Last year, U.K. pop star Mabel released her hit debut album, High Expectations. That title, it turns out, is also an apt (and totally relatable) descriptor for her quest to find a new man.
On Wednesday (February 26), the 24-year-old dropped “Boyfriend,” an upbeat anthem about not needing a man on anything but her own terms. As she explained on Instagram, she wrote the song “to remind u all that wanting someone in your life doesn’t mean u can’t still be dat bitchh.” To that effect, “Boyfriend” finds Mabel listing off her requirements for a man. Specifically, she’s looking for someone who: can take that heat, is not too sweet, is tough while he’s running that street, can turn her on, and is a ride-or-die. “Where you at, where you at?” she asks with the kind of brash confidence that suggests she’s in absolutely no rush, thankyouverymuch.
In the accompanying video, the “Mad Love” singer and her girls take over a futuristic factory where they attempt to design the perfect S.O. It’s packed with cool choreo and even cooler looks (think lots of leather and snakeskin) and, as Mabel described, it succeeded in “making all my ’90s Aaliyah dreams come true.” Check it out above.
Mabel’s “Boyfriend” comes on the heels of her appearance at last week’s BRIT Awards, where she performed her smash hit “Don’t Call Me Up” and won the prize for Best Female Solo Artist. Clearly, 2020 is already off to a stellar start — boyfriend or not.
