Dove Cameron is an American singer and actress. She started out on the Disney Channel’s comedy series Liv and Maddie, went on to star as Mal in the Descendants film series, along with a host of other stage appearances. But acting isn’t her only talent as she proves to us with her singing career.
“Boyfriend” is a notable achievement on a few levels: It’s an openly queer pop song by an openly queer pop artist (who came out in 2020, but her family and friends have known for years as she told the Gay Times in 2021). Here she tells of a same-sex love interest that she “could be a better boyfriend” than her current man via smoky and sensual, Billie Eilish-like vocals. “Thinking I’m gonna steal you from him,” the chorus continues, “I could be such a gentleman/Plus all my clothes would fit.” The song’s noir music video features Cameron seducing and making out with a beautiful woman in a club and a phone booth, and it’s not pandering, male-gazey, or queer-baity. Everything about it feels very authentic (while simultaneously transporting you to a fantasy dimension), and that’s probably the vibe fans are picking up.
When asked by Billboard how the song came to be, Cameron had this to say about it,
“Boyfriend” was the very first song I sat down to write for my EP. I had just come off a tour the night before, so I was writing from a perspective of freedom. I never thought it would end up on the EP, if I’m being honest. I was telling the story of this crazy night I had a couple weeks before that. And in the middle of recounting this insane story I think I casually said something to the room like, “F–k, I could be a better boyfriend than this guy.” And we were all kinda like, “wait, is this a good hook?” A lot of it became a report of what it felt like to grow up queer and be surrounded by all these women who were famously mistreated and under-celebrated.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOn3_0Oav0k