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Don't Play

For the Halsey song, see Hopeless Fountain Kingdom.
For the Polo G song, see Hall of Fame 2.0.
For the Travis Scott song, see Days Before Rodeo.

"Don't Play"
Cartoon illustrations of Anne-Marie, KSI and Digital Farm Animals, dressed in sportswear, in the centre of a red background. The title "Don't Play" appears in large font at the bottom, with the three artists' names in small white font below.
Single by Anne-Marie, KSI and Digital Farm Animals
from the album Therapy and All Over the Place
Released15 January 2021
Genre
Length3:08
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Digital Farm Animals
  • Mojam
Anne-Marie singles chronology
"Problems"
(2020) 		"Don't Play"
(2021) 		"Way Too Long"
(2021)
KSI singles chronology
"Really Love"
(2020) 		"Don't Play"
(2021) 		"Patience"
(2021)
Digital Farm Animals singles chronology
"Home Sweet Home"
(2020) 		"Don't Play"
(2021) 		"Last Night"
(2021)
Music video
"Don't Play" on YouTube

"Don't Play" is a song by English musicians Anne-Marie, KSI, and Digital Farm Animals. It was written alongside Andrew Murray, S-X, Richard Boardman of the disbanded Delphic, Pablo Bowman, and Mojam, who produced it with Digital Farm Animals. The song was released for digital download and streaming by Asylum Records and Warner Music Group on 15 January 2021 as the lead single from Anne-Marie's second studio album, Therapy (2021) and the second single from KSI's second studio album, All Over the Place (2021). The music video was released on 15 January 2021.

"Don't Play" received positive reviews from music critics. The song debuted at number two on the UK Singles Chart and it has been certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for exceeding sales of 600,000 units in the UK. The song additionally entered the music charts of Belgium, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Ireland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Romania, Sweden and the United States. "Don't Play" was nominated for the BRIT Award for Song of the Year at the 2022 ceremony.

Writing and production

Speaking about collaborating with Anne-Marie, KSI said, "I was just gassed man. I heard the song and thought, 'Anne-Marie has absolutely made this a hit'. It was a good song but she made it insane. I was so gassed."[1] Speaking about collaborating with KSI, Anne-Marie said, ""I am very open and honest and I try to be as down to earth as I can be all the time, but meeting JJ [KSI] opened my eyes even more. He is so real, it was very inspiring. He taught me to be myself and not to change myself for anyone. And his laugh is as crazy as mine. I was so happy about that."[2] KSI and Anne-Marie confirmed shortly after the release of "Don't Play" that they had already started working on a second collaboration.[2]

Music and lyrics

Musically, "Don't Play" is a UK garage and pop track.[3][4][5] Constructed in verse–chorus form, the song runs for 3 minutes and 8 seconds (3:08).

In the song, Anne-Marie and KSI deliver emotive lyrics about heartache.[4] Anne-Marie pleads with KSI to not play with her heart, before KSI responds with his own emotive out-pouring of how much he misses her, how much she means to him and how she's blanking him.[5] The song is structured in an almost conversational arrangement.[5]

It is composed in a key of F-sharp minor with a tempo of 128 beats per minute.

Release and promotion

On 4 January 2021, KSI shared a snippet of the instrumental to Twitter with the caption, "What female artist do you think would work well for this?"[6] On 6 January 2021, he revealed via social media that the song is a collaboration with Anne-Marie and Digital Farm Animals, titled "Don't Play", and the song was made available for pre-order.[7][8] "Don't Play" was released for digital download and streaming as a single on 15 January 2021 at 00:00 (UTC) by Asylum Records and Warner. The song was accompanied by the release of a lyric video to Anne-Marie's YouTube channel on the same day.[9]

Critical reception

"Don't Play" was met with positive reviews from music critics. Contact Music called "Don't Play" a "floor-filling banger" with "an infectious beat and some great vocal interplay between Anne-Marie and KSI". They found that Anne-Marie's "sweet harmonies contrast and compliment KSI's deeper, almost baritone delivery", and called the song "instantly likeable and radio friendly".[5] GRM Daily's Courtney Wynter called Anne-Marie's vocals "delicate" and said that "KSI switches things up by delivering some affectionate lyrics with a more melodic approach than we’re used to".[3] CelebMix's Katrina Rees said that the song "showcases Anne-Marie’s distinct vocals" and "KSI’s effortless flow", calling the song "uplifting" and a "low-key banger."[4]

Music video

The music video for "Don't Play" was directed by Troy Roscoe.[3] The music video was filmed in London in mid-December 2020.[10] The music video premiered on KSI's YouTube channel on 15 January 2021 at 10:00 (UTC).[11][12]

The music video opens with Anne-Marie being bullied by a group of girls.[4] In order to overcome the bullies and fight back, Anne-Marie is trained to fight by KSI.[4] Anne-Marie becomes a fearless and take-no-prisoners fighter with a tough-girl mood, embodying the underdog narrative.[3][4][10][13] The video pays homage to Anne-Marie’s background in Karate and KSI's participation in numerous boxing fights against other YouTubers.[4] Anne-Marie revealed that she broke her finger during the music video shoot.[14]

Four behind-the-scenes videos of the music video shoot have been released: the first video was released to Anne-Marie's YouTube channel on 16 January 2021;[15] the second video was released to Digital Farm Animals' YouTube channel on 18 January 2021;[16] the third video was released to KSI's YouTube channel on 19 January 2021,[17] and the fourth video was released to Troy Roscoe's channel on 25 January 2021. [18]

Commercial performance

In the United Kingdom, "Don't Play" was the country's most downloaded song in its first week of release. It debuted at number two on the UK Singles Chart, making it the highest-placed new entry of that week, with first week sales of approximately 39,000 track-equivalent units.[19][20] The song remained on the chart for a total of 27 weeks. On 24 September 2021, "Don't Play" was certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for exceeding sales of 600,000 track-equivalent units in the UK.

