Shinigami Eyes

Shinigami Eyes
Single Artwork
General Information
Title	Shinigami Eyes
Released	26 Jan 2022
Album	Book 1
Type	Single
Length	2:40
Key + BPM	A Minor • 116
Format	Digital Download • Streaming
Credits
Artist	Grimes
Writer(s)	Grimes • Illangelo
Producer(s)	Grimes • Illangelo
Label	Columbia Records

Shinigami Eyes is a song by Grimes. It is the second single for her scrapped sixth studio album, Book 1.

Background

On June 16, 2021, the song title was first teased by a Twitter (now X) post of Grimes, which was written in binary code. and on the next day the song was teased on Discord.

On July 25, the song was played along with other upcoming ones as part of a virtual DJ set.

On August 11, a snippet of the song was released exclusively on YouTube Music and Instagram Stories.

The song was frequently teased as the background music of Grimes' TikTok videos because "if Shinigami eyes gets 20m plays on Tik tok I can release it!"

Shinigami Eyes was supposed to be by the fictional A.I group NPC^[speculated] for their EP Fairies Cum First, but this idea appears to have been scrapped. Instead, the song was released as a single as a “label executive decision“ due to it being one of the only songs that was not part of the Book 1 lore and thus commercially promising.

Grimes explained in an Instagram Live on the songs release day why it took so long to be released:

❝ (..) the reason I was teasing it [Shinigami Eyes] so long is just getting [in] a fight with everybody about which songs, like, which songs are gonna be first, but I just, like, I have a problem where I never, I always fight the single (..) I was like: "Guys, this is not a single." and literally 40 people were like: "No, this is the single, it has to be the single." so, this is just, like, one of those situations where I, like, resist; I think I'm much more experimental taste wise than the majority of people so I always want to put out my weird songs (..) ❞

Composition

The song was made in less than three days.

Meaning

Shinigami Eyes is a reference to the well-known manga and anime series Death Note. Shinigamis, also known as death gods, are supernatural beings that lead you and others towards death directly or indirectly. In the anime, a Shinigami shows up in the human world when a human makes contact with a Death Note fallen from the sky - it’s a book that kills people once their names are written on it. With every death, the person’s remaining life span is added to the Shinigami’s. If a human with a Death Note makes a deal with a Shinigami to get their eyes, the human will know other people’s names and their remaining lifespans by just seeing their face. The price for these eyes is half of the human’s remaining lifespan, which will be added to the Shinigami’s as well. Interestingly, Grimes tweeted about having Shinigami eyes in a Twitter (now X) post from July 16, 2019.

Grimes spoke to Zane Lowe of Apple Music 1 in an interview about the single, admitting it was a “label executive decision song”:

❝ “I love the record, but everyone’s like, what’s the deeper meaning? And it’s like, well, me and Illangelo just really had just watched Death Note and really liked it,” [...] “Basically, I wrote the whole space opera thing and this is the only song that wasn’t this big narrative plot. Anyway, I actually do really like the song. Sorry. I’m just undermining the marketing strategy.” ❞

Media

Artwork

Pre-edited photo

Single Artwork

Alternative Version

• Trailer
• Music Video
• Vevo Footnotes

Video	Credits
	Title	SHINIGAMI EYES (VIDEO TRAILER)
	Premiere	26 Jan 2022
	Length	0:24
	Featuring	Grimes, Jennie Kim, Dorian Electra, Ryon Wu
	Director	BRTHR
	Editor	BRTHR
	SFX	HIMIA

Video	Credits
	Title	Shinigami Eyes
	Premiere	26 Jan 2022
	Length	3:19
	Featuring	Grimes, Jennie Kim, Dorian Electra, Ryon Wu
	Director	BRTHR
	Producer	Luigi Rossi, Aiden Magarian, Bryan Younce, Sara Greco
	Editor	BRTHR
	SFX	HIMIA
	DP	Christopher Ripley

Additional Credits

• Choreographer: Symone Holliday
• Dancers: Symone Holliday, Isis Woodruff, Iz Verdea, Jas Lyn

