Forward of her extremely anticipated third studio album ‘Would You Nonetheless Love Me If You Actually Knew Me?’, FLETCHER returns with “Boy,” a young, soul-baring single that peels again the layers of id, vulnerability, and reality. Stripped-down but emotionally potent, the monitor marks a strong new chapter in her journey as each a queer artist and fearless storyteller.
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Stream: “Boy” – FLETCHER
FLETCHER has by no means been one to shrink back from the reality: messy, difficult, or in any other case.
With the discharge of her new single “Boy,” the primary glimpse into her upcoming third studio album Would You Nonetheless Love Me If You Actually Knew Me?, she doubles down on that emotional candor in a method that’s uncooked, courageous, and heartbreakingly stunning.
Opening with a hushed, intimate association of piano and acoustic guitar, “Boy” is an instantaneous gut-punch, not in quantity, however in honesty. “I’ve been sitting on a secret and I don’t suppose I can preserve it anymore,” she confesses, barely above a whisper. That line alone units the stage for a tune that feels extra like a confession than a pop single, a form of journal entry FLETCHER has determined to let the world learn. And in doing so, she faucets right into a universally resonant feeling: the fear and liberation of showing who you actually are.
I’ve been sitting on a secret
And I don’t suppose I can preserve it anymore
I’ve been hiding out in Northern California
The place no one is aware of who I used to be earlier than
The place they gained’t decide me within the morning
Produced and co-written with longtime collaborator Jennifer Decilveo and country-pop songwriting icon Shane McAnally, “Boy” is a masterclass in restraint. It doesn’t explode with synths or lean on bombastic pop formulation. As an alternative, it flows with a quiet power, permitting the story to hold the burden. Gently plucked guitars and aching melodies wind their method round layered harmonies, giving the monitor a heat, virtually reside really feel like FLETCHER is singing proper there in your front room, eye to eye.
The refrain, with its aching lyric, “I kissed a boy and I do know it’s not what you needed to listen to… I fell in love, and it wasn’t with who I believed it will be,” is greater than a revelation. It’s a reckoning. There’s vulnerability in each syllable, but additionally an rising resilience. It’s the sound of somebody studying to cease apologizing for who they’re.
We had been counting down, the music stopped
We had been ready for the ball to drop
I closed my eyes and I leaned in
I kissed a boy
And I do know it’s not what you needed to listen to
And it wasn’t in your bingo card this yr
Properly, it wasn’t on mine
I fell in love
And it wasn’t with who I believed it will be
And I’m scared to consider what you’ll consider me
His lips had been mushy
I had no selection, I kissed a boy
“Boy” is a second of private and creative evolution, not simply one other gorgeous addition to her music discography.
Whereas FLETCHER has lengthy explored id, love, and heartbreak in her music (see 2019’s breakout you ruined big apple metropolis for me or 2022’s Lady of My Goals), this monitor marks a deeper dive into the components of herself she hasn’t absolutely shared till now. The query posed by the album’s title Would You Nonetheless Love Me If You Actually Knew Me? hangs within the air with each verse, and with “Boy,” we get our first, unfiltered reply.
Laying my playing cards on the desk
I’ll admit I don’t know learn how to label it (Oh)
You’ll be able to suppose that I’m a hypocrite, that’s cool
I’m simply following my coronary heart, is what it’s (Mm)
And solely time will inform
There’s a fearless transparency right here that stands out in a pop panorama usually afraid of the quiet moments. “Boy” doesn’t posture. It doesn’t beg for a radio hit. As an alternative, it exists by itself phrases, contemplative, honest, and wealthy with emotional texture. It’s a tune about queerness, sure, however extra broadly, it’s a tune about shedding expectations. About telling the reality when it’s laborious. Concerning the stunning, terrifying act of being absolutely identified.
What makes the monitor all of the extra impactful is FLETCHER’s vocal efficiency, restrained however by no means indifferent. Her voice wavers and swells with every line, stuffed with each trepidation and resolve. She’s not simply delivering lyrics; she’s residing them in actual time. And that authenticity is exactly what elevates “Boy” from tune to an ideal one.
The collaboration with Shane McAnally, a author with an uncanny skill to translate complicated feelings into elegantly easy strains, brings an added layer of poignancy to the monitor. McAnally’s work with artists like Kacey Musgraves and Maren Morris has all the time leaned into storytelling, and “Boy” follows swimsuit, drawing the listener into FLETCHER’s world with lyrical honesty and melodic grace.
If I’ll or gained’t do that once more
Possibly I’ve modified or perhaps it’s simply him
However I leaned in and kissed a boy
And I do know it’s not what you needed to listen to
And it wasn’t in your bingo card this yr
Properly, it wasn’t on mine
I fell in love (I fell in love)
And it wasn’t with who I believed it will be
And I’m scared to consider what you’ll consider me
His lips had been mushy
I had no selection, I kissed a boy
Because the lead single to an album that guarantees even deeper emotional excavation, “Boy” units the tone for what could possibly be FLETCHER’s most private and defining period but.
If In Search of the Antidote was about discovering solace, Would You Nonetheless Love Me If You Actually Knew Me? appears poised to discover the fee and the need of full self-revelation.
After years of trade acclaim, huge excursions, and billions of streams, FLETCHER may simply have leaned into the consolation of confirmed success. As an alternative, with “Boy,” she chooses discomfort, honesty, and progress. She chooses to inform the reality, even when it’s laborious. Particularly when it’s laborious.
In that selection, she doesn’t simply proceed to cement herself as certainly one of pop’s most emotionally articulate voices; she transcends. FLETCHER’s music has all the time had a heartbeat, however with “Boy,” it bleeds.
I kissed a boy
And I do know it’s not what you needed to listen to
And it wasn’t in your bingo card this yr
Properly, it wasn’t on mine
I kissed a boy
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© Carissa Gallo
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