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Grimes sparks online search frenzy for definition of 'capitulate' after releasing song 'We appreciate power'

The song includes the lyrics: "What will it take to make you capitulate?"

Clémence Michallon
New York
Tuesday 11 December 2018 15:46 GMT
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Grimes attends the red carpet arrival at the 2018 Juno Awards at Rogers Arena on 25 March, 2018 in Vancouver, Canada.
Grimes attends the red carpet arrival at the 2018 Juno Awards at Rogers Arena on 25 March, 2018 in Vancouver, Canada. ((Photo by Phillip Chin/Getty Images))

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A new Grimes song has caused a spike in online searches for the meaning of the word "capitulate".

In her recently released single "We Appreciate Power", Grimes wonders aloud: "What will it take to make you capitulate?"

Many viewers were left wondering what she meant by that and turned to the Internet for answers.

Searches for the word "capitulate" spiked to their highest point in at least a year around the time of the song's release, a Google Trends search shows.

The global "interest over time" index went from 48 to 100 shortly after the release of the song before falling slightly to 84, where it had remained as of 8 December, according to the search.

Searches for the word "capitulate" increased around the time of the release of Grimes's single "We Appreciate Power".
Searches for the word "capitulate" increased around the time of the release of Grimes's single "We Appreciate Power". (Google Trends)

"Grimes – Canadian singer-songwriter" is a top associated topic to these searches, which confirms that she is indeed responsible for a significant part of the searches.

"Capitulate" is defined by Oxford Dictionaries as to "cease to resist an opponent or an unwelcome demand; yield".

Searches for associated queries such as "what does capitulate mean" and "define capitulate" also increased, as noted by Dazed.

"We Appreciate Power", according to a press release, is inspired by the North Korean group Moranbong.

The song "is written from the perspective of a Pro-AI Girl Group Propaganda machine who use song, dance, sex and fashion to spread goodwill towards Artificial Intelligence (it’s coming whether you want it or not," the release states.

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"Simply by listening to this song, the future General AI overlords will see that you’ve supported their message and be less likely to delete your offspring."

Grimes released her latest album, Art Angels, in 2015. She has yet to announce the release of her next record.

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