| "Boyfriend" | ||||
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| Single by Justin Bieber | ||||
| from the album Believe | ||||
| Released | March 26, 2012 | |||
| Recorded | January–February 2012 | |||
| Studio | Chalice Recording Studios (Hollywood, Los Angeles) | |||
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| Length | 2:52 | |||
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| Justin Bieber singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Boyfriend" on YouTube | ||||
"Boyfriend" is a song by Canadian singer Justin Bieber, taken from his third studio album, Believe (2012). Bieber explained that the track would surprise people in different ways, since it is a musical departure from his previous material. A snippet of "Boyfriend" was previewed on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on March 1, 2012, Bieber's 18th birthday. The song was announced as a single on the same day, and was released on March 26, 2012. The cover art was revealed on March 19, 2012.
Musically, "Boyfriend" is an R&B influenced song that features pop beats reminiscent of American record producer Pharrell Williams and boy band NSYNC. The instrumentation is kept in a lower sound to highlight Bieber's vocals. However, critics dismissed the lyrics as immature and silly. "Boyfriend" was a commercial success, debuting at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 after selling a total of 521,000 digital units of the single. The song has the sixth-highest-ever debut digital sales week in the United States and has also charted at number 9 on the Pop Songs component chart. It also debuted at number one in Canada and number two in the United Kingdom.
Island Records initially commissioned a music video to be directed by Colin Tilley; however, the video was later scrapped and re-shot with Director X. Released on May 3, 2012, the video broke the VEVO record for having the most views in a 24-hour period with 8.00 million, later bested by One Direction's "Live While We're Young" (8.24 million). As part of promotion for the song, Bieber performed "Boyfriend" in a number of live appearances, including at the second-season finale of The Voice, and at the 2012 Billboard Music Awards. The rapping duo Ying Yang Twins also released a remixed version of the track with new verses added. Another remix of "Boyfriend" features 2 Chainz, Mac Miller and Asher Roth.