Trying something a little different now. I think that in addition to album reviews, it's also important to review standalone singles when they come out, as they can be just as important to an artist's career. Also, in the interest of staying current and to be able to take breaks now and again, I will be reviewing current singles on Wednesdays and current albums on Fridays and Sundays, "current" meaning no older than a 2019 release. As for Thursdays, I'll do a throwback to a previous year whether that be an album or a single review. And my Top 10 Tuesdays will remain as they are, with Saturday and Monday reserved for a break, or a random blog post if I feel like it. With that said, Ariana Grande's "Boyfriend"! Don't you wish it could be you?
Well, that's not what this song's about. It's actually about Ariana and the two guys from Social House... or I guess just one of them, portrayed by both of them, having a weird relationship where they're possessive of each other without actually being in an official relationship. All that healthy stuff.
In my thank u, next review, I mused on how Ariana could follow up this album. Unfortunately, this seems like the worst way to do it, taking unfinished, half-baked production elements from thank u, next and using them in frankly a pretty unpleasantly themed song. I think that if you relate to this song, you may need to seek couples therapy. Or non-couples therapy, I guess.
Not helping things are the voids of charisma, Social House themselves. Social House strike me as the Great Value version of The Chainsmokers, just as tedious, but with far less name recognition. Which is a shame, because they contributed quite a few moments of good production to thank u, next and Sweetener alike. But their production instincts don't translate well into being frontmen at all, with one being a low-rent Khalid and the other being a low-rent... I don't know, Justin Bieber? He's so indistinct. And the production kind of suffers here too. It feels like a retread of "thank u, next" the song, only so much more slapdash and rushed, like thank u, next the album.
So is there anything good in this song? Well, Ariana's able to express a lot of personality and flair as she usually does. If there's a saving grace, it's her cool performance that helps to sell the song at all. But as far as post-thank u, next releases go, this is not the way it should have gone. Thank u, next.
5/10
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