"Cry" is a song by American singer and rapper
Ashnikko
Ashton Nicole Casey (born February 19, 1996), known professionally as Ashnikko ( ), is an American singer, rapper, and songwriter. They rose to prominence with their 2019 single "Stupid" with (Yung) Baby Tate, which gained viral popularity on t ...
featuring vocals from Canadian singer-songwriter
Grimes
Claire Elise Boucher (; born March 17, 1988), known professionally as Grimes, is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Her early work has been described as extending from "lo-fi R&B" to futuristic dance-pop, and has i ...
. It was released on June 17, 2020 through
Parlophone Records
Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a German–British record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 192 ...
as the
lead single
A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date.
Release s ...
from Ashnikko's debut mixtape, ''
Demidevil
''Demidevil'' (stylized in all caps) is the debut mixtape by American singer-songwriter and rapper Ashnikko. It was released on January 15, 2021, through Parlophone and Warner Records. The mixtape was supported by four singles: "Cry" featuring ...
''. It was produced by Ebenezer and written by Ashnikko, Grimes, Ebenezer, and
Faangs. A
nu metal,
rap rock, and
hyperpop
Hyperpop is a loosely-defined music movement and microgenre that predominantly originated in the United Kingdom during the early-to-mid 2010s. It is characterized by a maximalist or exaggerated take on popular music, and artists within the genr ...
track, its lyrics are dedicated to Ashnikko's ex-best friend who had sex with her ex-boyfriend.
The song was met with generally positive reviews from music critics, and was included on
NPR
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
's list of the best songs of 2020. The
anime
is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...
-style
CGI-animated music video for the song was directed by Mike Anderson and released the same day as the song. It was nominated for Best Pop Video – UK at the
2020 UK Music Video Awards.
Background and release
Ashnikko originally wrote "Cry" out of a desire to write a song reminiscent of American rock band
Evanescence
Evanescence is an American rock band founded in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1995 by singer and musician Amy Lee and guitarist Ben Moody. After recording independent EPs as a duo in the late 90's, and a demo CD, Evanescence released their debut ...
as a joke, but came to like the sound of the track and decided to expand upon it. After Grimes followed Ashnikko on
Instagram, Ashnikko sent her a direct message asking her to appear as a featured artist on one of her songs, to which Grimes agreed.
The song was co-written with Canadian singer-songwriter
Faangs.
The song was announced on May 27, 2020, while its release date was originally announced as June 3, 2020 via Ashnikko's
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
account. The release was postponed in response to the
George Floyd protests
The George Floyd protests were a series of protests and civil unrest against police brutality and racism that began in Minneapolis on May 26, 2020, and largely took place during 2020. The civil unrest and protests began as part of internat ...
, with Ashnikko tweeting "Now is NOT the time to be promoting music."
It was released as the
lead single
A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date.
Release s ...
from her 2021 mixtape ''
Demidevil
''Demidevil'' (stylized in all caps) is the debut mixtape by American singer-songwriter and rapper Ashnikko. It was released on January 15, 2021, through Parlophone and Warner Records. The mixtape was supported by four singles: "Cry" featuring ...
'', and became Grimes's first release after giving birth to X Æ A-12, her son with
Elon Musk
Elon Reeve Musk ( ; born June 28, 1971) is a business magnate and investor. He is the founder, CEO and chief engineer of SpaceX; angel investor, CEO and product architect of Tesla, Inc.; owner and CEO of Twitter, Inc.; founder of The ...
.
The track was released on June 17, 2020. A
heavy metal version of the song featuring the band
Employed to Serve was released on August 4, 2020.
Composition
"Cry" has been described as
nu metal,
rap rock,
and
hyperpop
Hyperpop is a loosely-defined music movement and microgenre that predominantly originated in the United Kingdom during the early-to-mid 2010s. It is characterized by a maximalist or exaggerated take on popular music, and artists within the genr ...
. A distorted "
emo
Emo is a rock music genre characterized by emotional, often confessional lyrics. It emerged as a style of and hardcore punk from the Washington D.C. hardcore punk scene, where it was known as emotional hardcore or emocore and pioneered b ...
-adjacent"
guitar riff and
trap
A trap is a mechanical device used to capture or restrain an animal for purposes such as hunting, pest control, or ecological research.
Trap or TRAP may also refer to:
Art and entertainment Films and television
* ''Trap'' (2015 film), Fil ...
drums make up the song's instrumentation.
The first verse is rapped by Ashnikko, which transitions into a chorus sung by Ashnikko in a raspy,
belted "scream", followed by the second verse sung by Grimes in an "eerie"
whisper.
The song's lyrics were written about an old best friend of Ashnikko's who had sex with her ex-boyfriend, with Ashnikko asking the friend, "Bitch, are you tryna make me cry?/Are you tryna make me lose it?". Grimes's verse features heavy reverb and references the
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
play ''
Richard III'' with the lyric, "This is the winter of my discontent".
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
's Fred Thomas described the song as "jittery", while Elly Watson of ''
DIY
"Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and sem ...
'' described it as "feisty". Ed Power of ''
Hot Press
''Hot Press'' is a fortnightly music and politics magazine based in Dublin, Ireland, founded in June 1977. The magazine has been edited since its inception by Niall Stokes.
History
''Hot Press'' was founded in June 1977 by Niall Stokes, who co ...
'' deemed it "terrifying".
