"Play Date" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Melanie Martinez from the deluxe edition of her debut album, '' Cry Baby'' (2015). In April 2020, the song gained popularity due to its use in an edit of actor Timothée Chalamet which led to its widespread use on the video-sharing app TikTok, receiving over 1.9 billion views for the month. On May 1, 2020, the song was certified Gold by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA) for selling over 500,000 units in the United States. This was followed by Platinum and later 2× Platinum in 2022, for selling over 2,000,000

equivalent units Equivalence or Equivalent may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Album-equivalent unit, a measurement unit in the music industry *Equivalence class (music) *''Equivalent VIII'', or ''The Bricks'', a minimalist sculpture by Carl Andre *'' Equival ...

in the United States.

Background

"Play Date" was recorded in New York and according to Martinez, was written "pretty quickly." Despite being released in 2015, the song became a sleeper hit and gained popularity in April 2020 due to widespread use on the app TikTok. By May 8, the song had gained over 80 million streams on Spotify and 40 million views on YouTube. The song has been featured on multiple prominent Spotify playlists, such as Today's Top Hits, Pop Rising and Teen Beats. Martinez was featured on the cover of both Pop Rising and Teen Beats. On April 28, 2020, Martinez posted on

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, addressing the song's success as the "best birthday present ever". When asked if the song would be released as a single, Martinez said that she was not sure "because it very much lives on the ''Cry Baby'' album already."

Composition

"Play Date" is a dark wave and

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

song. It features a "catchy chorus" and has been described as a "punchy pop anthem" and "a serious mood." The song's lyrics narrate a woman who is involved in a casual relationship through the metaphor of two children on a

play date Play date or playdate is an expression, primarily used in the United States, for an arranged appointment for children to meet and play. It should not be confused with dating as there is no implied romantic component. Play dates have become co ...

. Throughout the song, the woman denies that she has romantic feelings for her sexual partner until the end when she confesses that she does.

Music video

Martinez revealed on May 8, 2020, that she was planning to record a music video for "Play Date" from her home. A lyric video for the song was released on May 26, 2020. It debuted with 1.3 million views in the first 24 hours. Eventually, Melanie scrapped the video to instead work on the video for her single “ The Bakery”.

Charts

Certifications

Release history

Notes

References

{{Melanie Martinez 2015 songs Dark wave songs Melanie Martinez songs Songs written by Melanie Martinez Songs written by Jennifer Decilveo Songs about casual sex Viral videos