"Daisy" is a song by American singer-songwriter 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 ...

. It was released through

Parlophone 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 ...

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 July 9, 2020, as the second single 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 ...

''. The song was written by Ashnikko and Slinger and produced by Slinger. It is a pop-

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 ...

and

alt-pop Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commerci ...

song with elements of

EDM EDM or E-DM may refer to: Music * Electronic dance music * Early Day Miners, American band Science and technology * Electric dipole moment * Electrical discharge machining * Electronic distance measurement *Entry, Descent, and landing demonstrat ...

, and lyrically revolves around the character Daisy, who Ashnikko created as a vigilante who kills rapists and leaves daisies behind as a calling card. The music video for "Daisy" was released on August 7, 2020 and directed by Charlotte Rutherford. It was created in collaboration with

Beats by Dre Beats Electronics LLC (also known as Beats by Dr. Dre, or simply Beats by Dre) is an American consumer audio products manufacturer headquartered in Culver City, California. The company was founded by music producer Dr. Dre and record company exec ...

and

TikTok TikTok, known in China as Douyin (), is a short-form video hosting service owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which can range in duration from 15 seconds to 10 minutes. TikTok is an international version ...

, and heavily features

user-generated content User-generated content (UGC), alternatively known as user-created content (UCC), is any form of content, such as images, videos, text, testimonials, and audio, that has been posted by users on online platforms such as social media, discussion f ...

from

. "Daisy" peaked at number 24 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 ...

, becoming her first charting song as well as her first top-40 single in the United Kingdom. The song also peaked at number 3 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Bubbling Under Hot 100 Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

chart and number 74 on the

Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. The Canadian Hot 100 was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007, and is currently the standard record chart in Canada; a n ...

. A remix of the song featuring Japanese vocaloid

Hatsune Miku , also called Miku Hatsune, and officially code-named CV01, is a Vocaloid software voicebank developed by Crypton Future Media and its official moe anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic mascot character, a 16-year-old girl with long, turquoise bu ...

, "Daisy 2.0", was released on December 11, 2020.

Background

Upon releasing "Daisy", Ashnikko revealed that she had been waiting to release the song for a year. In an interview with

Genius Genius is a characteristic of original and exceptional insight in the performance of some art or endeavor that surpasses expectations, sets new standards for future works, establishes better methods of operation, or remains outside the capabiliti ...

, she revealed that Daisy had been her favorite song she had ever written at the time of its release. The album cover for Daisy features the character of Daisy herself. For the Daisy 2.0 cover and video, the character is seen as all grown up and with

Composition

"Daisy" has been described as an "empowering anthem", which combines pop-

and

along with elements of

in its production. The song is written in the key of

E♭ major E-flat major (or the key of E-flat) is a major scale based on E♭ (musical note), E, consisting of the pitches E, F (musical note), F, G (musical note), G, A♭ (musical note), A, B♭ (musical note), B, C (musical note), C, and D (musical note), ...

. According to Ashnikko, "Daisy" was written from the perspective of the song's

title character The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piece. The title of ...

, Daisy, a rapist-killing

vigilante Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without Right, legal authority. A vigilante (from Spanish, Italian and Portuguese “vigilante”, which means "sentinel" or "watcher") is a pers ...

and

dominatrix A dominatrix (; ) or femdom is a woman who takes the dominant role in BDSM activities. A dominatrix can be of any sexual orientation, but this does not necessarily limit the genders of her submissive partners. Dominatrices are known for inflic ...

who wears exclusively latex and

platform shoe Platform shoes are shoes, boots, or sandals with an obvious thick sole, usually in the range of . Platform shoes may also be high heels, in which case the heel is raised significantly higher than the ball of the foot. Extreme heights, of bot ...

s and leaves behind daisies as a calling card, hence the lyric, "I bite back, daisies on your nightstand".

Critical reception

"Daisy" received positive reviews from music critics. Salvatore Maicki of ''

The Fader ''The Fader'' (stylized as ''FADER'') is a magazine based in New York City that was launched in 1999 by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture. It was the first print publication to be released on iTunes. It is o ...

'' praised the song, writing, "The song is as defiant as it is deranged, and we'll gladly lap up every second of it." Writing for ''

God Is in the TV ''God Is in the TV'' is an independent music and culture online magazine founded by editor Bill Cummings in Cardiff in 2003. It publishes independent music reviews, features, interviews, podcasts and media. The webzine's coverage varies from un ...

