"Delete Forever" is a single recorded by Canadian musician Grimes. It was released on February 12, 2020, under the label 4AD as the fifth and final single off of her fifth studio album, Miss Anthropocene. The song is a folk, Britpop, and dance composition.

"Delete Forever"
Single by Grimes
from the album Miss Anthropocene
ReleasedFebruary 12, 2020 (2020-02-12)
Genre
Length3:57
Label4AD
Songwriter(s)Claire Boucher
Producer(s)Grimes
Grimes singles chronology
"4ÆM"
(2019)
"Delete Forever"
(2020)
"Cry"
(2020)
Music video
"Delete Forever" on YouTube

Background

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In an interview with Zane Lowe for Apple Music's Beats 1, Grimes revealed that "Delete Forever" was written on the night of American rapper Lil Peep's death, while its lyrics were inspired by the death of the singer's friends due to opioid addiction.[1]

Composition

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"Delete Forever" is an "earnest and heartbreaking"[2] and "folkily melodic"[3] acoustic ballad, which employs a banjo, strings, "incredibly clean" acoustic guitar, electronic drums and bass.[4][5] In an interview with Zane Lowe for Apple Music's Beats 1, Grimes described "Delete Forever" as a "pretty bummer song [...] about the opioid epidemic".[1] Sonically, the record "incorporates folk, Britpop, and dance".[6]

Music video

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On February 12, 2020, the song's music video premiered on YouTube.[7] It depicts the singer in "brightly-colored pigtails and ethereal makeup"[8] playing "a queen looking over her crumbling empire".[9] Grimes revealed that the video was based on the fourth volume of the Japanese cyberpunk manga Akira, while its setting was created in a 3D modelling program.[9]

Charts

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Chart (2020) Peak
position
US Hot Dance/Electronic Songs (Billboard)[10] 14

References

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  1. ^ a b "Watch "Grimes on "Delete Forever"" posted by Zane Lowe on Apple Music". Apple Music. February 11, 2020. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  2. ^ D'Souza, Shaad (March 2, 2020). "The 20 best pop songs right now". The FADER. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  3. ^ Renshaw, David (February 12, 2020). "Grimes shares new song "Delete Forever"". The FADER. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  4. ^ White, Adam (February 21, 2020). "Grimes review, Miss Anthropocene: A problematic fave finds her humanity on a masterful, genre-spanning triumph". The Independent. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  5. ^ Daly, Rhian (February 20, 2020). "Grimes - 'Miss Anthropocene' review: an iconoclast continues to march to the beat of her own drum". NME. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  6. ^ Sharples, Grant (February 17, 2020). "Grimes Finds a Creative Spark on the Magnificent Miss_Anthrop0cene". Consequence. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  7. ^ Grimes (February 12, 2020). "Grimes - Delete Forever (Official Video)". YouTube. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  8. ^ Zhou, Tori (February 12, 2020). "Grimes' "Delete Forever" Addresses The Culture Of Opioid Addiction". NYLON. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  9. ^ a b Torres, Eric (March 10, 2020). "Grimes Dissects the Visual World of Miss Anthropocene". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  10. ^ "Grimes Chart History (Hot Dance/Electronic Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved March 16, 2020.