We Appreciate Power

The song was supposed to be one of two collaborations between Grimes and American singer Poppy, for the latter's second studio album Am I a Girl?. In an interview, Poppy mentioned that she wrote two songs with Grimes; one about "destroying things" and another about "power".{{cite web |last=Trendell |first=Andrew |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/poppy-interview-grimes-marilyn-manson-new-album-am-i-a-girl-tour-2361241 |title=Youtube sensation Poppy on her new album, gender fluidity, and working with Grimes and Marilyn Manson |work=NME |date=July 30, 2018 |accessdate=February 19, 2020}} The other song, "Play Destroy", was featured on the album. Grimes shared a lyric of the song with a photo of her with Poppy on Twitter in May 2018.{{cite web |last=Grimes |date=May 2, 2018 |title=biology is superficial, intelligence is artificial |url=https://twitter.com/Grimezsz/status/991793399807164416 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180509183234/https://twitter.com/Grimezsz/status/991793399807164416 |archive-date=2018-05-09 |accessdate=February 19, 2020 |work=Twitter}} Following feuds between the two singers, the song was released by Grimes featuring singer Hana instead.

On November 26, Grimes announced she would be releasing new music on November 29.{{cite web |last=Darville |first=Jordan |url=https://www.thefader.com/2018/11/26/grimes-new-music-release-date-opens-merch-shop |title=Grimes announces new music release date, opens merch shop |work=The Fader |date=November 26, 2018 |accessdate=November 29, 2018}} Two days later, she revealed that the single is titled "We Appreciate Power" and features Hana, and shared the artwork.{{cite web |last=Renshaw |first=David |url=https://www.thefader.com/2018/11/28/grimes-we-appreciate-power-artwork |title=Grimes shares artwork for new single 'We Appreciate Power' |work=The Fader |date=November 28, 2018 |accessdate=November 29, 2018}} The release of the song was accompanied by a lyric video directed by Grimes and her brother Mac Boucher.

"We Appreciate Power" is an industrial rock,{{cite web|url=https://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/42396/1/grimes-new-single-we-appreciate-power-feat-hana-listen|title=Grimes is back with new single 'We Appreciate Power'|work=Dazed Digital|date=November 29, 2018|access-date=May 7, 2020|first=Selim |last=Bulut}}{{cite web|url=https://www.residentadvisor.net/news/69998|title=Listen to a new song from Grimes, 'We Appreciate Power'|work=Resident Advisor|date=November 29, 2018|access-date=May 7, 2020|first= Marissa |last=Cetin}}{{cite web|url=https://www.factmag.com/2018/11/29/grimes-we-appreciate-power/|title=Grimes pushes a pro-AI agenda on industrial rock anthem 'We Appreciate Power'|work=Fact|date=November 29, 2018|access-date=May 7, 2020|first= Henry |last=Bruce-Jones}} nu metal,{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/dec/07/grimes-new-track-of-week|title=Tracks of the week reviewed: Grimes, Los Unidades, Chance the Rapper|newspaper=The Guardian|last=Beaumont|first=Mark|date=December 7, 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/grimes-miss-anthropocene-review-album-lyrics-tracklist-elon-musk-lil-peep-a9344901.html|title=Grimes review, Miss Anthropocene: A problematic fave finds her humanity on a masterful, genre-spanning triumph|work=The Independent|date=February 21, 2020|first=Adam |last=White}} and techno-industrial song.{{cite web|author=MTV News Staff|title=How Billie Eilish, Halsey, and more are tapping into trip-hop, nu-metal, and industrial to vent their angst|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/3119037/pop-goes-industrial-nu-metal/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401180434/http://www.mtv.com/news/3119037/pop-goes-industrial-nu-metal/|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 1, 2019|website=MTV News|date=April 1, 2019|access-date=January 19, 2022}} The track is regarded as a further step into Grimes's experimentation with guitars that started on 2015's Art Angels. The track was compared to the works of Nine Inch Nails; Jillian Mapes of Pitchfork described the song as "an immediate onslaught of mutilated noise—distorted metal guitar chug, bloody screams, a guitar loop that conjures fear and demands worship. Flashes of Nine Inch Nails' Pretty Hate Machine reverberate through the drum programming and synths." Brendan Klinkenberg of Rolling Stone placed the song "somewhere between power pop and straightforward industrial (with an extended bridge reminiscent of the most sweeping moments in a Final Fantasy score)" and "a distinctly 2018 take on Nine Inch Nails-esque hard-edged rock."

