The Boy Is Mine (Ariana Grande song)

An unreleased song by Grande entitled "Fantasize" was leaked in full to Spotify by fans in 2023. Recorded in 2021, Grande said that the song was a demo that was not intended to be released as a single by her and that she wrote it for a comedy sketch about a girl group that ultimately was not released. Upon learning of the leak, she commented under a TikTok video that she was disheartened and asked people to stop spreading the leaks.^[1]

"Fantasize" was positively received by fans, inspiring Grande to include elements of the song for her seventh studio album, Eternal Sunshine (2024). According to Grande, "The Boy Is Mine" was one of the first ideas she and Max Martin worked on for the album.^[2] During an interview about the album, Grande referred to "The Boy Is Mine" as her version of "Fantasize" and stated about her leaked songs "although you've heard them — because you stole them — they're very different now."^[3][4]

"The Boy Is Mine" was one of the last few track titles to be revealed on February 27, 2024, as track 8.^[5] The song was confirmed by Grande to be the album's next single on May 7.^[6][7] After the music video released, the song impacted US contemporary hit radio on June 11.^[8] It later impacted US rhythmic contemporary and urban contemporary radio stations on June 25.^[9][10] This would make the song her first crossover single since "Side to Side".^[11] The song would be released as a single exclusively for digital download, later streaming and physicals. The single included the remix, an instrumental, and a capella versions of the original and the remix.

"The Boy Is Mine" is two minutes and 53 seconds long.^[12] The song is described as a trap-influenced^[13] R&B song^[14] with bass-heavy instrumentation^[15] echoing late '90s and early 2000s R&B-pop music.^[16] The song begins with the melody of the pre-chorus playing. Grande then sings about how this love interest of hers is destined to be with her, claiming him as hers. The pre-chorus features Grande expressing how something about her crush is made for her, saying there's no use in denying it. The track's tempo slows down before jumping into the chorus, where she states the stars align for this relationship. In the song's bridge, Grande exclaims how her relationship with her love interest is meant to be, taking accountability for any drama created. As intended by Grande when creating the parent album's track list, the song follows and plays off the same idea of the album's seventh track, "True Story", playing the role the media expects her to play.^[17]

Grande described "The Boy Is Mine" as a reimagining of the similarly titled 1998 single by Brandy and Monica, which was about two women fighting over the affection of one man.^[18][19] She was inspired by her fans' appreciation for "Fantasize" because of what she called its "bad bitch" energy, and she told Zane Lowe during an Apple Music 1 interview: "there is a large group of my fans that really do love a bad girl anthem, and this is an elevated version of that."^[20] In the lyrics, Grande expresses her affection for a man with whom she believes she is destined to be in a romance.^[20]

Grande announced on May 27 that the music video for "The Boy Is Mine" would be released on June 7.^[21] Christian Breslauer, who worked on the visuals for both "Yes, And?" and "We Can't Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)" from Eternal Sunshine, commented on Grande's teaser and shared the sneak peek on his own Instagram account.^[22] "Get your popcorn, take your seats," Breslauer wrote on Grande's post; "ACT III… soon", said the music video director on his personal Instagram page.^[22]

The music video features Grande returning as Peaches alias Catwoman, and Penn Badgley as the mayor of the city who has released feral cats into the streets to eradicate a rat infestation. R&B singers Brandy and Monica make a cameo appearance as news anchors reporting on the rat crisis.^[23] The video features Grande's Victorious co-star, Elizabeth Gillies, providing her voice for a Brighter Days commercial and the sound effects for the rats.^[24]

The video begins with a garbage collector complaining about the mayor before getting attacked by rats. Peaches is seen looking at a glowing pink potion, later turning her attention to two news reporters on the television. It is revealed that the mayor, Max Starling, has a plan to exterminate the city's rodent infestation by using the large numbers of stray cats roaming around. A cat sneaks into Peaches' open apartment window and knocks over the potion, alarming her.

The song begins and Peaches starts gathering the spilled potion with a syringe and putting into a vial. During the chorus, she runs over to her personal shrine of Starling, who she is in love with. She spins around, before grabbing black clothing from her closet. She is seen cutting the fabrics of the clothes and sewing. The next scene is set at night, atop a building complex in front of a city skyline. Peaches is donning brunette shoulder-length hair and a black cat mask covering her eyes. Her attire is now an all black dominatrix outfit with a skirt and a whip, which she cracks. She then is seen running and jumping over buildings before arriving to the mayor's apartment overhead window. With her glove's cat-like sharpened nails, she traces a circle on the window glass and licking her hand to cut it out.

