Poppy (singer)

Moriah Rose Pereira (born January 1, 1995), known professionally as Poppy and formerly as That Poppy, is an American singer, songwriter, and YouTuber. She first earned recognition for starring in surreal performance art videos on YouTube as an uncanny valley-like android who commented on and satirized internet culture and modern society. This led to the release of a pilot for the proposed 2018 surreal comedy online series I'm Poppy on YouTube Premium.

Poppy signed a recording contract with Island Records in early 2014, and released her debut pop extended play (EP) Bubblebath in 2016. In 2017, she signed with Mad Decent and released her debut art pop studio album Poppy.Computer. To promote the album, she embarked on the Poppy.Computer Tour. She released her second album Am I a Girl? in 2018, where she experimented with electropop and nu metal.

In 2020, Poppy signed with Sumerian Records and released her third studio album I Disagree, which incorporated heavy metal and industrial rock and featured lyrical themes and music videos described as "disturbing", "violent", and "macabre". The album spawned four singles, including "Bloodmoney", which received a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 2021, making Poppy the first solo female artist to be nominated in the category.

In 2021, as part of her long-time collaboration with professional wrestling promotion WWE and its NXT brand, she released the metalcore EP Eat (NXT Soundtrack). Her fourth studio album, Flux, was released in 2021 and featured an alternative rock sound. In 2023, she released her fifth studio album, Zig, which was described as dark pop.

Early life
Moriah Rose Pereira was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on January 1, 1995. She moved with her family to Nashville, Tennessee at age 14. She recalls wanting to be a Rockette as a child, and took dance lessons for 11 years until deciding to be a musician. She was bullied at school for being skinny and quiet, leading her to complete the latter half of her studies via homeschooling. She moved to Los Angeles in 2013, at the age of 18.

2011–2014: Beginnings
Poppy had her first performance at IndieCove in August 2011, where she covered an Alanis Morissette song. Her YouTube channel was created in October 2011, under the name ThatPoppyTV, alongside another channel, Moriah Poppy, where she posted covers and vlogs. However, all of these videos, as well as the second channel, were deleted in 2014. She performed at social media festivals, including VidCon in June 2012 and DigiTour in June 2013. She was featured on Eppic's song "Hide and Seek" in 2013, and moved to Los Angeles to pursue her music career. There she teamed up with director Corey Michael Mixter, known by his stage name Titanic Sinclair, to make a series of abstract promotional videos on YouTube.

Her first YouTube skit called Poppy Eats Cotton Candy was uploaded in November 2014. The videos are described by Sinclair as "a combination of Andy Warhol's pop accessibility, David Lynch's creepiness, and Tim Burton's zany comedic tone". The channel has been discussed by other YouTubers, including PewDiePie, Social Repose, Night Mind, the Film Theorists, Reaction Time, and the Fine Brothers on their React series. She starred in an episode in which she reacts to children reacting to her videos. She has also appeared in an episode of the web series Good Mythical Morning.

Sinclair alluded in an interview that Poppy's character in the promotional videos presented itself to him as an android and how some of the concept relates to the uncanny valley hypothesis. Poppy has stated that her YouTube videos tell a story. Her fictional friend Charlotte, a celebrity-interviewing mannequin with a synthetic voice, is a recurring character. She usually appears interacting with Poppy but also on her own. She appears to have developed a drug and jealousy problem after Poppy became famous, which strains their relationship.

2015–2017: Poppy.Computer
In 2015, she signed to Island Records under the name That Poppy and released her debut single, "Everybody Wants to Be Poppy", in June. She performed at the Corona Capital Festival in November 2015. In February 2016, her first pop record, an EP called Bubblebath was released. It included the 2015 lead single "Lowlife". In August 2016, she released a series of advertisements for the shoe company Steve Madden on her channel as a part of its Steve Madden Music program. In October 2016, Poppy released an ambient music album called 3:36 (Music to Sleep To), composed by Titanic Sinclair and herself, with assistance from polysomnographists from the Washington University School of Medicine. The following month, she became the face of Japanese retailer Sanrio's first "Hello Sanrio" collection.