• Stylist: Brett Alan Nelson
• MUA: Natasha Severino
• Hair: Preston Wada
• Prosthetics: Malina Stearns
• Nails: nekorinails
• Tetra suit and illuminated armor: Asher Levine, Steven Galle, Yun Nam, @neon.papi, @stephenlevegan, Nervous System
• Mask: Lance Victor Moore
• XR by Xite Labs Xite Labs
• Creative Director: Vello Virkhaus
• Studio Director: Greg Russell
• 3D Artist: Nusi Quero

• Animation (demon, dragon, eyes): Sam Hochman
• Color: Aubrey Woodiwiss

Behind the Scenes

Note:

Due to a bug in Fandom's Desktop code, videos in a gallery do not show a thumbnail, but are playable when clicked.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[4]

[4]

dragonfly wing inspired bodysuit

SE BTS14

SE BTS30

SE BTS38

[1] With Grimes: Ryon Wu

[2] With Grimes: Asher Levine

[3] With Grimes: Jennie Kim

[4] With Grimes: Lance Victor Moore

Background

Video	Credits
	Title	IG Live Interview With Grimes
	Premiere	27 Jan 2022
	Length	23:32
	Notes	#GRIMES #RocketLeague #NeonNights Celebrate the music of Rocket League with Neon Nights, a brand new event featuring galactic music sensation GRIMES! Learn more here: http://www.rocketleague.com/news/neon... In honor of the game’s ever-evolving soundtrack, Neon Nights is packed full of new content including Neon Nights Challenges, free Golden Moons, the chaotic Heatseeker Ricochet LTM, and tons of unlockable items featuring the immortal space princess GRIMES. So plug in your headphones, crank that volume, and let the show begin! #RocketLeague #NeonNights #GRIMES #GoldenMoonBoxes #HeatseekerRicochet

Background

Transcript

Note:

Only the part concerned with the background of the music video has been transcripted.

(..) we shot the music video on this thing called an xR stage, I don't know if you know what that is...

What is that?

They normally use it for, like, live stuff, like, they were were stressed when we went in there and were like: "We want to use, like, cinema cameras in an xR stage." and they're like: "Agh, this is, like, for, like, sports shit or whatever.", but it's basically a stage, it's, like, basically live rendering in camera, so you can do crazy CGI...

That's cool.

...but it's using location technology to basically render, like, the shit behind us didn't look like that, but then it's, like, live rendering it, like, basically, in real time in the camera and, yeah, it's, like, super cool, so we actually, like, it's so funny that with the video, because we lost the whole first half of the day, all the dance scenes...

No, you did it, the whole, that's... what?

...the reason there's, like, the crazy effects on the dance sequences is because it took us, we were, like, figuring it out, like, no one's ever done this before and we were, like, figuring out in real time, like, how to, like, make it look good, and so half the shot have this crazy, weird effect on them because, like, we were literally, like, figuring out the technology with the people who, like, made it right there, like, trying to, like, orient it into like a different kind of setting than it's ever used in, so it was really fun and, like, we've actually been talking with xR people about, like, should we all, like, throw in some money and try to, like, make the technology better so we can do even crazier shit, cause, like, you can't do slow motion in it for example, so we're like: "Should we, like, create cameras that can shoot this in slow motion, like, dadadadada."...

Yeah.

...all this stuff.

That's so cool, okay I'm surprised not many people are talking about that - that you're one of the first artists to use that technology into your music video, and that is so cool, that's, is there any other aspects of your music video that you want to try out in the future, like, for example, like, either, further elevating the technology that you used on the stage or is there something that you want to do in the future?

I think we really want to, yeah, like, basically, figure out how to push the technology further, I made the video excite stage xR and then BRTHR, like, who are some of my favorite directors and, like, man, we spent, like, 10 hours on the phone and, like, doing, like, pre-prep and everything and, like, figuring out how to plan this and make it work, and I think we've all been discussing, like, okay, yeah, like, investing a lot more time and with everybody on, basically we really want to figure out how to do slow motion in there because I usually have a lot of slow motion for dramatic effect, I just think it looks, like, in a music video, like, it just looks so much better...

