FLETCHER, Boy | Beaming with Pride

In the 65^th edition of Beaming with Pride (2026), we highlight “Boy” performed by queer pop singer-songwriter FLETCHER.

Are you ready to beam with P-R-I-D-E? Beaming with Pride highlights songs by LGBTQ musicians and allies, offering background, analysis, and discussion of the decadent bops served up. All genres are welcome, and both classics and new songs are recognized. So, without further ado, in the 65^th edition of Beaming with Pride (2026), we highlight “Boy” performed by FLETCHER.

Uh-oh… FLETCHER (Cari Fletcher), what is it? “I kissed a boy.” What!? The shock! The awe! Holy shit, girl! Cue up the mind-blown 🤯, speechless 😶, and wow 😮 emojis.  This wouldn’t be surprising for someone who identifies as heterosexual, of course. But FLETCHER has identified as a queer artist, focused on female relationships, so hearing about her dating/falling for/ and kissing a “Boy” is surprising.  FLETCHER also seemed anxious about releasing the fifth track from her third album, Would You Still Love Me If You Really Knew Me?. “Boy” was written by FLETCHER, Jennifer Decliveo, and Shane McAnally. FLETCHER and Decliveo produced it.

“Boy” begins abruptly with FLETCHER singing without an instrumental introduction.  Early on, you can tell she’s getting down to business.  She sings in a calm, cool, and collected fashion initially.  She is reflective, transparent, and incredibly vulnerable; that makes this performance quite special.  The melodies are beautiful as she opens up about this surprising life event.  “We were counting down, the music stopped / We were waiting for the ball to drop,” she sings in the pre-chorus, and continues, “I closed my eyes, and I leaned in / I kissed a boy.” In the second verse, which is more developed than the first with more instrumental ideas and vocal harmonies, she addresses the potential fallout: “I’ll admit I don’t know how to label it /… You can think that I’m a hypocrite, that’s cool / I’m just following my heart, is what it is / And only time will tell.”  If anything, she deserves credit for her honesty – it takes courage.  The chorus is the centerpiece – the section to beat:

“And I know it’s not what you wanted to hear

And it wasn’t on your bingo card this year

Well, it wasn’t on mine

I fell in love

And it wasn’t with who I thought it would be

And I’m scared to think of what you’ll think of me

His lips were soft

I had no choice, I kissed a boy.”

The boy sounds enticing, to say the least… I love how the outro, aka the final chorus, brings things back down, reiterating the shocking happening.  All told, “Boy” is a beautiful and incredibly vulnerable song.  Yes, it’s a departure for FLETCHER, but ultimately, this talented queer artist/woman has the right to fall in love with whoever she desires, no matter how surprising or unexpected it might be.

 

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FLETCHER » Would You Still Love Me If You Really Knew Me? » Snapback Entertainment LLC / UMG Recordings, Inc. » 2025

FLETCHER, Boy: Beaming with Pride No. 65 (2026) [📷: Brent Faulkner/ The Musical Hype; Snapback Entertainment LLC / UMG Recordings, Inc.; Cristyan Bohn, Ketut Subiyanto, Luis Morales Torres, SHVETS production, Uriel Mont from Pexels; Clker-Free-Vector-Images, Gordon Johnson, Wolfgang Eckert from Pixabay]

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