Ruben, Girlfriend | Beaming with Pride 🏳️‍🌈

In the 60th edition of Beaming with Pride 🏳️‍🌈 (2025), we highlight “Girlfriend” performed by Norwegian pop singer-songwriter Ruben.

Prepare to beam with P-R-I-D-E 🏳️‍🌈! Beaming with Pride 🏳️‍🌈 celebrates, embraces, and spotlights songs by LGBTQ musicians or allies.  Here, we provide background and insight into musicians, analyze, plus go gaga over the decadent bops served up.  When songs dictate deeper and more transcendent discussion, we ensure the point is fully articulated.  All styles of music are welcome, whether the songs are classics or brand-new. So, without further ado, in the 60^th edition of Beaming with Pride 🏳️‍🌈 (2025), we highlight “Girlfriend” performed by Ruben.

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A post shared by Ruben (@theartistruben)

“You say you don’t swing that way…” Red flag 🚩, Ruben (Ruben Markussen), he’s straight. DUN, DUN, DUN. It’s a bummer, I know. The rub highlighted by “Girlfriend” has played out like a Cyndi Lauper song… “Time After Time”. But has a straight technicality ever stopped a gay man from attempting to woo him, or, at a minimum, dream about the possibility? In the same verse, Mr. Markussen asserts, “You like them girls who wear sundresses and wedding rings / I like them boys who don’t like boys, so maybe we’re the same thing.” Um, probably not, Ruben, but good try! The love below makes you do crazy things! Markussen wrote “Girlfriend” while Kasper Daugaard and MDCD (Mads Christian Damgaard Christensen) produced, assembling a mean (in the most positive way possible), bright-sounding, 80s-infused pop backdrop.

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A post shared by Ruben (@theartistruben)

The good news is, once more, Ruben drops a bomb song with “Girlfriend.” Yes, he’s reaching by trying to turn this hetero dude homo, but, it’s compelling narrative. “I get a feeling sometimes /… To tell you how I’ve been feeling,” he sings in the first verse, adding, “But you’ve got a girl that sounds like / Heaven on crack, singing along to Fleetwood Mac / But I could serenade you, bent back at the laundromat.” Truthfully, Ruben could sing to you dude – he has the voice of an angel! Anyways, if you are the G in LGBTQ (could be other letters, too), there is little doubt that you have experienced the same feelings as our Norwegian musician. Ruben’s tactics are extreme, but give him credit for a Herculean effort! See the chorus:

“Put on a skirt, let it ride high

Sing your name like a lullaby

All the things that your girl won’t do

I’d cross that line if you asked me to

And baby, I could be your girlfriend.”

A skirt, Ruben? Damn, you really got the hots for him, don’t you? He admits to feeling guilty, singing, “You don’t know how it kills me.” True. Many gays have been forced to hold lots of things in, including their sexuality, so, adding a straight boy crush is just another hardship, damn it! But, Mr. Markussen, thanks for your vulnerability to deliver another, undeniable pop bop! The situation may be shitty, but “Girlfriend” is the shit! #SLAY 💅!