My Play

{{Infobox song | name = My Play | cover = My_Play_Single.jpg | alt = | type = single | artist = AJR | album = OK Orchestra | released = {{start date|2020|12|22}} | recorded = 2020 | studio = | genre = Pop, electropop | length = 3:10 | label = S-Curve | writer = *Jack Met *Adam Met *Ryan Met | producer = Ryan Met | prev_title = Bummerland | prev_year = 2020 | next_title = Way Less Sad | next_year = 2021 | misc = {{External music video|{{YouTube|Ew8jKnliFZg|"My Play"}}}} }}

"'''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''.

==Background== Adam, Jack, and Ryan Metzger share parents who divorced during their childhood.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://celebrity.fm/did-ajrs-parents-divorce|title=Did AJR's parents divorce?|website=Celebrity.fm|date=4 November 2021 |accessdate=September 4, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Ceballos|first=Celina|url=https://www.theonlinecurrent.com/culture/ajr-s-new-album-ok-orchestra-breaks-political-and-musical-boundaries/article_8a953550-a248-11eb-8f27-6f9465a83017.html|title=AJR's new album "Ok Orchestra" breaks political and musical boundaries|website=The Current|date=April 21, 2021|accessdate=September 4, 2023}}</ref> 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".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.songfacts.com/facts/ajr/my-play|title=My Play by AJR|website=Songfacts|accessdate=September 4, 2023}}</ref> 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".<ref>{{cite AV media |last=AJR|date=March 30, 2021 |title=AJR Breaks Down Their New Album "OK ORCHESTRA" |medium=YouTube video |language=English |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Pfg6AJ8WCc |access-date=September 3, 2023 |time=1:04:29 |publisher=Zach Sang Show}}</ref>

"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.<ref name=":3">{{cite web |url=https://twitter.com/AJRBrothers/status/1344010584749178882|title=HOW WE MADE: MY PLAY|website=Twitter|date=December 29, 2020|accessdate=September 4, 2023}}</ref> The song was teased on social media on December 14 and officially released on December 22, 2020.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://twitter.com/AJRBrothers/status/1338574625261940747|title=MY PLAY. New song comes out next week. Playing it for the first time ever live for One Spectacular Night|website=Twitter|date=December 14, 2020|accessdate=September 4, 2023}}</ref>

==Composition== "My Play" is composed in {{music|time|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".<ref name=:3/>

==Music video== The official video, released on December 27, 2020, was directed by Jason Merrin, animated by Venturia Animation Studios, and produced by Rachel Liu.<ref>{{cite web |last=Johnson|first=Josh|url=https://www.wrmf.com/ajr-brings-all-the-feels-with-video-for-my-play/|title=AJR brings all the feels with video for "My Play"|website=97.9 WRMF|date=December 28, 2020|accessdate=September 3, 2023}}</ref> 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".<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Aniftos|first=Rania|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/ajr-my-play-video-9505213/|title=AJR Reminisce on a Simpler Time in Animated 'My Play' Video|magazine=Billboard|date=December 28, 2020|accessdate=September 3, 2023}}</ref> The video has amassed over 4 million views as of September 2023.

==Live performances== "My Play" made its live debut during virtual concert ''AJR's One Spectacular Night'' on December 26, 2020.<ref>{{cite web |last=Lakshmin|first=Deepa|url=https://www.mtv.com/news/1obgkq/misterwives-livestream-concert-experience-ajr-moment-house|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004232920/https://www.mtv.com/news/1obgkq/misterwives-livestream-concert-experience-ajr-moment-house|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 4, 2022|title=At-Home Livestreams Are So 2020. Bigger, Bolder Concert Experiences Are The Future|website=MTV|date=December 23, 2020|accessdate=September 3, 2023}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web |last=Sowinski|first=Monique|url=https://www.livenationentertainment.com/2021/07/ajr-announces-additional-2021-dates-for-the-ok-orchestra-tour/|title=AJR Announces Additional 2021 Dates For The OK ORCHESTRA Tour|website=Live Nation Entertainment|date=July 12, 2021|accessdate=September 4, 2023}}</ref>

==Personnel== Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.<ref name="booklet">{{cite AV media notes |title=OK Orchestra|others=AJR |year=2021 |publisher=AJR Productions}}</ref>

{{div col}} * Adam Met – vocals, instruments, composer * Jack Met – main vocals, instruments, composer * Ryan Met – vocals, instruments, composer, producer * Danny Ferenbach – violin * Chris Gehringer – mastering engineer * Joe Zook – mixing engineer {{div col end}}

==Charts== {| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |+ Weekly chart performance for "My Play" ! scope="col"| Chart (2021) ! scope="col"| Peak<br />position |- ! scope="row"| New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://aotearoamusiccharts.co.nz/archive/hot-singles/2021-01-01|title=NZ Hot Singles Chart|publisher=Recorded Music NZ|date=January 4, 2021|access-date=September 4, 2023}}</ref> | 40 |}

==References== {{Reflist}}

Category:AJR songs Category:2020 songs Category:2020 singles