Play Destroy

The collaboration was first teased in a series of pictures on both Grimes and Poppy's social media accounts.^[2] Poppy revealed that Grimes followed her on Twitter and then Poppy messaged her asking for a collaboration.^[3] She confirmed that they wrote a couple of songs together, the first being about "destroying things" and the other being about "power", referencing Grimes' single "We Appreciate Power".^[4] However, following a feud between the two singers, the song featured American singer Hana instead of Poppy.^[5]

Shortly after the release of Am I a Girl?, Poppy revealed that Grimes bullied her during the making of "Play Destroy" stating:

"I was kind of bullied into submission by [Grimes] and her team of self-proclaimed feminists," she says. "We planned the song coming out months ago, and she was preventing it. I got to watch her bully songwriters into signing NDA and not taking credit for songs that they were a part of. She doesn't practice what she preaches."^[6]

Before Poppy's statement, a fan praised Grimes for the collaboration on Twitter and she replied with "meh".^[7] When responding to the allegations, Grimes said "Poppy, you dragged me into a disgusting situation and won't stop punishing me for not wanting to be a part of it. I don't want to work with you, you leaked the song anyway. U got what you want. Let it go."^[8][9]

"Play Destroy" is a synth-pop, industrial metal^[10] and nu-metal song.^[11] Following the sound of Poppy's "X" and "Am I a Girl?" Poppy refers to these songs as "Poppymetal".^[12]

Anna Gaca of Spin stated "[The song] is a game, I imagine, akin to 'playing doctor', with all its attendant potential for deviant behavior and doll mutilation".^[13] Tom Breihan of Stereogum said that Poppy and Grimes "should've been making music together forever". He continued praising the song stating "Grimes and Poppy both have freaked-out, conceptual takes on bright, gleaming pop music. It's an incredibly strange song, and it's also kind of amazing."^[14]