Meaning of “Boyfriend” by Usher

Usher is still in the game, folks. Raymond didn’t drop any singles in 2021 or 2022 (as the headline artist), but earlier in 2023 he did come out with one called “Glu” and also co-headlined “Good Good” with 21 Savage and Summer Walker. 

So “Boyfriend”, which was released on 16 August 2023, marks his third single of the year. And Usher had a hand in writing this song, a task he accomplished alongside Rico Love. Meanwhile, the producer of the track is Miranda Sarah Einy.

THE KEKE PALMER DRAMA

As alluded to earlier, Usher’s music career in and of itself isn’t quite what it used to be. There was a time when his singles achieved platinum status almost by default. But as for “Boyfriend”, it has generated headlines primarily due to the heavy involvement of Keke Palmer, a very-popular actress and more specifically some serious relationship drama she has gotten into which this effort is a part of.

This all dates back to early July, when Keke attended one of Usher’s (residency) shows in Las Vegas. 

Raymond decided to serenade her directly, thus putting Palmer in the spotlight. At the time, she was basically wearing a one piece bikini covered by a sheer dress. Meanwhile Palmer and her boyfriend, one Darius Jackson, just had a baby four months prior.

Darius has a pretty-notable social media following himself and stirred up a backlash by criticizing Keke for what she wore to Usher’s concert, pointing out that in his opinion, as a mother said outfit was inappropriate to rock out in public. 

Palmer’s direct response wasn’t anything rude per se. But fundamentally, her answer to Jackson reads as if she doesn’t give AF.

THE MUSIC VIDEO OF “BOYFRIEND”

Indirectly, it can also be argued that the music video to this song – as directed by Ricky Alvarez – if not the lyrics themselves, are further slaps to the face of Darius. As for the clip, it is actually themed on Keke Palmer dancing with Usher in Las Vegas. 

In fact she’s the star of the visual (as acknowledged at its conclusion), being afforded a lot more screen time than the singer himself (as well as gracing the single’s cover art). But to note, Palmer isn’t scantily clad in the clip and indeed is quite the opposite for the most part. And whereas she and Raymond do briefly dance together, their gyrations don’t come off as being sexual in nature.

THE LYRICS OF “BOYFRIEND”

Also, the titular “boyfriend” would be that of the addressee. That is to say that who Usher is singing to, obviously, is a romantic interest who already has a steady man in her life.

As implied in the chorus, said man has caught wind that his lady is messing around with Raymond and is therefore “looking for” the singer, presumably to confront him. So Usher’s response is basically to taunt him by pointing out that he is “easy to find”, as all dude has to do is search out his girlfriend, and he will find Usher by her side. 

So not only, in a roundabout way, is he verifying the existence of their affair, but the vocalist is also letting the addressee’s man know that he isn’t intimidated by him.

“Somebody said that your boyfriend’s lookin’ for me
Oh, that’s cool, that’s cool
Well, he should know I’m pretty easy to find
Just look for me wherever he sees you”

But as far as the verses go, they’re relatively-sanitized. For example, the first verse implies that the relationship between the vocalist and addressee is an imaginary one which the latter ‘daydreams’ about. 

The second verse does reveal that the two of them “linked up” more than once and may have even done a bit of whining, i.e. really-close ‘slow dancing’, in the process. But it doesn’t particularly give the impression that the pair actually have something going on, with their relationship reading as if it is more based on flirting than anything else. 

In other words, there’s obviously a mutual attraction between them, but concurrently there’s no indication that they ever did anything beyond dancing with each other, nor is there any direct allusion to them intending to do so in the future.

CONCLUSION

Or let’s conclude by saying that “Boyfriend” can be taken either way. The vocalist and addressee may not have any intention to hook up per se. But at same time, they have de-factored the latter’s boyfriend meaning that, at the very least, the potential exists. And with that said it should be noted that, according to the latest report, Darius Jackson did in fact proceed to terminate his relationship with Keke Palmer in the wake of this song/video being dropped.