Pop stars are fixated with Boston — and the proof is in the lyrics

Reneé Rapp hates it here. Tate McRae dwells on memories made here. And, goddamnit, one of us stole a man from Chappell Roan’s friend. At least, that’s the lore about Boston in pop’s current vernacular.

For better or worse, Boston has impacted the romantic trajectory of this era’s pop stars, and people are finally starting to connect the dots. This past Sunday (March 16), X user @h8thiscity posted “what the hell is going on in boston,” complete with screenshots of Boston-themed lyrics from Chappell Roan’s song “Femininomenon,” the Tate McRae tune “Revolving Door,” and Reneé Rapp’s blunt ballad “I Hate Boston.”

Fellow X users pounced on the post, which currently boasts over 11,000 reposts, 140,000 likes, and 10 million views. Some folks placed the blame for broken hearts on local colleges (Berklee, Emerson) and sports teams (the Bruins especially). Others commenters embraced the phenomenon and cited additional artists who have mentioned Boston relationships in recent years, like Tiny Habits (“hemenway”), Tinashe (“Story of Us”), and Gracie Abrams (“Tough Love”).

And while there’s no definitive answer to this pressing question — no Boston tea, if you will — the discourse was compelling enough that it inspired someone to compile the songs in a playlist entitled “Wtf happened in Boston.” Hey, at least we can move on from “Boston” by Augustana being the city’s most popular name-check this century.