Music to Make Boys Cry (song)

"Music to Make Boys Cry"
Single by Diana Vickers
from the album Music to Make Boys Cry
Released	15 September 2013 (2013-09-15)
Format	Digital download
Recorded	2011
Genre	Indie pop, synthpop, alternative pop
Length	3:50
Label	So Recordings
Writer(s)	Diana Vickers, Miranda Cooper, Simen Eriksrud, Simone Larson
Producer(s)	Simen Eriksrud
Diana Vickers singles chronology
"Cinderella" (2013) "Music to Make Boys Cry" (2013)

"Music to Make Boys Cry" is a single recorded by British singer-songwriter Diana Vickers. It is the second single taken from her second studio album of the same name (2013). It was released alongside the album on 15 September 2013 in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Background

On 9 December 2011, Vickers released a promotional demo version of "Music to Make Boys Cry" for free download on her website. The song boasted a deeper electronic and indie pop sound than her previous work. The track starts downbeat but soon morphs into a very modern empowerment anthem. Its desire to make you both cry and dance simultaneously is no accident according to Vickers. Vickers explains the concept actually came about because she was on an airplane and saw the phrase ‘music to make boys cry’ in a newspaper article and got really excited and wanted to make a song that had that included. This inspired her to team up with Miranda Cooper and Donkeyboy in a writing session in Norway to co-write the single.^[1]

Music video

The official music video premiered on 5 August 2013 on Vickers' YouTube account.^[2] The video clip sees Vickers prepare for a party at her apartment, including baking a cake and laying in a bath of balloons. She looks into her mirror and sees all of her party guests behind her. The camera cuts away to reveal that Vickers is actually hosting a party on her own with no guests. This reinforces the theme of the song. Vickers has herself and is empowered by this as a strong, independent woman.

Critical reception

Robert Copsey of Digital Spy awarded the single 4 stars out of 5, praising it as a "slice of twinkly '80s pop that generates a feeling of warmth and fuzziness inside that few could pull off without sounding trite."^[3] Popjustice were highly complimentary of the single stating, "However you look at it she [Diana Vickers] is basically one of the Top 100 things about the current pop era and this song, is a tune of such epic proportions that you should hold onto something when you press play below in case the world shifts slightly off its axis, is one we've been listening to LOADS."^[4]

Release history

References