"Tell Ur Girlfriend" is a song recorded by American rapper and singer

Lay Bankz Layia Watkins (born June 11, 2004), known professionally as Lay Bankz, is an American singer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After signing a record contract with Artist Partner Group (APG) in 2022, she released the singles "Left Cheek (Doo Doo ...

. It was released through Artist Partner Group on February 7, 2024, as the lead single from her debut

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

, ''

After 7 After 7 is an American R&B group founded in 1987 by brothers Melvin and Kevon Edmonds, and their friend Keith Mitchell. The Edmonds brothers are the older siblings of pop/R&B singer-songwriter and record producer Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, w ...

''.

Atia Boggs Atia Boggs, also known as INK, is a Grammy-nominated American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer. She has worked with Chris Brown, Justin Bieber, Monica, and Beyoncé, among others. Songwriting and production credits Credits are c ...

and

Johnny Goldstein Yonatan "Johnny" Goldstein (Hebrew: יונתן "ג'וני" גולדשטיין; born January 29, 1991) is an Israeli multi-platinum record producer and songwriter specializing in pop, hip hop, dance and electronic music. Goldstein has collabora ...

co-wrote the R&B and

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s ...

song with hip hop and

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

elements, in which Bankz sings and raps over a Philly club-inspired beat about asking a lover with a girlfriend to tell her about their affair. The song topped the

TikTok Billboard Top 50 The TikTok ''Billboard'' Top 50 is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' in the United States. It ranks the most popular songs on the social media platform TikTok in the United States based on a combination of total creations, video views a ...

chart for three weeks starting in April 2024. A dance trend on TikTok using the song brought it success on streaming platforms; its high streaming numbers led to its appearance on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, where it peaked at number 58. Elsewhere, it peaked at number 33 in Canada and at number 15 in the United Kingdom. She performed the song at Rolling Loud California 2024 on March 15, 2024. The official video premiered on Bankz' Youtube channel on April 23, 2024, and features Bankz dancing in a hair salon to the song.

Background and release

Before releasing "Tell Ur Girlfriend", rapper

released her first single through Artist Partner Group, "Left Cheek (Doo Doo Blick)", in 2022; her debut extended play (EP), ''Now You See Me'', in August 2023; and her single "Ick", which was used in over 200 thousand videos on TikTok by 2024. "Tell Ur Girlfriend" was co-written by Bankz with songwriters

and

and released as the lead single from Lay Bankz's debut studio album ''

'', on February 7, 2024. The song first found popularity on TikTok in March 2024 due to a dance trend created by user @who.is.ga6y and popularized by user @laurieluna13, leading to an uptick in streams for the song. By April 2024, the song had been used in over millions of videos on the platform. A music video for "Tell Ur Girlfriend" was filmed in Bankz's hometown of Philadelphia. Another TikTok trend associated with the song focused on her appearance in the video. The official video premiered on Bankz' Youtube channel on April 23, 2024, and features Bankz dancing in a hair salon to the song. As of June 17, 2024 it has over 10 million views.

Composition and lyrics

"Tell Ur Girlfriend" is a melodic song with a Philly club-inspired beat, "stuttering" synths, vocal samples, which incorporates 1990s R&B and

with elements of rap and dance music. Bankz raps during the verses while singing in its double-time chorus. Rosie Long Decter of ''

Billboard Canada The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Canadian Hot 100 was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007, and is currently the standard record chart in Canada; a ne ...

'' called it " Timbaland-inspired" and compared the vocal samples on the song to those on the Ginuwine song " Pony" and the

Justin Timberlake Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is one of the world's best-selling music artists, with sales of over 88 million records. Timberlake is the recipient of numerous awards and ac ...

song " My Love". Lyrically, it describes Bankz's relationship with a man who is cheating on his girlfriend as she implores him to tell her about their affair before she does.

Reception

Commercial

"Tell Ur Girlfriend" became Bankz's debut on any ''

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 ...

'' chart after appearing on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart at number 45 for the week dated April 21, 2024. It peaked at number 24 the following week. It also debuted and peaked at number 58 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the week dated April 27, 2024, owing mostly to its high streaming numbers. In Canada, it debuted at number 64 on the

Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. The Canadian Hot 100 was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007, and is currently the standard record chart in Canada; a n ...

in April 2024 and rose to number 33 the following week. It also peaked at number 15 on the United Kingdom's Official Singles Chart in May 2024 after having debuted on the chart at number 92 the previous month. The song topped the TikTok Billboard Top 50 chart for three weeks starting on April 27, 2024.

Critical

'' Uproxx'' called it "a single that is wildly infectious and begs for a few listens before moving on to something else." ''The Garnette Report'' said it added "layers of serrated synths and space-age squelches of turn-of-the-millennium R&B atop the sliding 808s of drill and insistent five-beat pattern of East Coast Club to create a futuristic, dancefloor-filling anthem."

Track listings

*Streaming/digital download # "Tell Ur Girlfriend" – 2:04 *Streaming/digital download – sped up # "Tell Ur Girlfriend" (sped up) – 1:52 *Streaming/digital download - slowed # "Tell Ur Girlfriend" (slowed) – 2:14 *Streaming/digital download – instrumental # "Tell Ur Girlfriend" (instrumental) – 2:04

Charts

Certifications

References

{{reflist 2024 singles 2024 songs Lay Bankz songs Songs about infidelity Synth-pop songs Rhythm and blues songs Hip hop songs