Ahead of her highly anticipated third studio album ‘Would You Still Love Me If You Really Knew Me?’, FLETCHER returns with “Boy,” a tender, soul-baring single that peels back the layers of identity, vulnerability, and truth. Stripped-down yet emotionally potent, the track marks a powerful new chapter in her journey as both a queer artist and fearless storyteller.
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Stream: “Boy” – FLETCHER
FLETCHER has never been one to shy away from the truth: messy, complicated, or otherwise.
With the release of her new single “Boy,” the first glimpse into her upcoming third studio album Would You Still Love Me If You Really Knew Me?, she doubles down on that emotional candor in a way that’s raw, brave, and heartbreakingly beautiful.
Opening with a hushed, intimate arrangement of piano and acoustic guitar, “Boy” is an immediate gut-punch, not in volume, but in honesty. “I’ve been sitting on a secret and I don’t think I can keep it anymore,” she confesses, barely above a whisper. That line alone sets the stage for a song that feels more like a confession than a pop single, a kind of journal entry FLETCHER has decided to let the world read. And in doing so, she taps into a universally resonant feeling: the terror and liberation of revealing who you really are.
I’ve been sitting on a secret
And I don’t think I can keep it anymore
I’ve been hiding out in Northern California
Where nobody knows who I was before
Where they won’t judge me in 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 formulas. Instead, it flows with a quiet strength, allowing the story to carry the weight. Gently plucked guitars and aching melodies wind their way around layered harmonies, giving the track a warm, almost live feel like FLETCHER is singing right there in your living room, eye to eye.
The chorus, with its aching lyric, “I kissed a boy and I know it’s not what you wanted to hear… I fell in love, and it wasn’t with who I thought it would be,” is more than a revelation. It’s a reckoning. There’s vulnerability in every syllable, but also an emerging resilience. It’s the sound of someone learning to stop apologizing for who they are.
We were counting down, the music stopped
We were waiting for the ball to drop
I closed my eyes and I leaned in
I kissed a boy
And I know it’s not what you wanted to hear
And it wasn’t on your bingo card this year
Well, it wasn’t on mine
I fell in love
And it wasn’t with who I thought it would be
And I’m scared to think of what you’ll think of me
His lips were soft
I had no choice, I kissed a boy
“Boy” is a moment of personal and artistic evolution, not just another stunning addition to her music discography.
While FLETCHER has long explored identity, love, and heartbreak in her music (see 2019’s breakout you ruined new york city for me or 2022’s Girl of My Dreams), this track marks a deeper dive into the parts of herself she hasn’t fully shared until now. The question posed by the album’s title Would You Still Love Me If You Really Knew Me? hangs in the air with every verse, and with “Boy,” we get our first, unfiltered answer.
Laying my cards on the table
I’ll admit I don’t know how to label it (Oh)
You can think that I’m a hypocrite, that’s cool
I’m just following my heart, is what it is (Mm)
And only time will tell
There’s a fearless transparency here that stands out in a pop landscape often afraid of the quiet moments. “Boy” doesn’t posture. It doesn’t beg for a radio hit. Instead, it exists on its own terms, contemplative, sincere, and rich with emotional texture. It’s a song about queerness, yes, but more broadly, it’s a song about shedding expectations. About telling the truth when it’s hard. About the beautiful, terrifying act of being fully known.
What makes the track all the more impactful is FLETCHER’s vocal performance, restrained but never detached. Her voice wavers and swells with each line, full of both trepidation and resolve. She’s not just delivering lyrics; she’s living them in real time. And that authenticity is precisely what elevates “Boy” from a good song to a great one.
The collaboration with Shane McAnally, a writer with an uncanny ability to translate complex emotions into elegantly simple lines, brings an added layer of poignancy to the track. McAnally’s work with artists like Kacey Musgraves and Maren Morris has always leaned into storytelling, and “Boy” follows suit, drawing the listener into FLETCHER’s world with lyrical honesty and melodic grace.
If I will or won’t do this again
Maybe I’ve changed or maybe it’s just him
But I leaned in and kissed a boy
And I know it’s not what you wanted to hear
And it wasn’t on your bingo card this year
Well, it wasn’t on mine
I fell in love (I fell in love)
And it wasn’t with who I thought it would be
And I’m scared to think of what you’ll think of me
His lips were soft
I had no choice, I kissed a boy
As the lead single to an album that promises even deeper emotional excavation, “Boy” sets the tone for what could be FLETCHER’s most personal and defining era yet.
If In Search of the Antidote was about finding solace, Would You Still Love Me If You Really Knew Me? seems poised to explore the cost and the necessity of complete self-revelation.
After years of industry acclaim, massive tours, and billions of streams, FLETCHER could easily have leaned into the comfort of proven success. Instead, with “Boy,” she chooses discomfort, honesty, and growth. She chooses to tell the truth, even when it’s hard. Especially when it’s hard.
In that choice, she doesn’t just continue to cement herself as one of pop’s most emotionally articulate voices; she transcends. FLETCHER’s music has always had a heartbeat, but with “Boy,” it bleeds.
I kissed a boy
And I know it’s not what you wanted to hear
And it wasn’t on your bingo card this year
Well, it wasn’t on mine
I kissed a boy
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Stream: “Boy” – FLETCHER
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© Carissa Gallo
© Carissa Gallo
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