Mad at Disney

"Mad at Disney" is a song by American singer Salem Ilese from her second extended play Unsponsored Content (2022). It was released on July 24, 2020, for digital download and streaming by HomeMade and TenThousand Projects. The pop song was inspired by songwriter and producer Jason Hahs' disappointment after watching the 2019 remake of The Lion King. Ilese then recounted her disillusion with love after getting false expectations of romance from watching Disney Princess films. Lyrically, the track describes the love stories of Disney princesses from a negative perspective and further references several princesses.

"Mad at Disney"
A cartoon drawing of a girl dressed as Cinderella holding a star wand. She stands in front of a cartoon drawing of Cinderella's castle.
Single by Salem Ilese
from the EP Unsponsored Content
WrittenAugust 2019
ReleasedJuly 24, 2020
GenrePop
Length2:17
Label
Songwriter(s)
  • Jason Hahs
  • Bendik Møller
Producer(s)
  • Jason Hahs
  • Bendik Møller
Salem Ilese singles chronology
"It Gets Better"
(2020)		 "Mad at Disney"
(2020)		 "Coke and Mentos"
(2020)
Music video
"Mad at Disney" on YouTube

"Mad at Disney" received positive reviews from music critics, who praised its lyrics. One month after its release, the song went viral on the online video platform TikTok. Consequently, the track entered the charts in various countries. It reached the top ten in Malaysia and Singapore and peaked within the top 50 in Australia, Flanders, Ireland and Norway. "Mad at Disney" was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Music Canada (MC) and the Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry (ZPAV). On October 15, 2020, a music video directed by Phillip Lopez was released. It makes reference to various Disney films.

Background and release

After running into American singer-songwriter Bonnie Hayes when she was 12 years old, Ilese was inspired to continue her studies at Berklee College of Music upon discovering that Hayes was a professor there.[1] While attending Berklee, she met Bendik Møller in a writing session with whom she collaborated on her debut single "Awake" (2018) and her debut extended play 757 (2019).[1] Ilese dropped out of the college after two years and moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in music.[1][2]

"Mad at Disney" was released for digital download and streaming by HomeMade and TenThousand Projects on July 24, 2020.[3] It was sent for radio airplay in Italy and contemporary hit radio stations in the United States on October 6, 2020.[4][5] The track was later included on Ilese's 2022 extended play Unsponsored Content.[6]

Composition

"Mad at Disney" was written in August 2019, during a writing session between Ilese, Møller and Jason Hahs. The title was inspired by Hahs's disappointment after viewing the 2019 remake of The Lion King, telling them "I'm really mad at Disney." Ilese then related that sentiment to the "false view of relationships" given to her by viewing animated Disney films.[7] Hahs and Møller produced the song, while Zac Pennington mixed it and Stephen Kaye mastered it.[8]

"Mad at Disney" is a pop song.[9] Stereogum's Chris DeVille described the song's instrumentation as "thumping" and "synth powered".[9] Lyrically, it details Ilese's disillusionment with love due to negative experiences with her own relationships, contrasting those with the fairy tale romances found in Disney films.[7] The second verse includes retellings of the Disney films Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty, in which Cinderella and Prince Charming get a divorce and Aurora gets cheated on by her prince, respectively.[7]

Reception and commercial performance

"Mad at Disney" received positive reviews from music critics. DeVille called the song "a hell of a pop song", clarifying that "['Mad at Disney'] manages to sound like every other new pop song on the radio while also standing out from the pack".[9] Elias Leight of Rolling Stone declared that "Mad at Disney" is "a skipping, four-on-the-floor pop missile".[7] English singer Mollie King, writing for Marie Claire, stated that the track is "subtle yet hugely relevant" and referred to the lyrics as "thought-provoking".[10] Idolator's Mike Wass called its lyrics "very relatable" and the chorus "catchy".[11] Kristin Robinson of Billboard affirmed that the song is responsible for "the proliferation of hyper-conceptual, clever lyric writing" of TikTok songwriters who make use of "fan participation to inspire new music" alongside Blackbear's "Hot Girl Bummer" (2019).[12] "Mad at Disney" went viral on the online video platform TikTok one month after its release.[7] As of May 2021, the song was used in nearly 3 million videos on the platform.[2]

