"Don't Play" is a song by English singer-songwriter

Anne-Marie Anne-Marie Rose Nicholson (born 7 April 1991) is an English singer. She has attained charting singles on the UK Singles Chart, including Clean Bandit's "Rockabye (song), Rockabye", which peaked at number one, as well as "Alarm (Anne-Marie song ...

, British YouTuber and rapper

KSI Olajide Olayinka Williams "JJ" Olatunji (born 19 June 1993), known professionally as KSI, is an English YouTuber and rapper. He is a co-founder and member of the British YouTube group known as the Sidemen. He is the CEO of Misfits Boxing and ...

, and English DJ and record producer

Digital Farm Animals Nick Gale, better known as Digital Farm Animals, is a British songwriter, music producer and DJ known for wearing an electronic pig helmet. He has featured on and co-written numerous tracks that have reached the top 10 of the UK Singles Chart, ...

. The song was written by the three artists alongside Mojam, Andrew Murray, S-X,

Richard Boardman Delphic were an alternative dance band from Manchester, England. They are signed to Polydor but released their first single "Counterpoint", produced by Ewan Pearson, in April 2009 through R&S Records. The band started out as a trio – Richard ...

and Pablo Bowman, with Digital Farm Animals and Mojam handling the song's production. The song was released for digital download and

streaming Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...

Asylum Records Asylum Records is an American record label, founded in 1971 by David Geffen and partner Elliot Roberts. It was taken over by Warner Communications (now the Warner Music Group) in 1972, and later merged with Elektra Records to become Elektra/As ...

and

Warner Music Group Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and t ...

on 15 January 2021 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 Anne-Marie's second studio album, ''

Therapy A therapy or medical treatment (often abbreviated tx, Tx, or Tx) is the attempted remediation of a health problem, usually following a medical diagnosis. As a rule, each therapy has indications and contraindications. There are many different ...

'' (2021) and the second

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

from KSI's second studio album, ''All Over the Place'' (2021). The

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

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 The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

and it has been

certified Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...

platinum by the

British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with th ...

(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 The Brit Award for Song of the Year is an award given by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), an organisation which represents record companies and artists in the United Kingdom. The accolade is presented at the Brit Awards, an annual celebra ...

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." 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 SIopened 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." KSI and Anne-Marie confirmed shortly after the release of "Don't Play" that they had already started working on a second collaboration.

Music and lyrics

Musically, "Don't Play" is a

UK garage UK garage, abbreviated as UKG, is a genre of electronic dance music which originated in England in the early to mid-1990s. The genre was most clearly inspired by garage house, but also incorporates elements from dance-pop, R&B, and jungle. It ...

and pop track. Constructed in

verse–chorus form Verse–chorus form is a musical form going back to the 1840s, in such songs as "Oh! Susanna", "The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze", and many others. It became passé in the early 1900s, with advent of the AABA (with verse) form in the Tin ...

, the song runs for 3 minutes and 8 seconds (3:08). In the song, Anne-Marie and KSI deliver emotive lyrics about heartache. 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. The song is structured in an almost conversational arrangement.

Release and promotion

On 4 January 2021, KSI shared a snippet of the instrumental to

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 ...

with the caption, "What female artist do you think would work well for this?" On 6 January 2021, he revealed via

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...

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 A pre-order is an order placed for an item that has not yet been released. The idea for pre-orders came because people found it hard to get popular items in stores because of their popularity. Companies then had the idea to allow customers to r ...

. "Don't Play" was released for digital download and

as a

on 15 January 2021 at 00:00 ( UTC) by

and

Warner Warner can refer to: People * Warner (writer) * Warner (given name) * Warner (surname) Fictional characters * Yakko, Wakko, and Dot Warner, stars of the animated television series ''Animaniacs'' * Aaron Warner, a character in ''Shatter Me s ...

. The song was accompanied by the release of a

lyric video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

to Anne-Marie's

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel on the same day.

Critical reception

"Don't Play" was met with positive reviews from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...

. ''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 A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

delivery", and called the song "instantly likeable and radio friendly".

GRM Daily GRM Daily (Grime & Rap Music Daily), formerly Grime Daily, is a British urban music outlet and entertainment platform. As the name suggests, the platform is an outlet for UK rap and its various genres, such as UK drill, afroswing, trap, and Briti ...

'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". ''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."

Music video

The

for "Don't Play" was directed by Troy Roscoe. The music video was filmed in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in mid-December 2020. The music video premiered on KSI's YouTube channel on 15 January 2021 at 10:00 (UTC). The music video opens with Anne-Marie being bullied by a group of girls. In order to overcome the bullies and fight back, Anne-Marie is trained to

fight Combat ( French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, or ...

by KSI. Anne-Marie becomes a fearless and take-no-prisoners fighter with a tough-girl mood, embodying the

underdog An underdog is a person or group in a competition, usually in sports and creative works, who is largely expected to lose. The party, team, or individual expected to win is called the favorite or top dog. In the case where an underdog wins, the ...

narrative. The video pays homage to Anne-Marie’s background in

Karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...

and KSI's participation in numerous

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

fights against other YouTubers. Anne-Marie revealed that she broke her finger during the music video shoot. 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; the second video was released to Digital Farm Animals' YouTube channel on 18 January 2021; the third video was released to KSI's YouTube channel on 19 January 2021, and the fourth video was released to Troy Roscoe's channel on 25 January 2021.

Commercial performance

In the United Kingdom, "Don't Play" was the country's most

downloaded In computer networks, download means to ''receive'' data from a remote system, typically a server such as a web server, an FTP server, an email server, or other similar system. This contrasts with uploading, where data is ''sent to'' a remote s ...

song in its first week of release. It debuted at number two on the

, making it the highest-placed new entry of that week, with first week sales of approximately 39,000 track-equivalent units. The song remained on the chart for a total of 27 weeks. On 24 September 2021, "Don't Play" was

platinum by the

(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 The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are bas ...

, making it the highest-placed new entry of that week. It remained on the chart for a total of 23 weeks. In the United States, "Don't Play" debuted at number 12 on the

Hot Dance/Electronic Songs The Dance/Electronic Songs chart has been published weekly by ''Billboard'' since January 2013. It is the first chart to be published that ranks the most popular dance and electronic songs according to audience impressions, digital downloads, s ...

chart. It was the country's 98th highest-selling

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

track of 2021.

Awards and nominations

Credits and 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 ...

. *

songwriting, vocals *

bass, drums, keyboard, percussion, piano, production, songwriting, sound effects, strings, synthesizer * Mojamdrums, keyboard, production, programming, songwriting, sound effects, synthesizer * Andrew Murrayharp, live strings, songwriting * Sam Gumbleyengineering, songwriting *

songwriting * Pablo Bowmansongwriting * Kevin Graingerengineering, mastering, mixing *Rob MacFarlaneengineering * Cameron Gower Pooleengineering

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

* * * * {{KSI 2021 songs 2021 singles Anne-Marie (singer) songs KSI songs Digital Farm Animals songs Songs about heartache Songs written by Anne-Marie (singer) Songs written by KSI Songs written by Digital Farm Animals Songs written by Mustafa Omer Songs written by Richard Boardman Songs written by Pablo Bowman Songs written by S-X Song recordings produced by Digital Farm Animals Song recordings produced by Mojam Asylum Records singles Warner Music Group singles UK garage songs Male–female vocal duets