Boyfriend (Best Coast song)

The song opens with a drum fill that the Los Angeles Times likened to the one from "Badlands" by Bruce Springsteen.{{cite news|title=The Pop & Hiss interview, Part 2: Nathan Williams of Wavves and Best Coast's Bethany Cosentino|url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2011/01/the-pop-hiss-double-interview-nathan-williams-of-wavves-interviews-best-coasts-bethany-cosentino-par.html|author=Matt Diehl|date=January 27, 2011|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|access-date=February 8, 2015}} Cosentino later noted this was unintentional, saying "People think we ripped it off, but Bobb claims he had no idea."{{cite magazine|title=Boyfriend|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/boyfriend-best-coast|author=David Greenwald|date=May 7, 2012|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=February 8, 2015|archive-date=February 17, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150217015545/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/boyfriend-best-coast|url-status=dead}}

The duo performed the song in their television debut on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on January 3, 2011.{{cite web|title=Watch: Best Coast on "Fallon"|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/41095-watch-best-coast-on-fallon/|author= Larry Fitzmaurice|date=January 4, 2011|publisher=Pitchfork Media|access-date=February 8, 2015}}

The song was released on June 29, 2010 as an iTunes free Discovery Download.{{cite magazine |title=Best Coast Rides 'Crazy' Wave of Blog Buzz to Success|author= Kerri Mason |magazine=Billboard|date=August 16, 2010 |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/956836/best-coast-rides-crazy-wave-of-blog-buzz-to-success |access-date=October 4, 2013}}

Pitchfork Media designated it Best New Track upon its release, with reviewer Larry Fitzmaurice writing, "'Boyfriend' is the latest in a string of great songs from [Best Coast]...their sun-kissed sound is here to stay, and at this point she wears it like a good pair of shades—the scrubbed-up production values are a good thing."{{cite web|title=Best Coast: "Boyfriend"|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/11931-boyfriend/|author=Larry Fitzmaurice|date=June 29, 2010|publisher=Pitchfork Media|access-date=February 8, 2015|archive-date=February 8, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150208221745/http://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/11931-boyfriend/|url-status=dead}} The Chicago Tribune{{'s}} Greg Kot felt the song "almost uplifting, in part because she [Cosentino]'s got the kind of strong, transparent voice that recalls the charm and innocence of the best girl-group singers of the ‘60s. She’s yearning for something she can’t have, yes, but it’s nothing a walk on the beach couldn’t cure."{{cite news|title=Album review: Best Coast, 'The Only Place'|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/chi-best-coast-album-review-the-only-place-reviewed-20120514-column.html|author=Greg Kot|date=May 14, 2012|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|access-date=February 8, 2015}}

Allan Raible of ABC News noted that "These two styles [surf and punk] are not often put together, but make an appealing combination."{{cite web|title=Review: Best Coast's "Crazy for You" |url=https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/entertainment/2010/08/review-best-coasts-crazy-for-you/ |author=Allan Raible |date=August 10, 2010 |work=ABC News |access-date=February 8, 2015 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150208222442/http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/entertainment/2010/08/review-best-coasts-crazy-for-you/ |archive-date=February 8, 2015 }}

NME included at number 49 on its 2012 list of "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years", stating "It was the timeless quality of the track that made it feel like it could have been made at any point during rock and roll’s 60-year history."{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/list/150-best-tracks-of-the-past-15-years/248648/article/248460 |title=150 Best Tracks Of The Past 15 Years |publisher=NME|date=2012 |access-date=February 8, 2015}}

The song's music video, directed by Taylor Cohen, depict Best Coast as a party band for a girl's quinceanera. The clip was shot at Kenneth Hahn Park in September 2010, and it debuted on MTV the following October. "All the other ideas we got were about me being with a dude, which seemed too straightforward and obvious," said Cosentino of the concept. She described quinceaneras in general as "very L.A., very California."{{cite news|title=Best Coast: Coming to a Quinceanera or Bat Mitzvah near you|url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2010/10/best-coast-coming-to-a-quinceanera-or-bat-mitzvah-near-you.html|author=Margaret Wappler|date=October 25, 2010|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|access-date=February 8, 2015}}

In 2020 the duo rerecorded the song with LGBTQ-inclusive lyrics and released it as a single.{{cite web |last1=Strauss |first1=Matthew |title=Best Coast Release New Version of "Boyfriend" With LGBTQ-Inclusive Lyrics |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/best-coast-release-new-version-of-boyfriend-with-lgbtq-inclusive-lyrics-listen/ |website=Pitchfork |date=7 August 2020 |access-date=6 July 2021}} For example, the new song opens:

{{Poem quote

|text= I wish he was my boyfriend

I wish she was my girlfriend

I’d love them till the very end

But instead they are just a friend

I wish he was my boyfriend

}}

The proceeds from the new song were donated to The Trevor Project, a nonprofit supporting LGBTQ+ youth.

• ;Digital download and 12" single{{cite web|url=https://music.apple.com/us/album/boyfriend-lindstr-m-remixes/491352810|title=Boyfriend (Lindstrøm Remixes) - Single — Best Coast|date=13 January 2012 |publisher=iTunes Store (US)|access-date=February 8, 2015}}

1. "Boyfriend" (Lindstrøm Remix) (Extended version) – 9:06
2. "Boyfriend" (Lindstrøm Remix) (Radio edit)  – 4:52

• ;UK CD single

1. "Boyfriend" – 2:30

{{Reflist|2}}

• {{youtube|Uqphb_WM1rM|"Boyfriend" official music video}}

{{Best Coast}}

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Category:2010 singles

Category:2010 songs

Category:Best Coast songs

Category:Surf songs

Category:American punk rock songs