Yeah.

...I think that's the big thing we want to do is figure out slow motion.

That would be cool, especially with the whole stage and setup that you guys have going on, wait, so how long does it typically take to shoot a music video like that?

I think we had to do the whole thing in, like, 10 hours for the shooting, it was very, we didn't have a lot of time there cuz, like, we, like, maxed out our budget, but we edited this forever and, like, yeah, I have to shout out Alex from BRTHR cuz, like, he did like a bunch of things, sent it to me, I did a bunch of editing and then me and Alex literally spent, I think I, we did two days of ten hours after all the other shit like, like, say twenty hours, like 20 hours at the end just, like, this was, like, a very time consuming process, the video.

Yeah, okay, well, when you look at the video, it's obvious you can see that it pays off and that the amount of time and effort that you put into it is insane, for your costumes or, like, your outfits for your opera that you've been working on is, that just one of your favorite parts, to just really dive into because it's just so much detail, or is there something that you work with that just was like: "Here, you know here's some cool ideas, what would you like?" because that's just, it's so, like, I keep going back to the details cuz I'm just looking at it and just, the designs on the hand, I just can't get over it.

So, it usually starts, like, I kind of, like, come up with everything, like, I knew I wanted to, like, look naked...

That's awesome.

...like, like, I wanted this character to be, like, like, the long, white hair and, like that, I was almost like: "Should I just be naked?", but everyone can't be naked for a variety of reasons, including YouTube takedowns, but...

Yeah.

...with the costume that I worked with, Brett Alan Nelson, I'm probably saying his name wrong and, fuck, guy who actually made the suit, I need to get his name, I really should remember his fucking name cuz it took him a really long time to make that suit, and also like lit up and everything, it was a whole thing...

Yeah.

...pack and, like, he was, like, sewing it and, like, the pack broke at one point, he was, like, I think, he'd be like soldering it back together, like, on set; it was chaos, but it was awesome, but, yeah, really strong team.

Video	Credits
	Title	The Making of 'Shinigami Eyes' (Vevo Footnotes)
	Premiere	1 Apr 2022
	Length	3:19
	Producer	Ronni Leverich
	Executive producer	Micah Bickham
	Editor	Kevin Rose
	SFX	Austin Prahl, Justin Brown
	DP	Christopher Ripley
	Choreographer	Sydney Emery

Additional Credits

• Music & Talent: Gabby Prisciandaro, Sam Mackoff

Background

Transcript

My friend Nusi Quero constructed this awesome throne out of human bodies. The shot happens so fast I think people miss it but this throne is an underrated masterpiece.

Here we meet “NO ONE,” a powerful A.I super intelligence who has decided to invade pop culture with an AI girl group who can bend the very fabric of space and time.

Like Ryuk (a shinigami from Death Note), the A.I. NO ONE enters the human world to have fun and destabilise things.

All of the background effects were shot on an XR Stage, meaning there was little to no post production or CGI. All of the special effects rendered in camera. It was very cool!

We had some major technical difficulties and never really got to show off the full choreography.

We had never used an XR stage before, and it typically isn’t used in music videos, so we were doing a lot of things no one on the team had done before.

We actually lost most of the footage and had to make the music video out of the last few hours we got. But it ended up turning out great!

Here we see Cupid played by Ryon01. One of the main plot points in thematic video is that Cupid tries to shoot the girls with his arrow of love, but because they are not human and don’t experiment traditional love, his attempts fail and in the end they kill him.

The moon shots are by far my favourite scenes. The moon was rendered by Nusi. Around here you can see some sneak peaks of one of my favourite artists, Dorian Electra!

Obviously this was everyone’s favourite part because we’re all obsessed with Jennie. We’d been handing out with her in L.A. and she benevolently offers to be in the video. She was impressive AF - not a single shot of her was unusable.

Dorian and I really fought to the death here and I think we kinda hurt each other but it was worth it!

