Like an unexpected virus, Poppy crept through the internet in 2014, quickly becoming the subject of rumours that suggested she might be a robot, a member of the Illuminati or a pawn subjected to mind control.
“I’m Poppy,” she says, plain and simple. But it’s not simple and she’s not plain. In one of her hundreds of videos on YouTube, she repeats those two words in her childlike monotone for ten minutes, sometimes displaying hints of boredom, sometimes excitement – the same phrase delivered in different manners. She’s a walking, exciting contradiction.
Such is the elusiveness of Poppy, she was unreachable for an interview. A shame given the anticipation surrounding the upcoming release of her third studio album, I Disagree, and her impending appearance at Good Things festival.
Poppy blurs the line between celebrity and commentator and embodies many things in-between. Pop star, actor, a composer of ambient music, a comicbook character, a smash hit YouTuber, a provocateur and a performance artist, she’s a mistress of various mediums.
Though there is one certainty we can rely on, a question that will likely remain for the duration of Poppy’s career: What will Poppy do next? This unknown is the only guarantee linked to Poppy, something people will question and wonder with wide-eyed enthusiasm as her unpredictable movements traverse not only music, but fashion.
Her music is a culmination of artists past, though the thing that truly makes this unique is its delivery. Poppy, who rarely interviews out of character, swept the digital world and the music scene away with her elusive persona and bubble-gum-pop vocals.
Her 2017 debut album, Poppy.Computer, took her airy voice and applied it to hyper-stylised, abundantly detailed gloss-pop – the new age of shoegaze, if you will. The album was slated by Sputnikmusic as, “an uncompelling debut from a paper thin character”, and yet that was only one example of Poppy affecting both sides of the fence.
On the opposing side, Rolling Stone placed the debut in their list of the 20 Best Pop Albums of 2017. The internet and the world were divided, was that Poppy’s intention?
The following year, with the release of Am I a Girl?, the same thing again – Immortal Reviews called Poppy “one of the most left field artists in the pop world”. In an interview with NME, one which painted Poppy as unabashedly juvenile, the singer described her tracks, saying, “One song is about destroying things, and the other song is about power. That’s all I can say.
“I think another element that is common on the album is questioning gender and identity. That’s the concept behind Am I A Girl?”
The evolution and unexpected artistry of Poppy continue – two singles have been released from her upcoming third studio album, ‘BLOODMONEY’ and ‘I Disagree’, both arguably an expansion on the style of the collaborative single ‘Play Destroy’ Poppy put out with Grimes.
The former is far more aggressive, exuding heavy metal elements beyond anything Poppy has previously put out. Likewise, ‘I Disagree’ is surprisingly hostile – there’s a grinding growl in the guitars and a warped character taking hold of Poppy’s vocals. The sweetness is there, though it’s accompanied by a darkness which is both terrifying and oddly captivating.
What should we expect from the rest of the album? The questions surrounding Poppy just don’t stop.
All the darkness of Marilyn Manson, the theatrics of Lady Gaga, a face like Kylie Jenner’s, the imagination of Aqua, and the charisma and mysterious allure of BABYMETAL – Poppy is a confusing concoction, though an enchanting one.
She has been successful because of the element of surprise, the secrecy with which she shrouds herself, and the constant, titillating guessing games she likes to play. Absent from this interview we are left only to wonder – what will Poppy do next?
Poppy will perform at Good Things at Flemington Racecourse on Friday December 6. Grab your tickets at goodthingsfestival.com.au.
