Overview
"Boyfriend" is a song recorded by American pop band Big Time Rush for their debut studio album BTR (2010). The song was produced by Lucas Secon and written by him and Wayne Hector. It features rap verses by American rapper Snoop Dogg. It was released as the album's second official single on February 8, 2011, and was solicited to mainstream radio on February 15, 2011 via Columbia Records.
The song "Boyfriend" was met with mixed reviews by music critics; some praised it as a catchy single while others called it unoriginal and safe. Critics, however, praised Snoop Dogg for adding flavor to the song with his verses. The song was, however, a moderately international success, charting in Austria, Germany, Mexico, Belgium and the United Kingdom as well as a host in other countries. In the United States, the song peaked at number seventy-two on the Billboard Hot 100 becoming their highest-charting single to date. And it later earned a gold certification in the US for sales of more than 500,000 sold downloads. In 2018, the song was ranked ninety-seventh by Billboard in their compilation of the 100 Greatest Boyband Songs of All Time.
Background and composition
"Boyfriend" was written and produced by Lucas Secon while Wayne Hector, credited as Wayne Anthony Hector, also provided writing. In addition to writing and producing, Secon programmed and arranged the song while performing on drums and synthesizers. Recording sessions took place at Westlake Recording Studios in Los Angeles, California, headed by Rob Kinelski, and at Mux Music Studios in London, England, headed by Secon and Pete Hoffman, both of which mixed the song. Editing through ProTools was done by Hoffman. Mintman performed on the guitars, bass and keys, which was recorded at the Westlake Recording Studios. "Boyfriend" was released as Big Time Rush's second single on February 8, when the remix featuring Snoop Dogg was released through digital distribution. A week later, Columbia Records serviced it to contemporary hit radio and the version featuring the New Boyz to rhythmic crossover in the United States. On April 19, 2011, a new version of the song featuring the New Boyz was released for digital distribution.
"Boyfriend" features the use of monochromatic beats, condensed instrument sounds, layered and tuned vocals and autotune. According to the digital music sheet published at Musicnotes.com by Sony/ATV Music Publishing, the song is composed in a key of E major.
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