Poppy

Moriah Rose Pereira (born January 1, 1995), known professionally as Poppy (formerly as That Poppy), is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and YouTuber. She earned recognition for her performance art videos on YouTube beginning in 2014, in which she played an uncanny valley-like android satirizing Internet culture and modern society. She collaborated with Titanic Sinclair during this period, and ended the partnership in 2019 after accusing him of emotional abuse. She launched the web series Improbably Poppy in 2024. She is known for her experimentation and versatility within her artistry, public image, and music.

Poppy's first two albums, which mostly featured pop influences, sold moderately. She achieved mainstream success after shifting to heavy metal and industrial rock with her third album, I Disagree (2020), which became her first entry on the Billboard 200. Its single "Bloodmoney" was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance, making Poppy the first solo female artist to be nominated in the category. After an experimental period, she experienced a critical resurgence with her sixth album, Negative Spaces (2024). Also in 2024, she featured on Bad Omens's "V.A.N" and Knocked Loose's "Suffocate", with the latter earning her a second nomination for the Grammy for Best Metal Performance. Her seventh album, Empty Hands (2026), became her second entry on the Billboard 200.

Early life

Moriah Rose Pereira was born in Boston on January 1, 1995. She moved with her family to Nashville at age 14. She recalls wanting to be a Rockette as a child, and took dance lessons for 11 years until deciding to be a musician. She was bullied at school for being skinny and quiet, leading her to complete the latter half of her studies via homeschooling. In 2013, at the age of 18, she moved to Los Angeles.

Career

2011–2013: Early career

Poppy had her first performance at IndieCove in August 2011, covering an Alanis Morissette song. Her YouTube channel was created in October 2011, under the name ThatPoppyTV, alongside another channel, Moriah Poppy, where she posted covers and vlogs. However, all these videos were mostly made private and some others deleted, and the second channel was deleted in 2014. She performed at social media festivals, including VidCon in June 2012 and DigiTour in June 2013. She was featured on Eppic's song "Hide and Seek" in 2013, and moved to Los Angeles to pursue her music career. There, she teamed up with director Titanic Sinclair to make a series of abstract promotional videos on YouTube.

Her first YouTube skit, called Poppy Eats Cotton Candy, was uploaded in November 2014. The videos were described by Sinclair as "a combination of Andy Warhol's pop accessibility, David Lynch's creepiness, and Tim Burton's zany comedic tone". Sinclair also alluded in an interview that Poppy's character in the promotional videos presented itself to him as an android and how some of the concept relates to the uncanny valley hypothesis. Poppy has stated that her YouTube videos tell a story. Her fictional friend Charlotte, a celebrity-interviewing mannequin with a synthetic voice, was a recurring character. She usually appears interacting with Poppy but also on her own. She appears to have developed a drug and jealousy problem after Poppy became famous, which strains their relationship.

Poppy starred in an episode in which she reacts to children reacting to her videos. She has also appeared in an episode of the web series Good Mythical Morning.