Petals (extended play)

Petals is the debut extended play (EP) by American singer-songwriter Neriah Fisher. It was released on June 30, 2017 by Republic Records. It consists of six songs, heavily influenced by modern hip-hop and contains elements of rock. It follows the release of her second mixtape, titled Heartache in March 2017.

The extended play was preceded by the single, "Wilting Flower". It was released for streaming and digital download on May 19, 2017, around a month and a half before the official release of the extended play. The track peaked at number 8 in Canada, becoming Fisher's first top 10 single. The music video was released on May 31, 2017 and accumulated 8.1 million views in its first 24 hours. The video reached number one on the Trending tab on YouTube. After the release of the extended play, "One Night" featuring Shawn Mendes was released as the second single from the EP. "Knock Us Out" with Nicki Minaj was released as the third and final single from the extended play and debuted at number 5 on the Canadian Hot 100. It later peaked at number one on the chart after the release of the song's music video on September 24, 2017. The song peaked at number 10 the following week.

The extended play debuted at number, selling 19,000 units in its first week and debuted at number 29 on the US Billboard 200 chart. The following week, it sold 4,700 units and fell to number 178. It rose to number 90 the week after and spent 12 additional weeks on the chart for a total of 15 weeks. In Canada, the album sold 12,100 units in its first week and debuted at number one, blocking out Lorde's Melodrama from the top spot.

Background
Fisher worked with Jack Antonoff, Joel Little, Charles Anderson, Tommy Brown, Mike Will Made It and Andrew Wyatt to produce and write the extended play. The EP is a hip hop and R&B record with rock and trap influences.

On May 18, 2017, Fisher announced that she would soon be releasing Petals, set for release in June 2017. She released the lead single, "Wilting Flower" the next day. She released the cover and the tracklist on May 28, 2017 and announced that Nicki Minaj and Shawn Mendes would be featured on the EP.

Promotion
Fisher teased the extended play on social media in May 2017, and released the cover and tracklist later that month. She performed the lead single, "Wilting Flower" on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in June 2017.

Singles
The extended play was preceded by the single, "Wilting Flower". It was released for streaming and digital download on May 19, 2017, around a month and a half before the official release of the extended play. The song entered the US Mainstream Top 40 chart at number 39, and peaked at number 24, becoming Fisher's first top 25 entry on the chart. The song bested her previous two entries, "Back to You" and "Waste My Time", which peaked at number 32 and number 40, respectively. The track debuted on the Canadian Hot 100 at number 8, becoming Fisher's first top ten entry, and best performing single there since "Waste My Time", which peaked at number 15. The music video was released on May 31, 2017 and accumulated 8.1 million views in its first 24 hours. After the release of the extended play, "One Night" featuring Shawn Mendes was released as the second single from the EP. It debuted at number 10 on the Canadian Hot 100, and fell to number 45 the following week, despite a positive start. The track peaked at number 17 on the US Mainstream Top 40, becoming Fisher's first top twenty track on the chart. It entered the US Bubbling Under Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart at number 19 and later peaked at number six. "Knock Us Out" with Nicki Minaj was released as the third and final single from the extended play and debuted at number 5 on the Canadian Hot 100, becoming Fisher's first top 5 entry and Minaj's ninth top 5 entry. It later peaked at number one on the chart after the release of the song's music video on September 24, 2017. The song debuted at number 89 on the Billboard Hot 100 due to airplay, then peaked at number 10 the following week. It was Fisher's first ever Billboard Hot 100 entry and first top 10 single. It was Minaj's 67th Hot 100 entry and 15th top 10 single.

Critical reception
Petals received positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the EP received an average score of 75. Aimee Cliff from The Guardian gave the EP a positive review, saying "Petals is a complex work of art which is surrounded by anger and regret. The entire foundation of the relationship this record is about has built on lies, secrets and betrayal, which makes the EP that much more interesting and gripping." Mikael Wood from the Los Angeles Times described the EP as a "treasure trove of hip-hop bops and hits".

Commercial performance
The extended play debuted at number, selling 19,000 units in its first week and debuted at number 29 on the US Billboard 200 chart. The following week, it sold 4,700 units and fell to number 178. It rose to number 90 the week after and spent 12 additional weeks on the chart for a total of 15 weeks. In Canada, the album sold 12,100 units in its first week and debuted at number one, blocking out Lorde's Melodrama from the top spot.