| "My Play" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by AJR | ||||
| from the album OK Orchestra | ||||
| Released | December 22, 2020 | |||
| Recorded | 2020 | |||
| Genre | Pop, electropop | |||
| Length | 3:10 | |||
| Label | S-Curve | |||
| Songwriter(s) |
| |||
| Producer(s) | Ryan Met | |||
| AJR singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "My Play" on YouTube | ||||
"My Play" is a song by American pop band AJR. It was released on December 22, 2020 via S-Curve Records as the third single from the band's fourth studio album OK Orchestra .
Adam, Jack, and Ryan Metzger share parents who divorced during their childhood. [1] [2] Jack told ABC Audio that "many other artists have written about divorces, people can be desensitized about the topic". After coming up with the idea of a child performing a play twice to divorced parents, they felt they had a "fresh angle". [3] In an interview on Zach Sang Show , Jack explains this as "putting on a play for your parents which is the most exciting thing in the world when you're five years old... and the feeling of showing both of your parents is the best thing in the world, and now that is gone, it's taken away from you, and that is such a devastating thing". [4]
"My Play" was initially planned to have an electric guitar for the main melody, but while writing the song Ryan used a MIDI "wonky clean guitar" that was later favored for its connection to the song. [5] The song was teased on social media on December 14 and officially released on December 22, 2020. [6]
"My Play" is composed in 4
4 time signature in the key of F major and follows a tempo of 79 beats per minute (bpm).
The instrumental composition heavily layers detuned sped-up female vocals, an 808 MPC/drum kit hybrid, several guitars, and violins to create a "big, cluttered, panicky headache". [5]
The official video, released on December 27, 2020, was directed by Jason Merrin, animated by Venturia Animation Studios, and produced by Rachel Liu. [7] The video "acts out imaginative scenes of childhood, featuring adventures on dinosaurs, in outer space, under the sea and more before a moving box-filled depiction of divorce triggers confusion and anger". [8] The video has amassed over 4 million views as of September 2023.
"My Play" made its live debut during virtual concert AJR's One Spectacular Night on December 26, 2020. [9] During the band's OK Orchestra Tour, the song had a limited appearance in only the 12 shows during the 2021 leg, and has not been played since. [10]
Credits adapted from the album's liner notes. [11]
| Chart (2021) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ) [12] | 40 |
AJR is an American indie pop band founded by brothers Adam, Jack, and Ryan Met, collectively a trio of vocalists, multi-instrumentalists, and songwriters. The brothers grew up in New York City, primarily focused on busking and singing covers until releasing their first album, Living Room, on March 3, 2015. As of 2024, they have produced and released five studio albums under the independent label AJR Productions to various record labels.
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OK Orchestra, often abbreviated as OKO, is the fourth studio album by American pop band AJR. It was released on March 26, 2021, by the band's own label AJR Productions. The album was produced by group member Ryan Met.
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"3 O'Clock Things" is a song by American pop band AJR from their fourth studio album OK Orchestra, appearing as the third track. It is the most popular non-single from the album, amassing over 43 million streams as of October 2023.
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"The Good Part" is a song by American indie pop band AJR. It is the second track on the band's second studio album The Click, which was released on June 9, 2017 via the band's label AJR Productions. The song saw a resurgence in popularity in 2021, which led to the band retroactively releasing it as the album's sixth single on November 24, 2021.
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"Bummerland" is a song by American pop band AJR. It was released on August 31, 2020 via S-Curve Records as the second single from the band's fourth studio album OK Orchestra.
"Record Player" is a song by American pop bands Daisy the Great and AJR. It was released on August 31, 2021 via S-Curve Records as a single from the deluxe version of Daisy the Great's second studio album All You Need Is Time.
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"Maybe Man" is a song by American pop band AJR from their fifth studio album The Maybe Man, appearing as the opening track. The song was released alongside a music video on November 10, 2023, the day of the album's release.
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