fbpx

New Sounds: Charli XCX is busy thinking ’bout ‘Boys’… and ‘Boys’ …and more ‘Boys’

Shortly after dropping her mixtape Number 1 Angel earlier this year, Charli XCX has given us a hot dude scavenger hunt with the video for her new song “Boys.”

Ms. XCX, who performs at TD Garden with Halsey this fall, says the clip for “Boys” is “my favorite music video I’ve ever made.” And based on her all-star celeb cast, it might be ours too.

“Every city I got one with different ring tones,” she coos on the second verse, like girl version of Ludacris’ “Area Codes,” except every time she whispers “boys” in the chorus, the sound effect for “one up” from Super Mario dings.

It’s a slight step away from the singer’s usual strain of party anthems, one that she willing admits on the pre-chorus: “I’m sorry that I missed your party/I wish I had a better excuse/Like ‘I had to trash a hotel lobby’/But I was busy thinkin’ bout boys.”

Charli herself doesn’t appear until the tail end of the video, where she’s pictured behind the scenes as director, and instead all two-minutes-and-47 seconds are zoomed in on the likes of Joe Jonas eating pancakes, Jack Antonoff flexin’ with pink dumbbells, and D.R.A.M. bashing in the screens of some old TVs. “No boys were harmed in the making of this video,” she adds.

We won’t take the all of fun out of it for you though; see how many dudes you can ID in the video below — and scroll all the way down for a full list:

Charli XCX summer festival dates:
August 5: HARD Summer Music Festival – Fontana, CA
August 6: Lollapalooza – Chicago, IL
October 20: Phoenix Festival – Phoenix, AZ

Charli XCX on tour with Halsey:
September 29: Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Sun Arena
October 3: Montreal, QC – Bell Centre
October 4: Toronto, ON – Air Canada Centre
October 6: Boston, MA – TD Garden
October 7: Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center
October 9: Washington, DC – Verizon Center
October 10: Pittsburgh, PA – PPG Paints Arena
October 13: Brooklyn, NY – Barclays Center
October 14: Newark, NJ – Prudential Center
October 17: Charlotte, NC – Spectrum Center
October 19: Duluth, GA – Infinite Energy Arena
October 21: Sunrise, FL – BB&T Center
October 22: Orlando, FL – Amway Center
October 25: Houston, TX – Toyota Center
October 26: Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center
October 27: Austin, TX – Frank Erwin Center
October 29: Denver, CO – Pepsi Center
October 31: Phoenix, AZ – Talking Stick Resort Arena
November 3: Inglewood, CA – The Forum
November 4: Las Vegas, NV – MGM Grand Garden Arena
November 5: San Diego, CA – Viejas Arena
November 7: Oakland, CA – Oracle Arena
November 10: Seattle, WA – Key Arena
November 11: Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena
November 14: Calgary, AB – Scotiabank Saddledome
November 15: Edmonton, AB – Rogers Place
November 18: Saint Paul, MN – Xcel Energy Center
November 19: Rosemont, IL – Allstate Arena
November 21: Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena
November 22: Cleveland, OH – Wolstein Center

Charli XCX “Boys” music video guest featuring: Aminé, AG Cook, Barns Courtney, Brendon Urie, Buddy, Cameron Dallas, Carl Barât (The Libertines), Charlie Puth, Chromeo, Cobra Snake, Connor Franta, Dan Smith (Bastille), Denzel Curry, Di Casp (YouTuber), Diplo, DRAM, Fai Khadra, Flume, Frank Carter, Fred Macpherson (Spector), G Eazy, Jack Antonoff, Jack Guinness, Jay Park, Jay Prince, Joe Jonas, Joey Bada$$, Kaytranada, Khalid, Laurie Vincent (Slaves), Liam Fray (The Courteeners), Mac DeMarco, Mark Ronson, Max Hershenow (MS MR), Mic Lowry, MNEK, Oli Sykes (Bring Me The Horizon), ONE OK ROCK, Poet, Portugal. The Man, Prince & Jacob, Riz Ahmed & The Swet Shop Boys, Rostam Batmanglij, Sage The Gemini, Shamari Maurice, Shaun Ross, Shokichi, Stormzy, The Fat Jew, The Vamps (Tristan & James), THEY, Theo Hutchcraft (The Hurts), Tinie Tempah, Tom Daley, Tom Grennan, Tommy Cash, Ty Dolla $ign, Vance Joy, Ezra Koenig (Vampire Weekend), will.i.am, Wiz Khalifa, Wstrn