Critical reception
Brendan Wetmore of ''
Paper
Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, rags, grasses or other vegetable sources in water, draining the water through fine mesh leaving the fibre evenly distrib ...
'' called the song "an ambitious burst of anger" and "one of
shnikko'smost expansive
ongs sonically".
Ashley Reese of ''
'' wrote that the track "does a great job making the case that nu-metal revival is for the girls", adding, "Honestly, my only complaint is that the two-minute and five-second long song isn’t longer."
Megan Townsend of ''
Crack Magazine'' wrote that "Cry" was a "good introduction to
shnikko'sworld as any", calling it "brilliant".
Chris DeVille of ''
Stereogum'' called it "crunching" and "guitar-powered", stating, "Where modern nu-metal/pop hybrids are concerned, it's as good as anything
Rina Sawayama
is a Japanese–British singer-songwriter, actress and model. Born in Niigata, Japan, she emigrated to London with her parents at age five. She is known for her musical versatility and has been labelled a "musical chameleon". In 2017, she ...
has done so far." In a ''
PopMatters
''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...
'' review of ''Demidevil'', Nick Malone wrote that the song was one of several songs on the mixtape that was "serviceable, if forgettable", describing its chorus as "impassioned" and its verses as "weak".
NPR
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
named "Cry" the 84th best song of 2020, with LaTesha Harris writing, "The strength of 'Cry' is in the duality...the track – campy
hyperpop
Hyperpop is a loosely-defined music movement and microgenre that predominantly originated in the United Kingdom during the early-to-mid 2010s. It is characterized by a maximalist or exaggerated take on popular music, and artists within the genr ...
inspired by nu-metal acts like Evanescence – is expansive and vulnerable, oscillating between vicious, throat-punching shrieks and delicate, honeyed breaths."
Music video
The music video for "Cry" was released on the same day as the song. It was directed by Mike Anderson and made as a
CGI animation, partially due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
as well as
Grimes's pregnancy.
The video was inspired by
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...
and
anime
is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...
.
Synopsis
The video begins with a green-haired girl running down an alleyway in a dilapidated city, then hiding behind a destroyed car. Ashnikko, who appears as a demon with three heads and chunks of her body missing, begins chasing after the green-haired girl, who shoots at Ashnikko but trips. Ashnikko picks the girl up by the neck to see that she is wearing a pendant with half of a broken heart before ripping her body in half.
A flashback shows Ashnikko, this time with no mutations, floating inside the head of a
mecha
In science fiction, or mechs are giant robots or machines controlled by people, typically depicted as humanoid walking vehicles. The term was first used in Japanese after shortening the English loanword or , but the meaning in Japanese is ...
in space, starting to cry when she sees her pendant, which has the other half of the broken heart. In a dark forest, Grimes, who is depicted as a group of identical fairies, shoots a beam of light into the sky, which hits the mecha, causing it to explode. Ashnikko starts floating in outer space, before Grimes taps her head, causing her to morph into her distorted, three-headed version. Back in the city, Ashnikko walks towards the green-haired girl and begins to mutate as Grimes's heads start to grow out of her limbs.
Reception and accolades
The video was named the fifth best music video released in June 2020 by ''
Pitchfork
A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves.
The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...
'', with writer Eric Torres writing, "Equal parts frantic action thriller and intergalactic anime, 'Cry' dazzles even as it turns grisly."
Writing for ''Paper'', Brendan Wetmore referred to the video as "a wild trip through Ashnikko's most glorious nightmares" and "an experience that is literally out of this world."
''Dork'''s Jamie Muir called the video a "must-watch" and "a gory out-of-this-world trip".
In a less positive review of the video, ''Jezebel''s Ashley Reese wrote, "I can take it or leave it."
"Cry" was nominated for Best Pop Video - UK at the
2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...
UK Music Video Awards
The UK Music Video Awards is an annual celebration of creativity, technical excellence and innovation in music video and moving image for music. The awards began in 2008. There is a wide range of opportunities for UK individuals and companies to ...
.
Personnel
Credits adapted from
Tidal
Tidal is the adjectival form of tide.
Tidal may also refer to:
* ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple
* Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim
* TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music
* Tidal (servic ...
.
*
Ashnikko
Ashton Nicole Casey (born February 19, 1996), known professionally as Ashnikko ( ), is an American singer, rapper, and songwriter. They rose to prominence with their 2019 single "Stupid" with (Yung) Baby Tate, which gained viral popularity on t ...
vocals, songwriting
*
Grimes
Claire Elise Boucher (; born March 17, 1988), known professionally as Grimes, is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Her early work has been described as extending from "lo-fi R&B" to futuristic dance-pop, and has i ...
vocals, songwriting
* Ebenezerproduction, songwriting, programming, recording
* Matt Wolachassistant production
*
Melissa Storwicksongwriting
* John Greenhammastering
*
Mark "Spike" Stent
Mark "Spike" Stent (born 3 August 1965) is an English record producer and mixing engineer who has worked with many international artists including Madonna, Marshmello, U2, Beyoncé, Björk, Depeche Mode, Echo & The Bunnymen, Grimes, Ed She ...
mixing
Charts
References
{{authority control
2020 songs
2020 singles
Ashnikko songs
Grimes songs
Rap rock songs
Nu metal songs
Futurepop songs
Warner Music Group singles
Parlophone singles
Songs written by Ashnikko
Hyperpop songs