Hardcore mavens Amy Lee of Evanescence, Courtney LaPlante of Spiritbox, and Poppy released the collaborative single “End Of You” on September 4. Additionally, there was also a stunning music video. Working with producer Jordan Fish, Poppy’s drummer and bassist, and Spiritbox’s guitarist (and LaPlante’s husband), the single is a gorgeous melding of their individual styles within the hardcore genre.
Speaking with NME, the three first recalled the origin of the collab. It started with Poppy and Fish, who was friends with Lee. Fish had worked with Poppy on her recent album, Negative Spaces, and with Lee on tracks for the Ballerina soundtrack.
“It was mine and Jordan’s idea to start with, and then we thought, ‘What if we made our version of a dark Moulin Rouge, like ‘Lady Marmalade’?” said Poppy.
“It was literally the concept of, ‘Let’s just get us all together,’ that started the song, which is really fun,” Lee added. “Poppy and Jordan came over to my house and we flushed a lot of it out together. The first verse came to me mostly cooked, the part that I was going to start the song with. It’s funny, because Poppy wrote my words and I wrote hers.”
Amy Lee, Poppy, and Courtney Laplante’s collab “End Of You” highlighted their individuality within similar genres
With “End Of You” coming together between Fish, Lee, and Poppy, all that was left was to add in LaPlante. Members of Poppy’s band—Ralph Alexander and Johnuel Hasney—contributed drums and bass guitar. Spiritbox’s Mike Stringer recorded lead guitar. Then, LaPlante added her dynamic vocals.
“It was this stacking project of adding things based on what each person did, which was really fun and unusual,” said Lee.
Poppy added, “We all have a different shade that we bring to not only the equation, but multiple genres. It’s our own flavor, color, and ingredient.”
The lyric that sparked the rest of the song initially came from Poppy—“The end of you is the start of life for me.” But, the message resonated with all three artists.
“It’s more of a universal message,” Poppy explained. “I don’t want to classify it, but I know what it means to me. Watching the video of all of us together, it feels strong and powerful: ‘Imagine the things they can do when they’re united!’ It’s grounded in strength.”
Amy Lee found “End Of You” to be more of a political, personal, and feminist statement, but overall agreed that the lyrics were founded in strength. “For me, it’s about taking on the patriarchy,” she said. “In order to make way for the new, we have to let some old ways die, and I don’t feel that should be as hard as it is. I love change, and things can stand to definitely get a lot better than they are right now. It’s about challenging the norms and showing how strong we are when unified as women.”
Poppy says this is it “for now” but that doesn’t sound like the end of this trio
Courtney LaPlante and Poppy were already on each other’s radars last year. Poppy performed “Soft Spine” with Spiritbox during the Louder Than Life Festival. LaPlante explained, though, that Poppy was really the one who got the collab in gear.
“Instead of just dreaming about it, Poppy really went for it and made it happen,” she said. “Instead of half-assing it, Amy went full out and crushed it. All I can do is rise to the occasion and show them the respect they deserve, that they have also shown to me.”
The trio aren’t going to be performing the song live any time soon, as Amy Lee made that clear. Poppy is opening for Evanescence on a few shows soon, but fans shouldn’t expect to hear “End Of You.”
“I hate to give away that it’s not happening, but I might as well rip the rug out so people aren’t asking for it up until showtime,” said Lee. “We thought about it, but we really want to do it with Courtney.”
So, “End Of You” won’t have a live debut until all three of them can be in the same venue together. As for future collaborations, Poppy stated that it’s “just ‘End Of You’, for now.” But, added that it “could be fun” to work together again. Lee then mentioned that “For this one little moment in time, it’s like we’re all in a band together” when prompted for possible supergroup names.
Could there be more of these three together in the future? They’re allegedly not shutting the door on that. Instead, they’re letting “End Of You” have its moment in the spotlight before committing to anything more.
Photo by Ana Massard
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