In February 2017, Poppy starred in a series of videos for Comedy Central called "Internet Famous with Poppy". That September, she received the Breakthrough Artist of the Year award from the Streamys. Poppy's debut studio album, Poppy.Computer, was released in October 2017, by Mad Decent. Its second single "Computer Boy" was released in May, and it received the Song of The Year nomination at the Unicorn Awards. "Let's Make a Video" was released as the third single in June, alongside a VHS-grainy music video. The third single "Interweb" was released in July, and was performed live at The Late Late Show with James Corden. In November, Poppy announced that her second album was "almost ready", and that she was going to Japan again to finish it. Her first concert tour, the Poppy.Computer Tour, started on October 19, 2017, in Vancouver.

Poppy made her YouTube Rewind debut in 2017, and was one of the few content creators to get her own lines. In April 2017, Poppy began selling a book on her website called The Gospel of Poppy, described as "a book of wisdom". In March 2018, Poppy performed "Moshi Moshi" at the Japanese pop music festival, Popspring.

2018: Am I a Girl?
On April 17, 2018, Sinclair's former partner Mars Argo filed a 44-page lawsuit in Central California court against Sinclair and Poppy alleging copyright infringement, stating that Sinclair based Poppy's online persona on theirs, as well as emotional and physical abuse Sinclair had allegedly subjected them to in the period after their separation and the subsequent abandonment of the project. On May 7, Poppy made a public statement about the "frivolous" lawsuit, saying Argo was attempting to manipulate her psychologically. She called the suit a "publicity campaign" and a "desperate grab for fame". The Sinclair case was settled out of court on September 14 "with no money exchanging hands". The copyright case against Poppy was dismissed.

In July 2018, Poppy released a cover of Gary Numan's song "Metal" as a single on all digital platforms. Poppy's second studio album Am I a Girl? was released on October 31, 2018. The album's lead single titled "In a Minute" was released in July. The second single "Time Is Up" featured American DJ Diplo, and it was released in August. Each week of October, she released three more singles from the album that are "Fashion After All", "Hard Feelings" and "X". The album also featured the song "Play Destroy", a collaboration with Canadian singer Grimes.

At the end of the year, Poppy began to drop hints about a new project and website called Poppy.Church. The website is no longer active. She attended the 2018 American Music Awards  and also returned to the Streamy Awards as a presenter. Her cover of "Metal" was featured in the video game WWE 2K20.

2019–2020: I Disagree
On January 8, 2019, Poppy announced a graphic novel through Z2 Comics entitled Genesis 1, which was released to comic book stores on July 10. The graphic novel tells the origin of Poppy. It was co-written by Poppy, Sinclair and Ryan Cady, with art by Masa Minoura and Ian McGinty. She elaborated in an interview with Gigwise that the album released with the graphic novel, titled I C U: Music to Read To, is an ambient music album meant to be listened to while reading.

On January 23, 2019, Billboard announced Poppy would star in the augmented-reality experience A Jester's Tale created and directed by Asad J. Malik. It was produced by RYOT and 1RIC, premiering at the Sundance Film Festival as part of the New Frontier program. The storyline "transports viewers inside a child's bedroom to meet a cast of character holograms". The same month, she released a song entitled "Voicemail".

After attending the iHeartRadio awards in 2016, she returned in 2019 wearing a dress designed by Viktor & Rolf, and sat front row at their fashion show. Poppy revealed plans for a horror movie and her own music streaming service. She attended the Billboard Music Awards. Her song "Scary Mask" was released in May, and featured American rock band Fever 333. The song was included on her second EP, Choke, which was released on June 28, 2019.

In August 2019, Poppy signed with Sumerian Records and released her first single with them titled "Concrete" which served as the lead single from her third album. The second single "I Disagree" followed in October alongside the album pre-order, and it was also revealed to be the album's title track. In November, "Bloodmoney" served as the third single from I Disagree, which later earned a Grammy nomination for Best Metal Performance, making her the first solo female artist to be nominated in the category. "Fill The Crown" was released as the fourth single in December. A statement confirming that Poppy and Sinclair parted ways was released in December 2019. She accused him of glamorizing suicide and using this to manipulate her. Poppy stated that while on tour, Sinclair had attempted to coerce her by threatening to hang himself with an item of hers. She stated that Sinclair "lives an illusion that he is a gift to this earth". Responding to the fan speculations that some of her videos were "secret cries for help", Poppy noted that while it was not intentional, the videos projected a facet of reality and "people online sensed it a lot sooner than I did". Poppy stated regarding Mars Argo's allegations against Sinclair, "I was never 'an accomplice' to [Sinclair's] past actions like some believe — I was a person who suffered similar wrong doings as [Argo] brought to light."

