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 observe 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 draw 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 manner 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 hold it anymore,” she confesses, barely above a whisper. That line alone units the stage for a music 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 phobia and liberation of unveiling who you actually are.
I’ve been sitting on a secret
And I don’t suppose I can hold it anymore
I’ve been hiding out in Northern California
The place no person is aware of who I used to be earlier than
The place they gained’t choose 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 a substitute, it flows with a quiet energy, permitting the story to hold the load. Gently plucked guitars and aching melodies wind their manner round layered harmonies, giving the observe a heat, nearly stay 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 assumed it will be,” is greater than a revelation. It’s a reckoning. There’s vulnerability in each syllable, but in addition an rising resilience. It’s the sound of somebody studying to cease apologizing for who they’re.
We have been counting down, the music stopped
We have 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 12 months
Nicely, it wasn’t on mine
I fell in love
And it wasn’t with who I assumed it will be
And I’m scared to consider what you’ll consider me
His lips have been mushy
I had no selection, I kissed a boy
“Boy” is a second of non-public and inventive 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 ny metropolis for me or 2022’s Woman of My Desires), this observe marks a deeper dive into the elements 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 how you can 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 a substitute, it exists by itself phrases, contemplative, honest, and wealthy with emotional texture. It’s a music about queerness, sure, however extra broadly, it’s a music about shedding expectations. About telling the reality when it’s laborious. In regards to the stunning, terrifying act of being absolutely recognized.
What makes the observe all of the extra impactful is FLETCHER’s vocal efficiency, restrained however by no means indifferent. Her voice wavers and swells with every line, filled 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 an excellent music to an excellent one.
The collaboration with Shane McAnally, a author with an uncanny capability to translate advanced feelings into elegantly easy traces, brings an added layer of poignancy to the observe. McAnally’s work with artists like Kacey Musgraves and Maren Morris has at all times leaned into storytelling, and “Boy” follows go well with, drawing the listener into FLETCHER’s world with lyrical honesty and melodic grace.
If I’ll or gained’t do that once more
Perhaps 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 12 months
Nicely, it wasn’t on mine
I fell in love (I fell in love)
And it wasn’t with who I assumed it will be
And I’m scared to consider what you’ll consider me
His lips have 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 might 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 business acclaim, large excursions, and billions of streams, FLETCHER may simply have leaned into the consolation of confirmed success. As a substitute, with “Boy,” she chooses discomfort, honesty, and development. 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 considered one of pop’s most emotionally articulate voices; she transcends. FLETCHER’s music has at all times 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 12 months
Nicely, it wasn’t on mine
I kissed a boy
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Stream: “Boy” – FLETCHER
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© Carissa Gallo
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