As a result of its virality, the song entered the charts of several countries.[13] "Mad at Disney" peaked at number seven in both Malaysia and Singapore.[14][15] It also reached the top 50 in Australia,[16] Flanders,[17] Ireland,[18] and Norway.[19] The track peaked at number seven during its second week on Billboard's Bubbling Under Hot 100 and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[20][21] In Canada, the song reached number 82 and was also certified gold by Music Canada (MC).[22][23] Despite not entering the Polish charts, "Mad at Disney" was certified gold by the Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry (ZPAV).[24]

Promotion

The music video for "Mad at Disney" was published on Ilese's YouTube channel on October 15, 2020, and it was directed by Phillip Lopez.[25][26] Throughout the video, Ilese makes references to various Disney films and also dresses up as several Disney characters.[27] According to Alberto Murcia Palao of Los 40, Ilese wears a pair of ears that is similar to Dopey's.[27] In the end scene, she is seen at a party among other characters, such as the Big Bad Wolf and Prince Charming.[27] Wass called the music video "kooky".[11] On October 22, 2020 Ilese gave an acoustic performance of the song at American radio station KIIS-FM.[28] At the 2022 Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival, she sang an altered version of "Mad at Disney" to express her disapproval of the US Supreme Court's ruling on abortion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization.[29]

Personnel

Credits adapted from AllMusic.[8]

Charts
Chart performance for "Mad at Disney"
Chart (2020) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[16] 50
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[17] 48
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Wallonia)[30] 4
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[22] 82
Global 200 (Billboard)[22] 67
Greece International (IFPI)[31] 75
Ireland (IRMA)[18] 49
Malaysia (RIM)[14] 7
Netherlands (Single Tip)[32] 2
New Zealand Hot Singles (Recorded Music NZ)[33] 17
Norway (VG-lista)[19] 36
Portugal (AFP)[34] 113
Singapore (RIAS)[15] 7
Sweden Heatseeker (Sverigetopplistan)[35] 19
UK Singles (OCC)[36] 60
US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (Billboard)[20] 7
US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[22] 40
US Rolling Stone Top 100[37] 100

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[23] Gold 40,000‡
Poland (ZPAV)[24] Gold 25,000‡
United States (RIAA)[21] Gold 500,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history
Release dates and formats for "Mad at Disney"
Region Date Format Label Ref.
Various July 24, 2020
  • HomeMade
  • TenThousand
 [3]
Italy October 6, 2020 Radio airplay
  • TenThousand
  • Caroline
 [4]
United States Contemporary hit radio
[5]

