I Hate Boys

"I Hate Boys" is a song recorded by American recording artist Christina Aguilera for her sixth studio album, Bionic (2010). The song was written by Aguilera, Ester Dean, William Tyler, Bill Wellings, J. J. Hunter and Jamal Jones, who also handled the production of the track. "I Hate Boys" is a glam rock, pop and electropop song, containing elements of urban pop and synth-pop. Lyrically, it is a hate-driven song about ridiculing all boys.

"I Hate Boys"
Single by Christina Aguilera
from the album Bionic
ReleasedJune 28, 2010 (2010-06-28)
Recorded2010;
No Excuses (Los Angeles);
The Red Lips Room (Beverly Hills)
Genre
Length2:24
LabelRCA
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Christina Aguilera singles chronology
"You Lost Me"
(2010)		 "I Hate Boys"
(2010)		 "Express"
(2010)

"I Hate Boys" was released as the second and final single from Bionic in New Zealand and Australia. It was serviced to Australian radio on June 28, 2010, and released as a digital single in Australia and New Zealand on September 3. The song divided music critics; while some called it fun and a "girl anthem", others felt its lyrics were too juvenile and regarded it as filler. Upon the release of Bionic, "I Hate Boys" debuted at number 51 on the Gaon International Singles Chart during the week of June 6, 2010.

Background

Initially, "I Hate Boys" was supposed to be produced by Le Tigre.[1] Group member Johanna Fateman wrote about working with Aguilera on their official website:

"… While the giant sound of her stacked vocals and the pop sheen she lends to the tracks might seem at odds with Le Tigre's aesthetic roots, it really works. The songs have a lot of elements we're known for, like a garage guitar sound, schoolyard chants, new wave-y synths, electro beats, and somehow it all sounds crazily right with Christina's unbelievable voice."[1]

However, it was later revealed that the song was produced by Polow da Don and that Le Tigre only produced the song "My Girls".[2] Polow da Don talked about working with Aguilera in a Billboard interview, stating: "There's two things you need to know about Christina Aguilera: The first is that, as far as her singing goes, she's a professionally trained animal. And the other is that she knows exactly, absolutely what she wants."[3]

After "Not Myself Tonight", the song was released as the second single of the album in Australia and New Zealand.[4][5] A digital single was released on the iTunes Store on September 3, 2010.[4][5]

Composition

"I Hate Boys" was written by Aguilera, Jamal Jones, Ester Dean, William Tyler, Bill Wellings and J. J. Hunter, while production was handled by William Tyler & Polow da Don.[6] Don has worked with Aguilera on the previous singles "Not Myself Tonight" and "Woohoo".[2] "I Hate Boys" contains a sample from the 1973 track "Jungle Juice", by UK electronic act Elektrik Cokernut from their album Go Moog!.[7] It is an uptempo glam rock, pop and electropop song with elements of synth-pop and urban pop, featuring gang chants in the background.[2][8] Lyrically, "I Hate Boys" is a hate-driven song about ridiculing and insulting all bad boys.[9] It begins with a drum beat similar to Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl" (2008), according to Idolator's Becky Bain, who also wrote that "it sounds almost directly inspired by the trash-talk obnoxiousness found in Avril Lavigne's "Girlfriend."[9]

Critical reception
According to music critics, the song is inspired by Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl" (left) and Avril Lavigne's "Girlfriend" (right) .

"I Hate Boys" received mixed reviews from music critics. In a positive way, Leslie Simon of MTV Buzzworthy wrote that the track is "a fun, highly synth-pop gum-smacking, girls-night-out rally anthem."[2] Melinda Newman of HitFix called it a "pure pop infectious silliness."[10] Daily Star described the song as "a glam-rock stomp with a deceptively simple chorus that will have schoolgirls singing at the top of their lungs."[11] Mesfin Fekadu from The Boston Globe praised the song, writing, "The male-bashing 'I Hate Boys' has the right mix of energy and sass that Aguilera somewhat lacks throughout the album."[12] The Scotsman wrote that the song is an "electro glam" that has "throwaway fun."[13] Allison Stewart from The Washington Post referred to it as a "tame, hand-clappy pop song" and compared the track to Gwen Stefani's songs.[14]

TJ of Neon Limelight gave a mixed review, calling it "sassy" but "would work better for an artist at least a decade younger than Aguilera", with its "painfully adolescent lyrics".[15] Becky Bain of Idolator wrote, "It's one of those pandering songs that will no doubt have young girls singing along, particularly the chorus, but it's a lazy one that leaves rubs us the wrong way."[9] Bradley Stern from MuuMuse named it a "filler, including the noisy, childish chant."[16] Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune commented that "it's the kind of trite glitter-disco might've dispensed", while comparing it to Spice Girls' songs.[17] Eric Henderson gave to the song a negative review, writing, "Considering 'I Hate Boys' is closer than I ever thought Christina would ever come to recording a Daphne Aguilera track, it's ironically also one of many tracks on Bionic that sound tailor-made to accompany the opening credits of Johnny Weir's forthcoming reality show."[18]

