Let's Hear It for the Boy (album)

Deniece Williams produced six of the album's tracks while George Duke produced the remaining four.^[4] The production of the album was completed in early May 1984 and the album was released a few weeks later.^[5]

The album's title track reached No. 1 in the US on the Billboard Hot 100, Hot Soul Singles, and Dance Club Play charts.^[6][7][8] On the UK Pop Singles chart, it peaked at No. 2.^[9] The song was written for the 1984 feature film Footloose and appears on its soundtrack. It was certified Platinum by the RIAA.^[10][11]

Another song released as a single was, "Next Love", which peaked at No. 17 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart.^[12]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
The Baltimore Sun	[13]
New York Daily News	unrated[14]

Connie Johnson of the Los Angeles Times favourably found, "There's a lightness to Williams' music. It suggests a spring day with no clouds in the sky, and puppy love-as opposed to 'messy' adult passion...A former protege of Stevie Wonder and Maurice White, she uses traces of their sound in her music, coupled with her own lithe gracefulness...Williams' sound may be light, but it always has a proficient and artful base..This is the kind of music that amounts to little more than stylish fluff. But it works."^[15] Chris Albertson of Stereo Review noted, "Williams not only has a fine voice, she also knows exactly how to use it-when to let it loose and when not to. There is no screaming here, just fine vocalizing and first-rate arrangements".^[16] Steve Morse of The Boston Globe praised the album, saying, "She's been known for middle-of-the-road ballads, but she breaks out here with her first uptempo record, setting a crisp pace through '80s disco funk and bedazzling electronics."^[17]

Williams was later bestowed with a Soul Train Award nomination for Artist of the Year.^[18]