The music stops and the scene is set inside Starling's apartment, where he soaks his face into ice bath. Peaches sneaks up to the bathroom door, admiring him until he catches a glimpse of her. She runs off and he follows, looking shocked and dropping a glass of alcohol. The song's chorus continues and Peaches is seen on his bed, laid out seductively and displaying cat-like actions. Starling attempts to make an escape before Peaches strikes her whip at him, grabbing his foot. During the bridge, she pulls him over to the bed slowly. She walks over to him, holding the love potion in an attempt to have him consume it. He stops her, and reaching over to her mask to reveal her face. He throws the potion at the wall and the song ends. During the credits, Peaches and Starling are now together in an apartment, surrounded by cats and feeding one of them.

The first time Grande performed "The Boy Is Mine" was at the 2024 Met Gala.^[25] Grande's full performance at the 2024 Met Gala was not officially published online. On June 6, Grande performed the song for the first time on live television at The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and she was accompanied by the show's house band The Roots.^[26] This was Grande's first late night interview since 2021 and her 11th appearance on The Tonight Show.^[26]

The song received positive reviews from music critics upon release of the parent album. In a ranking of tracks from the parent album, Kyle Denis of Billboard ranked the song at number four in a track ranking of the album. Denis received the song positively, noting its tongue-in-cheek nature and the '90s R&B sound similar to "Fantasize".^[27] Rolling Stone called the song a "late Nineties, early Aughts, R&B-pop moment" also commenting on the fact that the song might bring controversy amongst rumors involving Grande and Ethan Slater.^[28] Jem Aswad of Variety called the song "comparatively sprightly" and felt the song was an outlier amongst the rest of the album.^[4] Laura Snappes of The Guardian referred to the song as "trap-Aaliyah hauteur", also calling it "possessive".^[29] Poppie Platt of The Daily Telegraph claimed the song stands on its own against the song of the same name, describing as a "silky ode to love and lust".^[30] Lindsay Zoladz of The New York Times described it as "a lusty song about a forbidden crush" and likened its "stuttering" percussion to that of the boy-bands Max Martin has worked with before.^[31]

Prior to its release as a single, "The Boy Is Mine" debuted at number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 as the highest-charting album track.^[34] Globally, "The Boy Is Mine" charted on the Billboard Global 200 chart, at number eleven, for the chart issue dated March 23, 2024.

After being serviced to radio stations as the third single from Eternal Sunshine, "The Boy Is Mine" debuted at number 38 on the Billboard Mainstream Top 40 airplay chart, rising to number 31 in its second week. It later debuted at number 39 on the Billboard Rhythmic airplay chart on the issue dated July 6, 2024. The song eventually peaked at number 16 and number 4 on each of the charts, respectively.

In August 2024, British girl group Flo covered the song in a mashup with the 1998 song "The Boy Is Mine" for BBC Radio 1's 1Xtra Live Lounge.^[35]

Recording

• Mixed at Mixstar Studios (Virginia Beach)
• Mastered at Sterling Sound (New York City)

Personnel

• Ariana Grande – vocals, lyrics, composition, production
• Max Martin – lyrics, production, composition, drums, keyboards, bass, programming, background vocals
• Ilya Salmanzadeh – production, composition, drums, keyboards, bass, programming, background vocals
• Shintaro Yasuda – production, composition, keyboards, drums, programming
• Davidior – production, composition, drums, programming
• Sam Holland – engineering
• Lou Carrao – engineering
• Eric Eylands – engineering assistance
• Rob Sellens – engineering assistance
• Randy Merrill – mastering
• Serban Ghenea – mixing
• Bryce Bordone – mixing assistance

Streaming/digital download – single

1. "The Boy Is Mine" – 2:53
2. "The Boy Is Mine" (a cappella) – 2:43
3. "The Boy Is Mine" (instrumental) – 2:53
4. "The Boy Is Mine" (remix; with Brandy and Monica) – 3:33
5. "The Boy Is Mine" (remix a cappella; with Brandy and Monica) – 3:32