A press release stated that the song was inspired by the North Korean band Moranbong and was written "from the perspective of a Pro-A.I. Girl Group Propaganda machine who use song, dance, sex and fashion to spread goodwill towards Artificial Intelligence."{{cite web |last=Alston |first=Trey |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/listen-to-grimes-new-song-we-appreciate-power |title=Listen to Grimes' New Song "We Appreciate Power" |work=Pitchfork |date=November 29, 2018 |accessdate=November 29, 2018}} In addition Grimes stated that by simply listening to the song you will be reducing your risk of ending up on any future AI overlord's hit list when it reigns supreme, mirroring the Roko's basilisk theory. Lyrically, the song touches on transhumanist ideas such as the betterment and future of the human race, the possibilities of merging consciousness with machines to extend life indefinitely through mind uploading, and the idea that reality may be simulated.{{cite web |last=Burton |first=Jack |url=https://ontheaside.com/music/we-deconstructed-grimes-ai-manifesto-on-her-new-track-we-appreciate-power |title=We deconstructed Grimes' AI manifesto on her new track, "We Appreciate Power" |work=A.Side |date=November 29, 2018 |accessdate=November 29, 2018}} The song's chorus generated a spike in interest in the word "capitulate".{{cite web |last=Clarke |first=Patrick |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/online-searches-for-the-meaning-of-the-word-capitulate-soar-thanks-to-grimes-new-song-we-appreciate-power-2418915 |title=Online searches for the meaning of the word 'capitulate' spike by 500 percent thanks to Grimes' new song 'We Appreciate Power' |work=NME |date=December 10, 2018 |accessdate=December 18, 2018}}

Pitchfork critic Jillian Mapes wrote: "If "Freak on a Leash" isn't a dealbreaker, then the supervillain allure of "We Appreciate Power" might pull you in (it legitimately slaps), but it just as well may leave you weighed down by Grimes' commitment to the absolute darkest timeline."{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/we-appreciate-power/|title=Grimes: "We Appreciate Power" [ft. HANA]|work=Pitchfork|date=November 29, 2018|first=Jillian |last=Mapes|access-date=May 7, 2020}} Billboard{{'}}s Gil Kaufman described the song as "a dystopian, aggressive dive into a more rock-leaning sound."{{cite magazine |last=Kaufman |first=Gil |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/8487138/grimes-we-appreciate-power-hana |title=Grimes Storms Back With Dark AI-Inspired 'We Appreciate Power' Featuring Hana |magazine=Billboard |date=November 29, 2018 |accessdate=November 29, 2018}} Similarly, Brendan Klinkenberg of Rolling Stone called it "the most aggressive single Grimes has released to date" Noisey called the song "an absolute motherfucker of a single" and opined it sounds "like a K-pop band covering nu-metal".{{cite web |last=D'Souza |first=Shaad |url=https://noisey.vice.com/en_us/article/gy7jkb/grimes-we-appreciate-power-stream |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181129225219/https://noisey.vice.com/en_us/article/gy7jkb/grimes-we-appreciate-power-stream |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 29, 2018 |title=Listen to "We Appreciate Power," Grimes's Absolute Monster of a New Single |work=Noisey |date=November 29, 2018 |accessdate=November 29, 2018}} Justin Kamp of Paste described the track as a "glitchy empowerment anthem that chugs along on screeching synths and Grimes' repeated exultations of power."{{cite web|url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/grimes/watch-grimes-we-appreciate-power-video/|title=Grimes Shares Video for "We Appreciate Power," Her First Proper Solo Single Since 2015|work=Paste|first=Justin|last=Kamp|date=29 November 2018|access-date=May 7, 2020|archive-date=11 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411033809/https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/grimes/watch-grimes-we-appreciate-power-video/|url-status=dead}}

Credits adapted from Tidal.{{cite web |url=https://listen.tidal.com/album/99757780 |title=We Appreciate Power / Grimes |work=Tidal |accessdate=November 29, 2018}}

• Grimes – vocals, guitar, production, engineering
• Hana – vocals, guitar, additional production
• Chris Greatti – guitar, keyboards, production, engineering
• Zakk Cervini – mixing

{{Track listing

| headline = Digital download{{Cite web|url=https://open.spotify.com/album/65hPTJNhxg9P2bIHyKkZUE|title = We Appreciate Power|website = Spotify|date = 18 January 2019}}

| title1 = We Appreciate Power

| note1 = featuring Hana

| length1 = 5:34

| title2 = We Appreciate Power - Nightcore Remix

| note2 = featuring Hana

| length2 = 4:18

| total_length = 9:53

}}

{{Track listing

| title1 = We Appreciate Power - Bloodpop Remix

| length1 = 06:10

| total_length = 06:10

| note1 = featuring Bloodpop and Hana

| headline = Digital download

}}

{{Track listing

| title1 = We Appreciate Power - Algorithm Mix

| length1 = 03:44

| total_length = 03:44

| note1 = featuring Hana

| headline = Digital download{{Cite web|url=https://www.qobuz.com/gb-en/album/we-appreciate-power-grimes-feat-hana/m5pgb22tq5npc|title=Album We Appreciate Power (Algorithm Mix), Grimes | Qobuz: Download and streaming in high quality}}

}}

{{Reflist}}

• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYG_4vJ4qNA Official lyric video]

{{Grimes}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:2018 singles

Category:2018 songs

Category:4AD singles

Category:Grimes songs

Category:Industrial rock songs

Category:Nu metal songs

Category:Fiction about transhumanism

Category:Fiction about artificial intelligence