Poppy's third studio album I Disagree was released on January 10, 2020. It peaked at number 130 on the Billboard 200, marking Poppy's first entry on the chart. An official music video for "Anything Like Me", was released alongside the album. On January 28, 2020, Poppy announced her second graphic novel, titled Poppy's Inferno, illustrated by Zoe Thorogood and Amilcar Pinna and co-written by Ryan Cady. After numerous delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was published on October 20 alongside a soundtrack album, Music to Scream To. In March, a music video for "Sit / Stay" was released. It was her first music video to be self-directed. In June, Poppy released a cover of the 2002 t.A.T.u. single, "All the Things She Said". In July, "Khaos x4" was released as the album's final single, and the deluxe version of Poppy's third album, titled I Disagree (more), later followed on August 14, 2020. She released a four-song Christmas EP, A Very Poppy Christmas on December 1, 2020.

2021–2022: Flux
In March 2021, Poppy performed live at the Grammys and debuted the song "Eat". In April, her song "Say Cheese" became the official theme song for professional wrestling show WWE NXT, following her performance at the aforementioned event on April 9, 2021. In May, Poppy released a cover of Jack Off Jill's song "Fear Of Dying". In June, she surprise-released her fourth EP, titled Eat (NXT Soundtrack) which features the previously performed songs "Eat" and "Say Cheese".

On December 29, 2020, Poppy announced that she had been working on the follow-up album to I Disagree, and said it will have "a completely different sonic vibe" to its predecessor. In June 2021, she released "Her" as the lead single from her fourth studio album Flux. In July, she announced that Flux would be released on September 24, 2021 and released the title track as the second single from the album. In August, she released "So Mean" as the third and final single from Flux with an accompanying music video. Poppy and Sumerian Records teamed up with Roblox for its first-ever listening party upon the release of the album, streaming Flux on the gaming platform. Music from the album was integrated throughout nine Roblox games, starting on September 24 and ending on September 26, 2021.

In January 2022, Poppy released a song about her cat Pi, titled "3.14" on YouTube. She also announced the Never Find My Place Tour, which started on March 8 in Sacramento, California, and ended on November 30 in Glasgow. On August 27, 2022, Poppy premiered a song at the Reading Festival called "FYB", an acronym for "Fuck You Back". In September, she signed with Republic and Lava Records, and released the song "FYB". It served as a single from her fifth EP Stagger, released in October. It was also announced that Stagger would be her only release under Republic and Lava Records. A music video for the title track was released alongside the EP. In December, Poppy began teasing new music, and announced that she is working on her next album.

2023–present: Zig
In 2023, Poppy returned to Sumerian Records, and released her fifth studio album Zig on October 27, 2023. In March 2023, Poppy announced "Church Outfit". The song was released in April as the lead single from Zig. The same month, she announced a co-headlining tour called the Godless/Goddess Tour with pop rock band Pvris. The tour started on August 18 and ended on September 15 and supporting acts include Pom Pom Squad and Tommy Genesis. In May, Poppy released a cover of Kittie's song "Spit". In June, she was featured alongside Danny Elfman on Stu Brooks' song "They'll Just Love You". In July, Poppy released the second single from Zig titled "Knockoff", when she also announced the released date of the album. The album's third single "Motorbike" was released in September. Zig 's fourth and final single "Hard" was released in October. In November, Poppy was announced as a support act for Thirty Seconds to Mars' 2024 world tour in the United States. In December, a music video for "Flicker" was released.

In January 2024, Poppy released "V.A.N." in collaboration with metalcore band Bad Omens. In April, she was featured on the Knocked Loose single "Suffocate". On June 4, 2024, Poppy released the single, "New Way Out", which was produced by former Bring Me the Horizon keyboardist and producer, Jordan Fish.

Musical style and influences
Poppy's musical style has been described as pop, heavy metal, rock, electronic, industrial, and experimental. More specifically, her music has covered various other genres including electropop, bubblegum pop, nu metal, pop-metal, dance-pop, art pop, experimental pop, synth-pop, avant-garde pop, dream pop, shoegaze, pop rock, pop punk, punk rock, hyperpop, hard rock, noise, ambient, grunge, metalcore, alternative pop, alternative rock, industrial metal, and industrial rock.

