"My Boy" is a song by American singer Billie Eilish. It was released by Darkroom and

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Mus ...

as the sixth

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

from Eilish's debut

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

(EP), '' Don't Smile at Me'' (2017). Eilish and her brother, Finneas O'Connell, co-wrote the song, with the latter solely handling the production. A pop track with

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

-influenced instrumentation, the song was heavily inspired by boys who broke Eilish's heart. "My Boy" has been awarded several

certification Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...

s, including a platinum by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA),

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing th ...

(ARIA) and

Music Canada Music Canada (formerly Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA)) is a non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 to represent the interests of companies that record, manufacture, produce, and distribute music in Canada. It a ...

(MC). It was performed live by Eilish during her 2018 1 by 1 tour. A Troyboi remix was released on March 9, 2018.

Background and composition

"My Boy" was released on July 28, 2017, as the sixth

on Eilish's debut EP ''Don't Smile at Me''. The track was written by the singer and Finneas O'Connell, her brother and the track's sole producer. Mastering and mixing was handled by the studio personnel, John Greenham and

Rob Kinelski Robert Kinelski (born January 27, 1981) is an American mixing engineer, engineer, and record producer. He is best known for his engineering and mixing work for Billie Eilish, Finneas, Lil Dicky, Big Sean, Karol G, Joji, Beyoncé, and more. In 20 ...

, respectively. A remix of the song by TroyBoi titled "MyBoi" was released on March 9, 2018. Claire Ruder writing for '' Earmilk'' praised TroyBoi's remix, saying it "was able to successfully transform a tempo-changing short-and-sweet pop song into bass-laden and explosive EDM." And further mentions "'MyBoi,' turns chopped vocals from Billie into an instrument for the chorus of the track, paired with intricate layers of hi-hats, heavy kicks, and bass." According to sheet music published by

Universal Music Publishing Group Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) is a North American music publishing company and is part of the Universal Music Group. It was formerly known as MCA Music Publishing until it merged with PolyGram. Universal Music Publishing is the worl ...

at Musicnotes.com, "My Boy" has a moderately slow

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

of 69-72 beats per minute (BPM) and is played in the key of

B minor B minor is a minor scale based on B, consisting of the pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative major is D major and its parallel major is B major. The B natural minor scale is: : Changes neede ...

. Eilish's vocals span a range of F₃ to B₄. Critical commentary described "My Boy" as a

-influenced pop track. "My Boy" features a minimalist production consisting of a

hi-hat A hi-hat (hihat, high-hat, etc.) is a combination of two cymbals and a pedal, all mounted on a metal stand. It is a part of the standard drum kit used by drummers in many styles of music including rock, pop, jazz, and blues. Hi-hats consist o ...

and

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

. According to Baeble Music's Olivia Lewis, the track begins with a "chiller, jazz-like vibe, and a layer of darkness and mystery": "My boy's being sus', he was shady enough, but now he's just a shadow/My boy loves his friends like I love my split ends." After the lyrics: "And by that, I mean, he cuts 'em off", a "funky" tempo change happens. The song soon becomes more upbeat while maintaining the heaviness of the intro: My boy's being sus' and he don't know how to cuss/He just sounds like he's tryna be his father (Who are you?)/My boy's an ugly crier but he's such a pretty liar/And by that I mean he said he'd 'change'".

Reception and promotion

"My Boy" was praised by '' Insider'' Callie Ahlgrim, who called the track "slow" and "mysterious" and felt its chorus "is so springy and elastic that it's almost distractingly danceable." "My Boy" experienced limited success on record charts, only reaching number 20 on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Alternative Digital Song Sales The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, pr ...

chart. It, however, has been awarded several

certifications Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...

; being certified double platinum in Australia by

(ARIA) and platinum in Canada and the United States by the

(MC), and the

(RIAA), respectively. "My Boy" was performed live during Eilish's North American 1 by 1 tour in 2018.

Covers

In 2019, American punk rock band, the SWMRS, covered "My Boy" at the Blondies in London for 50 of their biggest fans. The staff of ''

Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication ''Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one- ...

'' called the SWMRS cover a "healthy dose of surfer punk rock".

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from the

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desce ...

of ''Don't Smile at Me''. * Billie Eilish – vocals, songwriter * Finneas O'Connell – producer, songwriter * John Greenham – mastering engineer *

– mixer

Charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

* {{authority control 2017 singles 2017 songs Billie Eilish songs Songs written by Billie Eilish Songs written by Finneas O'Connell Song recordings produced by Finneas O'Connell Interscope Records singles