References
  1. Bennett, Ty (October 7, 2020). "How did Salem Ilese go from dropout to 44 million streams in a matter of months?". The Line of Best Fit. Archived from the original on June 5, 2022. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
  2. "Get To Know: Salem Ilese". MTV. May 27, 2021. Archived from the original on December 8, 2021. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
  3. Citations regarding the release of "Mad at Disney" in various countries:
  4. Merzari, Chandrika Anna. "Salem Ilese 'Mad at Disney' | (Radio Date: 06/10/2020)" (Press release) (in Italian). Airplay Control. Archived from the original on June 6, 2022. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
  5. "Top 40/M Future Releases". All Access. Archived from the original on October 2, 2020. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
  6. "Unsponsored Content – EP by Salem Ilese on Apple Music". iTunes Store (US). February 25, 2022. Archived from the original on April 29, 2022. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
  7. Leight, Elias (September 10, 2020). "'Mad at Disney': How an Angry Fan Made a Massive TikTok Hit". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on September 26, 2020. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  8. "Mad at Disney – Salem Ilese | Credits". AllMusic. Archived from the original on June 5, 2022. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
  9. DeVille, Chris (September 14, 2020). "The Glory And The Irony Of 'Mad At Disney'". Stereogum. Archived from the original on September 19, 2020. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  10. King, Mollie (September 25, 2020). "Mollie's Feel-Good Feed: All things nails plus a gold mine of pop tunes". Marie Claire. Archived from the original on September 26, 2020. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  11. Wass, Mike (October 25, 2020). "Future Hit: Salem Ilese's 'Mad At Disney' Is Going Viral". Idolator. Archived from the original on June 5, 2022. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
  12. "Five Burning Questions: GAYLE's 'abcdefu' Continues Its Climb Up the Hot 100's Top 10". Billboard. January 25, 2022. Archived from the original on April 21, 2022. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
  13. Donelson, Marcy. "Salem Ilese – Biography". AllMusic. Archived from the original on April 20, 2022. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
  14. "Top 20 Most Streamed International & Domestic Singles In Malaysia". Recording Industry Association of Malaysia. Recording Industry Association of Malaysia. Archived from the original on November 20, 2020. Retrieved October 11, 2020 – via Facebook.
  15. "Singapore Top 30 Digital Streaming Chart – Week 38". Recording Industry Association Singapore. Archived from the original on September 23, 2020. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  16. "Salem Ilese – Mad at Disney". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
  17. "Salem Ilese – Mad at Disney" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved November 6, 2020.
  18. "Irish-charts.com – Discography Salem Ilese". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
  19. "Salem Ilese – Mad at Disney". VG-lista. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
  20. "Bubbling Under Hot 100 – Week of October 3, 2020". Billboard. October 2, 2020. Archived from the original on November 23, 2021. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  21. "American single certifications – Salem Ilese – Mad At Disney". Recording Industry Association of America. April 19, 2021.
  22. "Salem Ilese, Mad at Disney". Billboard. Archived from the original on March 5, 2022. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  23. "Canadian single certifications – Salem Ilese – Mad at Disney". Music Canada. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
  24. "Wyróżnienia – Złote płyty CD - Archiwum - Przyznane w 2021 roku" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
  25. "Salem Ilese – Mad at Disney (Official Music Video)". October 15, 2020. Archived from the original on May 30, 2022. Retrieved June 6, 2022 – via YouTube.
  26. Temeng, Danielle. "Equate Introducing: Salem Ilese". Equate Magazine. Archived from the original on November 6, 2020. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
  27. Murcia Palao, Alberto (October 19, 2020). "'Mad at Disney' de Salem Ilese, el tema viral de TikTok, ya tiene videoclip" [Salem Ilese's 'Mad at Disney', the viral theme of TikTok, already has a video]. Los 40 (in Spanish). Archived from the original on November 7, 2020. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  28. Soudbaksh, Tara (October 22, 2020). "Salem Ilese Talks 'Mad At Disney' Success, Quarantine + More". KIIS-FM. Archived from the original on December 3, 2020. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
  29. Diamond, Joy (August 6, 2022). "Outside Lands announces 2023 dates and other highlights from the three-day festival". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
  30. "Salem Ilese – Mad at Disney" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  31. "Official IFPI Charts – Digital Singles Chart (International) – Weeks: 39/2020". IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on October 6, 2020. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  32. "Salem Ilese – Mad at Disney" (in Dutch). Dutch Single Top 100. Archived from the original on June 5, 2022. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
  33. "NZ Hot Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. September 7, 2020. Archived from the original on September 14, 2020. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
  34. "Salem Ilese – Mad at Disney". AFP Top 100 Singles. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
  35. "Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 39, 2020" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Archived from the original on January 12, 2021. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  36. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
  37. "Top 100 Songs". Rolling Stone. September 18, 2020. Archived from the original on October 23, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
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