Am I a Girl? A Poppy Quiz

Answer: Concrete

'Concrete' - which was one of the songs that introduced me to Poppy - appears on her third album, 'I Disagree', and was the first song written for the album. Like several other songs written around the time, it is a mixture of pop and metal or, as Poppy called it, 'Poppymetal'; the middle section bears a startling resemblance to the Beach Boys' 'G-d Only Knows'.

Poppy dropped hints about the release of the single in August 2019 on social media with '8.22', the release date of the song, and skull, rose, hammer and coffin emojis; this is a reference to the video, where Poppy digs a hole in the ground in a rose garden.

Answer: Fill the Crown

'Fill the Crown' is the fourth single from 'I Disagree', released in December 2019. The video for the song is based on the Ingmar Bergman film 'The Seventh Seal', with Poppy being accompanied by a cloaked figure resembling Death. It was the last video to be directed by collaborator and producer Titanic Sinclair, before he and Poppy parted ways. Poppy uploaded a make-up tutorial for the make-up she wears in the video in April 2020.

The identity of the singer with the deep male voice is unknown, although some fans have speculated he is Marilyn Manson (and there is definitely a resemblance).

Answer: Scary Mask

'Scary Mask' appears on the EP 'Choke', although it was originally supposed to be on 'Am I a Girl?', and was released in May 2019. It is a collaboration with the rock-rap band Fever 333 and was written after 'X'; Poppy got the idea for the song after wearing a latex mask to the American Music Awards in 2018. Fever 333 guitarist Steve Harrison was a fan of Poppy's videos and he wrote the riff of the song, while singer Jason Aalon Butler contributed vocals.

Answer: FYB

'FYB' (I'm not going to tell you what the title of the song stands for - it's a bit rude!) was a precursor to Poppy's fifth album 'Zig' and appeared on the 'Stagger' EP released in September 2022. She debuted it at the 2022 Reading Festival, and also posted a teaser from the 'FYB' visualiser, which was a mixture of live action and black-and-white animation, on her Instagram. Poppy wrote the 'Stagger' EP over a three-week period in 2021 and used her old letters and diaries as inspiration.

Answer: I Disagree

'I Disagree' is the second single from the album of the same name, released in October 2019. 'Watashi wa anata ni doi shimasen' is Japanese for 'I disagree with you'. The storyline for the video features a nefarious group called 'Them', who are responsible for controlling Poppy's output from behind the scenes, and are said to be a cult.

Poppy had started experimenting with nu-metal on 'Am I a Girl?', and went more in that direction on 'I Disagree' while also wearing darker clothes and adopting a gothier image, with KISS-like make-up and a spiked collar on the cover. It was also the first album she released on Sumerian Records.

Answer: new way out

'new way out' is the first single from Poppy's sixth album 'Negative Spaces' and was released in November 2024. 'Negative Spaces' was musically more similar to 'Flux' and 'I Disagree', and was better received by critics than 'Zig'. 'new way out' was co-written with producer Jordan Fish and Stephen Harrison of Fever 333.

In the bridge, it interpolates the introduction from Disturbed's 'Down With the Sickness', while the spoken 'get up' line is a callback to 'Scary Mask'. The video was inspired by 'Alice in Wonderland', with a tiny Poppy facing off against a giant one.

Answer: So Mean

'So Mean' is the third single released from Poppy's fourth album 'Flux', released in September 2021. 'Flux' was notable for having much harsher vocals than previous Poppy albums, with plenty of metal screaming. It was produced by Justin Meldal-Johnsen, who had also worked with Beck, Nine Inch Nails and St Vincent. She also changed her image, going back to her natural black hair colour instead of bleached blonde.

Poppy posted a photo on her Instagram on 22nd August 2021 with the caption 'my head + my heart hate each other', a line from the song. 'So Mean' is one of her more personal songs; she stated that she 'wasn't liking the person that I was becoming' and 'was becoming a very angry person'.

Answer: BLOODMONEY

'BLOODMONEY' is the third single from 'I Disagree', released in November 2019. It was nominated for Best Metal Performance at the 2021 Grammy Awards, with Poppy being the first female solo artist to be nominated in that category (the eventual winner was 'Bum-Rush' by Body Count). It is influenced by industrial metal and makes heavy use of triplets in the rhythm of the vocal part. In October 2019, Poppy posted a teaser on her Instagram accompanied by the caption 'Your Soul Can't Be Saved *11.6*' and a blood emoji.

As well as taking aim at religious hypocrisy, the song was also inspired by Poppy's bad experiences with previous labels. The line 'Never forget the excess of a man/Because the grabbing hands always grab what they can' is a homage to Depeche Mode's 'Everything Counts'.

Answer: X

'X' is a single from Poppy's second album, 'Am I a Girl?', which signalled the start of Poppy's forays into nu-metal. It was written around the same time as 'Concrete' and, like 'Concrete', features sections that sound like the Beach Boys (including the bit from which the above line was taken). The band Blame Candy appeared in the video as Poppy's band; singer Chris Greatti has performed on several of Poppy's songs, and Blame Candy were her backing band until the 'I Disagree' tour.

The video is inspired by 'Carrie' and features Poppy covered in blood, a nod to the infamous prom scene. Poppy has stated that 'X' is both her favourite song and video from 'Am I a Girl?' There is also an acoustic version.

Answer: Church Outfit

'Church Outfit' is the first single from Poppy's 'Zig' and was released in April 2023. 'Zig' went with a more minimalist sound, compared to previous albums, and less aggressive vocals. Co-writer Simon Wilcox provided backing vocals on 'Church Outfit'. To promote the single, Poppy posted a teaser on her social media with the caption 'this is the dress I want to be buried in' in December 2022.

A month later, Poppy released a cover of 'Spit' by the Canadian metal band Kittie (who I loved as a teen, and in my opinion, she really did it justice). Kittie were fans of the cover and praised it on their social media accounts.