Poppy has been compared to artists such as Grimes, Icona Pop, Melanie Martinez, and Charli XCX. Poppy has described herself as a "kawaii Barbie child". She has described her music style as "music [that] makes you want to rule the world." Poppy states that she drew inspiration from genres such as J-pop and K-pop, as well as reggae. She recalls beginning to write music in 2012. She told Tiger Beat her musical inspirations are Cyndi Lauper, unicorns and Elvis Presley. She is a fan of Jimmy Eat World, No Doubt, Norma Jean, Blondie, Gary Numan, Of Montreal, and Madonna.

Public persona
Poppy has said that her stage name originated as a nickname given to her by a friend. A natural brunette, she has dyed her hair many colors, usually to match the aesthetic of each of her albums' respective eras.

Poppy's identity was initially kept guarded. She explained in 2016, "I don't want people to talk about how old I am; I want them to talk about what I'm making. [...] People, especially nowadays, are so obsessed with knowing everything. They'll have to invest their time in finding it." In 2018, stated that she originally kept her identity guarded due to being a survivor of past abuse.

Critical reception
Critics have both praised the catchiness of Poppy's music and described her persona as distant from reality. Racked called her "sweet, but alien" and "brightly addictive". In a review of I Disagree, Neil Z. Yeung of AllMusic called it "a metallic storm, informed by pulsing beats, thrashing riffs, and crushing breakdowns. That fury is punctuated by atmospheric electronics and sugary vocals that support her deceptively confrontational lyrics." David Mogendorff, who works in artist content and services for YouTube and Google Play Music, said she has "a strong J- and K-pop influence".

Poppy's YouTube channel is often regarded as a commentary on social media. Vice described the tone of the channel, saying in 2022, "If you have the patience to work your way through all the videos on this channel, certain trends start to emerge. The most obvious is Poppy's fixation with the internet and social media culture, which she claims to love. But far more interesting is the general tone of the videos, which have gotten progressively darker over the last two years." Gita Jackson of Kotaku suggested the videos are a commentary on the experience of being online, writing, "In a way, she's made every YouTube video, ever. Her channel is an index of every insincere apology, desperate bid for views and assurance that they couldn't do it without her fans you'll ever see. That Poppy is not only skewering the absurdity of people who make a living as public figures on the internet—she has it out for the entire experience of being online." Mogendorff said the videos are "like social commentary... touch[ing] on the anxieties of modern life" and "a really interesting way of communicating, personal but strange".

V magazine listed Poppy as part of the new generation of music, saying that "her hatched-from-an-egg, Glinda the Good Witch vibes have inspired labels from 'human ASMR' to a one-woman 'digital rabbit hole', none of which seem to stick". Paper magazine also listed Poppy as one of the 100 women revolutionizing pop music, noting that "no matter what Poppy does, we can learn to expect the unexpected". Alternative Press cited Poppy in their list of 20 artists who defined the sound of nu-metal.

Personal life
Poppy's potential gender questioning was one of the main themes of Am I a Girl?. In a 2019 interview, she stated that she identified as a woman and that she believes "everyone should be able to identify with whatever they choose".

In October 2019, Poppy began dating rapper Ghostemane. In July 2020, she announced on social media that the two were engaged. The couple separated and called off their engagement in late 2021.

In April 2020, Poppy began to post stylized make-up tutorials on her YouTube channel. She tweeted to explain, "My ex-boyfriend would always tell me I looked ugly without make-up on, and I should never been seen without it." She also claimed that the same ex-boyfriend was leaking her unreleased videos, photographs of her without make-up, and "very personal demos that only he has" such as a cover of the Pokémon theme song. In response to the alleged leak, she posted the cover of the Pokémon theme song herself.

Poppy is friends with rock singer Marilyn Manson.

Discography
Studio albums
 * Poppy.Computer (2017)
 * Am I a Girl? (2018)
 * I Disagree (2020)
 * Flux (2021)
 * Zig (2023)

Tours

 * Poppy.Computer Tour (2017–2018)
 * Am I a Girl? Tour (2018–2019)
 * Threesome Tour (2019; with Bring Me the Horizon and Sleeping with Sirens)
 * I Disagree Tour (2020)
 * Never Find My Place Tour (2022)
 * Godless/Goddess Tour (2023; with Pvris)
 * Zig Tour (2024)
 * Life is But a Dream Tour (2024; with Avenged Sevenfold and Sullivan King)