's block, and that his philosophy for the song was to "break [his] Moog synthesizer without touching it".[1] Poppy explained in an interview with Alternative Press that the song is also about her "understanding or misunderstanding of religion and Christianity".[6]
Poppy would further elaborate on the song's themes in an interview with Revolver Magazine, revealing that the song was written during a "very frustrating period with [her] old team of management and record label". She explained that these individuals were hypocritical, contradicting themselves frequently and using religion as a way of pretending everything was fine.[7]
Grammy Nomination
On November 24th, 2020, the Recording Academy announced that "Bloodmoney" was nominated for Best Metal Performance at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards, but the song lost to "Bum-Rush" by Body Count.[8][9] This was Poppy's first ever Grammy nomination. She was the first female solo artist to be nominated in the category, as well as the first female artist to be nominated in the category since 1999.
Music Video
The music video begins with Poppy kneeling in a praying position in a dark room with a spotlight shining down on her. Throughout the music video, a series of men wearing all black aggressively attack Poppy with weapons. Poppy quickly defends herself, defeating these men shortly after their attack. Toward the end of the video, Poppy approaches a red-glowing cross, then stands in front of it and positions herself into a T-pose as she is lifted upward.
Lyrics
[Intro]
What do you believe when everyone is watching?
What do you believe?
What do you believe when nobody is watching?
What do you believe?
[Chorus]
Keep telling yourself that you've been playing nice
Then go beg for forgiveness from Jesus the Christ
Beg for forgiveness from Jesus the Christ
Beg for forgiveness from Jesus the Christ
Keep telling yourself that you've been playing nice
Then go beg for forgiveness from Jesus the Christ
Beg for forgiveness from Jesus the Christ
Beg for forgiveness from Jesus the Christ
[Interlude]
I know what it feels like
To have my soul sucked out of my body
I finally know what it feels like
To be dead
[Verse]
Your soul can't be saved from the sins you've ignored
And the devil is well aware he is adored
Never forget the excess of a man
Because the grabbing hands always grab what they can
[Pre-Chorus]
What do you believe when everyone is watching?
What do you believe?
What do you believe when nobody is watching?
What do you believe?
[Chorus]
Keep telling yourself that you've been playing nice
Then go beg for forgiveness from Jesus the Christ
Beg for forgiveness from Jesus the Christ
Beg for forgiveness from Jesus the Christ
Keep telling yourself that you've been playing nice
Then go beg for forgiveness from Jesus the Christ
Beg for forgiveness from Jesus the Christ
Beg for forgiveness from Jesus the Christ
[Outro]
What do you believe when no one is around?
What do you believe when no one is around?
What do you believe when no one is around?
What do you believe when no one is around?
Videos
Promotional Images
Poppy, Titanic Sinclair and Garrett Nicholson promoted the song by posting photos from the scene of the music video before and after its release.
Trivia
- Titanic Sinclair has stated that this is his favorite song from I Disagree.[1]
- Chris Greatti has stated that "Bloodmoney", "Don't Go Outside", "Sit / Stay", and "Anything Like Me" are his favorite songs from I Disagree.[10]
- This is the fifth Poppy song to have been performed live before its official release. It was first performed at Comerica Theatre.
- The lyrics "Never forget the excess of a man / Because the grabbing hands always grab what they can" are a homage to Depeche Mode's song "Everything Counts".[11]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 https://play.acast.com/s/someonewhoisntme/32cc5865-f7bd-48db-ab31-99f1e8a047ad
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20191109172613/https://twitter.com/poppy/status/1187118191018991616
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIM8YOowIq4
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5DnLl9z4N0
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abvFdpnTYGQ
- ↑ https://www.altpress.com/features/poppy-i-disagree-track-by-track-interview/
- ↑ https://www.revolvermag.com/music/poppy-first-solo-female-metal-grammy-nominee-out-smash-more-boundaries
- ↑ https://twitter.com/RecordingAcad/status/1331284000757805056
- ↑ https://twitter.com/RecordingAcad/status/1371204507216965635
- ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/B7KJKFbFQ0E/
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/popheads/comments/emutlq/poppy_i_disagree_ama/fdrctep
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