'', Lloyd Best wrote, "Unhinged with a helping of genius and insanity from the jump, this trap-inspired anthem of empowerment is bold and energetic," and compared the song to the music of

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 in ...

Poppy A poppy is a flowering plant in the subfamily Papaveroideae of the family Papaveraceae. Poppies are herbaceous plants, often grown for their colourful flowers. One species of poppy, ''Papaver somniferum'', is the source of the narcotic drug opi ...

, and

Qveen Herby Amy Renee Heidemann Noonan (born April 29, 1986), known professionally as Qveen Herby, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and entrepreneur. Born and raised in Seward, Nebraska, she first gained fame as part of the music duo Karmin, with wh ...

. ''

The Line of Best Fit ''The Line of Best Fit'' is an independent online magazine based in London, concentrating on new music. It publishes independent music reviews, features, interview, and media. Founded by Richard Thane in February 2007 and currently edited by P ...

''s Cerys Kenneally called the song "cold and empowering".

Music video

The music video for "Daisy" was premiered on August 7, 2020, and directed by Charlotte Rutherford. The video was produced in collaboration with

Beats Electronics Beats Electronics LLC (also known as Beats by Dr. Dre, or simply Beats by Dre) is an American consumer audio products manufacturer headquartered in Culver City, California. The company was founded by music producer Dr. Dre and record company exe ...

and

. The video consists of four different variations of Ashnikko, with each set representing the four new Beats Powerbeats Pro Headphone colors; Glacier Blue, Spring Yellow, Cloud Pink and Lava Red. For the video, Beats Electronics launched their first TikTok-based campaign, the #BeatsDaisyChallenge, which was spread out across four separate weeks, one for each color used in the video. The challenge encouraged people to create

based on the theme of the week, and some of the videos were selected to be incorporated into the music video itself.

Synopsis

The video begins with the "Glacier Blue" 90’s/y2k inspired theme, featuring Ashnikko balancing upon stacks of ice cubes in various positions, wearing a blue mesh unitard with metallic harnessing. The next theme that appears is the "Spring Yellow" version, which depicts her as a

bumblebee A bumblebee (or bumble bee, bumble-bee, or humble-bee) is any of over 250 species in the genus ''Bombus'', part of Apidae, one of the bee families. This genus is the only extant group in the tribe Bombini, though a few extinct related gener ...

sporting a striped bodysuit with spikes, sitting inside of a daisy. The "Cloud Pink" theme is shown next, and Ashnikko is shown tied up to a large screen, wearing long pink hair and a pink latex bodysuit. The fourth and final theme, "Lava Red", features Ashnikko in a red latex bodysuit in front of a

chili pepper Chili peppers (also chile, chile pepper, chilli pepper, or chilli), from Nahuatl '' chīlli'' (), are varieties of the berry-fruit of plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for ...

-themed backdrop, riding on top of a large plastic replica of a chili pepper which resembles a

mechanical bull A mechanical bull, also known as a bucking machine, is a device that replicates the sensation of riding a bucking animal, such as a rodeo bull or horse popularized by Sherwood Cryer. It is usually powered by a variable-speed electric motor. Pad ...

. The video also shows Ashnikko wearing the Beats Powerbeats Pro Headphones in each scene, and includes many of the TikTok videos created using the #BeatsDaisyChallenge hashtag.

2.0. Music video

In the video for Daisy 2.0., Ashnikko is animated in CGI and is dancing in a post-apocalyptic city with Hatsune Miku, and later in a swamp. During Hatsune Miku’s verse, she is shown floating near some trees without Ashnikko, and later floating in a bathtub filled with green water, with Ashnikko under water. Then, they are shown inside a green ball in space, and the video ends with them on an island floating on air.

Live performances

She performed the song for

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

on October 13, 2020 after being selected as their Push Artist of the Month for October 2020.

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 ...

. * Ashton Caseylead vocals, songwriting * Slingersongwriting, production, background vocals, drums, keyboards, sitar, synthesizer * Matt Wolachmixing assistant *

Chris Gehringer Chris Gehringer (born May 27, 1962) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered recordings such as Gwen Stefani's '' Love. Angel. Music. Baby.'' (2004), Rihanna's '' Loud'' (2010), Lady Gaga's '' Born This Way'' (2011) and Drake' ...

mastering *

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

Certifications

Release history

References

{{authority control 2020 singles 2020 songs Parlophone singles Warner Music Group singles Ashnikko songs Fictional vigilantes Fictional murderers Rape in fiction Songs written by Ashnikko Songs about flowers Songs about BDSM