NO ONE eats Cupid’s soul. By eating Cupid she is able to finally experience what love feels like and perhaps it makes her more benevolent towards humans. NO ONE is very curious about humanity.

I think this shot really shows what the XR stage can do, hoping to work with BRTHR again and to go father into insanity.

Lyrics

• Single
• Demo

[Intro]
I like making friends with demons
You need special eyes to see 'em
Have you got your -
Shinigami eyes on?

[Chorus]
Are you ready to die?
Got my Shinigami eyes on-
everything is fine-
got my Shinigami eyes-

Are you ready to die?
Got my Shinigami eyes on-
everything is fine-
got my Shinigami eyes on you

[Verse 1]
And young men's love doth lie -
never in their hearts -
only in their eyes -
and I'm so fucking high -
rent-free in your head -
missing from your bed -
I know your secrets, everything, oh-

[Chorus]
Are you ready to die?
Got my Shinigami eyes on-
everything is fine-
got my Shinigami eyes-

Are you ready to die?
Got my Shinigami eyes on-
everything is fine-
got my Shinigami eyes on you-

[Bridge]
But you like me the most -
you follow me the most -
I'm the queen on the chess board-
and the red upon the rose -

And you like me the most -
you follow me the most -
I'm the queen on every chess board-
I'm the setting that you export -

And you can't say no

[Pre-Chorus]
And everything is fine-
got my Shinigami eyes on-
are you ready to die?
Got my Shinigami eyes on you -

[Chorus]
Are you ready to die?
got my Shinigami eyes on-
everything is fine-
got my Shinigami eyes-

Are you ready to die?
got my Shinigami eyes on-
everything is fine-
got my Shinigami eyes-

Are you ready to die?
got my Shinigami eyes on-
everything is fine-
got my Shinigami eyes-

Are you ready to die?
got my Shinigami eyes on-
everything is fine-
got my Shinigami eyes on you

I like making friends with demons
You need special eyes to see 'em
Have you got your -
Shinigami eyes on?

Are you ready to die?
got my Shinigami eyes on-
everything is fine-
got my Shinigami eyes-

Are you ready to die?
got my Shinigami eyes on-
everything is fine-
got my Shinigami eyes on you

And young men's love doth lie -
never in their hearts -
only in their eyes -
and I'm so fucking high -
rent-free in your head -
missing from your bed -
I know your secrets, everything, oh-

Are you ready to die?
got my Shinigami eyes on-
everything is fine-
got my Shinigami eyes

Are you ready to die?
got my Shinigami eyes on-
everything is fine-
got my Shinigami eyes on you

You like me the most -
You follow me the most -
I'm the queen on the chess board-
and the red upon the rose -

And you like me the most -
You follow me the most -
I'm the queen on every chess board-
I'm the setting that you export -

In this timeline
We do what I like
Always what I like
Baby, it's a fine time
Shinigami prime time
Now we do what I like
Baby it's the best time
And you can't say no

And everything is fine-
Got my Shinigami eyes on-
You ready to die?
Got my Shinigami eyes on you -

Are you ready to die?
got my Shinigami eyes on-
everything is fine-
got my Shinigami eyes

Are you ready to die?
got my Shinigami eyes on-
everything is fine-
got my Shinigami eyes

Are you ready to die?
got my Shinigami eyes on-
everything is fine-
got my Shinigami eyes

Are you ready to die?
got my Shinigami eyes on-
everything is fine-
got my Shinigami eyes on you

The lyric 'And young men's love doth lie, never in their hearts, only in their eyes' is taken from William Shakespeare's tragedy Romeo and Juliet, where the narrator comments on Romeo's many instances of falling in love as “young men's love then lies / Not truly in their hearts, but in their eyes.”

Trivia

• Shinigami Eyes, even though it is apart of Book 1, has no relation to it. Grimes said that she and Illangelo made the song because they liked watching Death Note.
• The original (demo) version of Shinigami Eyes used to be much slower in tempo than the release version.

Versions

▶ Single - 2:39
▶ Music video - 3:19
▶ Trailer - 0:23

Demos
▶ 4:18