Don't Play

"Don't Play" is a song by British singer-songwriter Anne-Marie, British YouTuber and rapper KSI and British DJ and record producer Digital Farm Animals. The song was released for digital download and streaming as a single on 15 January 2021 by Asylum Records and Warner, along with an accompanying music video. The song charted at number two in the United Kingdom and also reached the music charts of 10 other countries.

For the Halsey song, see Hopeless Fountain Kingdom.

"Don't Play"
Single by Anne-Marie, KSI and Digital Farm Animals
Released15 January 2021 (2021-01-15)
GenreUK garage
Length3:08
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Digital Farm Animals
  • Mojam
Anne-Marie singles chronology
"Problems"
(2020)		 "Don't Play"
(2021)
KSI singles chronology
"Really Love"
(2020)		 "Don't Play"
(2021)
Digital Farm Animals singles chronology
"Home Sweet Home"
(2020)		 "Don't Play"
(2021)
Music video
"Don't Play" on YouTube

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 track.[3][4] 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]

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. The staff of 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". They 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 and earned the highest new entry on the UK Singles Chart, debuting at number two.[19][20] In Ireland, "Don't Play" was the highest new entry on the Irish Singles Chart, debuting at number nine.[21] In the United States, the song debuted at number 12 on the Billboard Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart.[22]

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.[23]

  • Anne-Marie – songwriter, vocals
  • KSI – songwriter, vocals
  • Digital Farm Animals – producer, songwriter, bass, drums, keyboard, percussion, piano, sound effects, strings, synthesizer
  • Mojam – producer, songwriter, drums, keyboard, programming, sound effects, synthesizer
  • Andrew Murray – songwriter, harp, live strings
  • Sam Gumbley – songwriter, vocal engineer
  • Richard Boardman – songwriter
  • Pablo Bowman – songwriter
  • Kevin Grainger – engineer, masterer, mixer
  • Cameron Gower Poole – vocal engineer
  • Rob Macfarlane – vocal recording engineer

Charts
Chart performance for "Don't Play"
Chart (2021) Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratip Flanders)[24] 17
Belgium (Ultratop Flanders Dance)[25] 42
Belgium (Ultratop Wallonia Dance)[26] 28
Czech Republic (Rádio Top 100)[27] 47
Euro Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[28] 4
Billboard Global 200[29] 150
Billboard Global Excl. US[30] 79
Hungary (Single Top 40)[31] 20
Ireland (IRMA)[32] 9
Lithuania (AGATA)[33] 99
Macedonia (Radiomonitor)[34] 2
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40 Tipparade)[35] 20
Netherlands (Single Tip)[36] 7
New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ)[37] 4
Sweden Heatseeker (Sverigetopplistan)[38] 18
UK Singles (OCC)[39] 2
US Hot Dance/Electronic Songs (Billboard)[22] 12

Release history
Release dates and formats for "Don't Play"
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
Various 15 January 2021
United Kingdom Contemporary hit radio [40]

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. "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. 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 2020. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  4. 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. "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... 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 😈". 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. 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 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.
  14. "WATCH: Anne-Marie Explains How She Broke Her Finger On 'Don't Play' Shoot". Capital FM. 20 January 2021. Archived from the original on 20 January 2021. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  15. "Anne-Marie x KSI x Digital Farm Animals - Don't Play [Anne-Marie Behind The Scenes Video]". 16 January 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2021 – via YouTube.
  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)".
  19. "Olivia Rodrigo's Drivers License cruises to second week at UK Number 1 with huge streams". Official Charts Company. 22 January 2021. Archived from the original on 22 January 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  20. "KSI | full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  21. "Olivia Rodrigo races to a second week at Number 1 on the Official Irish Singles Chart with Drivers License". Official Charts Company. 22 January 2021. Archived from the original on 22 January 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  22. "Anne-Marie Chart History (Hot Dance/Electronic Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  23. "Anne-Marie, KSI, Digital Farm Animals / Don't Play / Credits". Tidal. Archived from the original on 15 January 2021. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  24. "Ultratop.be – Anne-Marie x KSI x Digital Farm Animals – Don't Play" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  25. "Ultratop Flanders Dance (30 January 2021 2020)". Ultratop. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  26. "Ultratop Wallonia Dance (6 February 2021)". Ultratop. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  27. "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – RADIO – TOP 100 and insert 20215 into search. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  28. "Anne-Marie Chart History (Euro Digital Song Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  29. "Anne-Marie Chart History (Global 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  30. "Anne-Marie Chart History (Global Excl. US)". Billboard. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  31. "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  32. "Official Irish Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  33. "2021 3-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. 22 January 2021. Archived from the original on 22 January 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  34. "Macedonia - Radio airplay chart". Radiomonitor. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  35. "Tipparade-lijst van week 6, 2021" [Tip parade list from week 6, 2021] (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  36. "Dutch Single Tip 23/01/2021". MegaCharts. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  37. "NZ Hot Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 25 January 2021. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  38. "Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 3". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  39. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  40. "Capital FM Playlist". Capital FM. Archived from the original on 15 January 2021. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
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