In the Republic of Ireland, "Don't Play" debuted at number nine on the Irish Singles Chart, making it the highest-placed new entry of that week.[21] It remained on the chart for a total of 23 weeks.[22] In the United States, "Don't Play" debuted at number 12 on the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart.[23] It was the country's 98th highest-selling dance track of 2021.

Awards and nominations

Awards and nominations for "Don't Play"
Year Award Category Result Ref.
2022 BRIT Awards Song of the Year Nominated [24]

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.[25]

  • Anne-Marie – songwriting, vocals
  • KSI – songwriting, vocals
  • Digital Farm Animals – bass, drums, keyboard, percussion, piano, production, songwriting, sound effects, strings, synthesizer
  • Mojam – drums, keyboard, production, programming, songwriting, sound effects, synthesizer
  • Andrew Murray – harp, live strings, songwriting
  • Sam Gumbley – engineering, songwriting
  • Richard Boardman – songwriting
  • Pablo Bowman – songwriting
  • Kevin Grainger – engineering, mastering, mixing
  • Rob MacFarlane – engineering
  • Cameron Gower Poole – engineering

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for "Don't Play"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[45] Platinum 600,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release dates and formats for "Don't Play"
Region Date Format(s) Version Label(s) Ref.
Various 15 January 2021
Original
United Kingdom Contemporary hit radio [46]
Various 11 February 2021
Acoustic [citation needed]
19 February 2021 Franklin Remix
25 February 2021 Shane Codd Remix
11 March 2021 Nathan Dawe Remix

See also

References

  1. ^ Rees, Natalie (21 January 2021). "Exclusive: Anne-Marie, KSI and Digital Farm Animals chat about new track 'Don't Play'". Planet Radio. Archived from the original on 23 January 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Anne-Marie and KSI to work on new track together". The List. 23 January 2021. Archived from the original on 23 January 2021. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d Wynter, Courtney (15 January 2021). "KSI, Anne-Marie & Digital Farm Animals Team Up In Fresh 'Don't Play' Visuals". GRM Daily. Archived from the original on 15 January 2021. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Rees, Katrina (15 January 2021). "Anne-Marie, KSI & Digital Farm Animals release new single 'Don't Play'". CelebMix. Archived from the original on 15 January 2021. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d "Anne-Marie x KSI x Digital Farm Animals - Don't Play Video". Contact Music. 15 January 2021. Archived from the original on 15 January 2021. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  6. ^ KSI [@KSI] (4 January 2021). "What Female Artist do you think would work well for this?" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 15 January 2021. Retrieved 15 January 2021 – via Twitter.
  7. ^ KSI [@KSI] (6 January 2021). "New tune. @AnneMarie @DigiFarmAnimals and ya boy. Was funny looking at all your replies to my last tweet. So trust, when you hear this... https://lnk.to/DontPlay" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 15 January 2021. Retrieved 15 January 2021 – via Twitter.
  8. ^ KSI (6 January 2020). "New tune! Link in my bio to get the track. Anne-Marie, Digital Farm Animals, and ya boy. Enjoy 😈". Archived from the original on 24 December 2021. Retrieved 15 January 2021 – via Instagram.
  9. ^ "Anne-Marie x KSI x Digital Farm Animals - Don't Play [Official Lyric Video]". 15 January 2021. Retrieved 15 January 2021 – via YouTube.
  10. ^ a b Johnston, Kathleen (15 January 2021). "Anne-Marie: '2020 completely changed my life'". GQ. Archived from the original on 15 January 2021. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  11. ^ "Anne-Marie x KSI x Digital Farm Animals - Don't Play [Official Music Video]". 15 January 2021. Retrieved 15 January 2021 – via YouTube.
  12. ^ Anne-Marie [@AnneMarie] (14 January 2021). "#DontPlay video!!!! 10AM GMT TOMORROW See you there https://youtu.be/qjQjxpnwVZw @KSI @DigiFarmAnimals" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 15 January 2021. Retrieved 15 January 2021 – via Twitter.
  13. ^ Bain, Katie (15 January 2021). "Real-Life Martial Arts Champ Anne-Marie Isn't Playing in Video for KSI & Digital Farm Animals Collab". Billboard. Archived from the original on 16 January 2021. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
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  16. ^ "Anne-Marie x KSI x Digital Farm Animals - Don't Play [Digital Farm Animals Behind The Scenes Video]". 18 January 2021. Retrieved 18 January 2021 – via YouTube.
  17. ^ "Anne-Marie x KSI x Digital Farm Animals - Don't Play [KSI Behind The Scenes Video]". 19 January 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2021 – via YouTube.
  18. ^ Roscoe, Troy (25 January 2021). "How I Made The Dont Play Video For KSI & Anne-Marie (Directors Behind The Scenes)". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2 February 2021.
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  26. ^ "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 25 January 2021". The ARIA Report. No. 1612. Australian Recording Industry Association. 16 June 2023. p. 9.
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