Hello, and welcome to a special Valentine’s Day edition of Hearing Double, where I compare and contrast two unrelated songs of the same title and decide which title does the most justice!
For Valentine’s Day, we are holding an official battle of “Boyfriend” by Dove Cameron, Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber and Big Time Rush. There can only be one winner.
Round #1
Our first matchup is Dove Cameron versus Justin Bieber. These two songs are both trying to convince us that they should be a woman’s boyfriend. They even use similar phrases, with Bieber saying he “can be a gentleman, anything you want” and Cameron saying she “could be such a gentleman.”
One notable difference between the songs is that while Bieber is auditioning himself to be a boyfriend, Cameron is explicitly attempting to replace the boyfriend her love interest already has, saying she is going to “steal you from him.” She includes personal attacks on the current boyfriend, pointing out the ways he abandoned his girlfriend.
An even more notable difference is Cameron’s sapphic twist on the song, allowing her to subvert the classic image of a boyfriend and joke about how “all [her] clothes would fit” if the girlfriend wanted to borrow them.
Bieber’s song paints a very upbeat, aspirational picture of him as a boyfriend, saying he’d “never let you go” and hyping up the hypothetical relationship. Although it’s undeniably a fun song with a great beat and catchy tune, its weakness lies in how general it is. As is typical of this era and genre of pop, the song is designed for mass appeal, while Cameron’s song manages to feel more intimate and seductive, as if she’s making a personal plea.
Dove Cameron will move on to the finals.
Round #2
Our next matchup pits Big Time Rush against Ariana Grande (along with Social House, who feature on Grande’s track).
Big Time Rush’s “Boyfriend” is their top song on Spotify and has captured many a nostalgic heart at parties and girls’ nights. There’s no argument that the song is catchy and downright fun, especially when you can sing it in a group and dance along. Unsurprisingly, this song also attempts to pitch the narrator as a potential boyfriend, with particular emphasis on his commitment to pursuing his love interest.
Big Time Rush does suffer from the same disadvantage as Bieber: it’s hard to make a song with a lot of feeling when it’s designed to make millions of girls imagine it could be about them. Luckily for this “Boyfriend,” the song comes off as more wholesome than intimate, focusing on the cheerful music rather than the basic lyrics or surface-level emotion. Though it may not be a masterpiece for the ages, this “Boyfriend” does exactly what it’s trying to do: simply make the listener feel good.
Ariana Grande’s “boyfriend” is a melancholy dialogue between two self-declared “train wrecks” who are not dating but are jealous for each other and don’t want the other “to see nobody else” or “touch nobody else.”
The interplay between two people who are obviously going through the same struggle in this song is entertaining and open to interpretation. Although the couple is undoubtedly in love, they are working through their own issues while they pine for their other half. While it could be seen as an unhealthy obsession with someone you’re not dating, it can also be seen as a private commitment to someone you love while you’re still getting to a place where you can be in a relationship.
These are two very different songs with very different tones. Big Time Rush’s “Boyfriend” is a nostalgic classic, but the interplay between the two characters in Grande’s “boyfriend” is ultimately more compelling.
Round #3: The ultimate “Boyfriend”
Now it’s time for the finals: Dove Cameron vs. Ariana Grande. The songs have similar vibes, but the lyrics tell diverging stories.
The pulsing music in Cameron’s “Boyfriend” reflects the intense personality Cameron is projecting through the sultry lyrics and intimate tone. The entire song comes together beautifully to play with the audience’s image of a boyfriend. Cameron’s mastery of tone almost makes you feel like she’s in the club flirting with you personally and doing a good job of it too.
Grande and Social House paint a relatable and realistic picture of what it means to love someone you can’t be in a relationship with. The harmonies elevate the music to another level, a constant strength of Grande. The debate between whether the narrators are toxic or yearning adds a fun layer to the listening experience, which can be intensive or relaxed depending on the listener’s mood going into the song. However, Grande’s “boyfriend” doesn’t quite have the same power and intentionality behind it as Cameron’s.
It’s a close battle (between all four songs, not just our finalists), but Dove Cameron’s “Boyfriend” manages to earn the title.
Winner: Dove Cameron