In his retrospective commentary on Bionic, Daniel Megarry of the Gay Times called "I Hate Boys" a tongue-in-cheek post-breakup anthem—a "cult favourite moment" on the album.[19] Idolator's 2020 evaluation of the long play noted that the song "would have been a smash hit at any other time in Aguilera’s career".[20]

Track listing
Digital download[4]
  1. "I Hate Boys" – 2:24
  2. "Not Myself Tonight" (Laidback Luke Radio Edit) – 3:39

Credits and personnel
Recording locations
  • Recording – No Excuses, Los Angeles, California
  • Vocal recording – The Red Lips Room, Beverly Hills, California
Personnel
  • Songwriting – Christina Aguilera, Jamal Jones, Ester Dean, William Tyler, Bill Wellings, J. J. Hunter
  • Production – Polow da Don
  • Mixing – Jaycen Joshua

Source:[21]

Charts

Upon the release of the album Bionic, "I Hate Boys" debuted at number 51 on the Gaon International Downloads Chart on the chart issue of June 6, 2010.[22]

Chart (2010) Peak
position
South Korea Gaon International Download Chart[22] 51

Release history
Region Date Format Label
Australia[23] June 28, 2010 Contemporary hit radio Sony Music Entertainment
New Zealand[5] September 3, 2010 Digital download RCA Records
Australia[4]

References
  1. "Christina Aguilera & Le Tigre – 'I Hate Boys' 'My Girls' – Stereogum". Stereogum. May 25, 2010. Retrieved May 17, 2012.
  2. Simon, Leslie (May 27, 2010). "Song You Need To Know: Christina Aguilera, 'I Hate Boys'". MTV Buzzworthy. Retrieved May 17, 2012.
  3. Wood, Mikael (May 14, 2010). "Christina Aguilera: 'Bionic' Billboard Cover Story And Video". Billboard. Retrieved May 17, 2012.
  4. "iTunes – Music – I Hate Boys – Single by Christina Aguilera". iTunes Store (AU). Retrieved May 17, 2012.
  5. "iTunes – Music – I Hate Boys – Single by Christina Aguilera". iTunes Store (NZ). Retrieved May 17, 2012.
  6. "I Hate Boys". AllMusic. Retrieved May 17, 2012.
  7. "I Hate Boys by Christina Aguilera Songfacts". Songfacts. Retrieved May 17, 2012.
  8. Rubin, Michael (June 6, 2010). "Attack of the CLones". 34th Street Magazine. Archived from the original on August 13, 2014. Retrieved April 12, 2020. For some reason, Bionic ends with a three-song coda then ventures back to electro-pop.
  9. Bain, Becky (May 25, 2010). "Xtina's 'Elastic Love' Rocks—But You'll Have To Wait To See It Live". Idolator. SpinMedia. Retrieved May 17, 2012.
  10. Newman, Melinda (June 7, 2010). "Review: Christina Aguilera's 'Bionic' shows a machine-like workmanship". HitFix. Retrieved May 17, 2012.
  11. "First Listen: Christina Aguilera's New Album Bionic". Daily Star. May 6, 2010. Retrieved May 17, 2012.
  12. Fekadu, Mesfin (June 7, 2010). "Review: Aguilera has an identity crisis on new CD". The Boston Globe. The New York Times Company. Retrieved May 15, 2012.
  13. "Album review: Christina Aguilera, Bionic". The Scotsman. Johnston Press. June 6, 2010. Retrieved May 17, 2012.
  14. Stewart, Allison (June 7, 2010). "Christina Aguilera's new album 'Bionic' is a mish-mash of Gaga and blah". The Washington Post. The Washington Post Company. Retrieved June 7, 2010.
  15. TJ (May 17, 2010). "New Music: Christina Aguilera Declares "I Hate Boys" On New 'Bionic' Track". Neon Limelight. Retrieved May 17, 2012.
  16. Stern, Bradley (June 7, 2012). "Christina Aguilera: Bionic (Album Review)". MuuMuse. Retrieved May 17, 2012.
  17. Kot, Greg (June 7, 2010). "Turn It Up: Album review: Christina Aguilera, 'Bionic'". Chicago Tribune. Tribune Company. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved May 15, 2012.
  18. "Christina Aguilera: Bionic | Music Review". Slant Magazine. June 2, 2010. Retrieved June 6, 2010.
  19. Megarry, Daniel (June 4, 2020). "10 years on, Christina Aguilera's Bionic proves it really was ahead of its time". Gay Times. Gay Times Ltd. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  20. Wass, Mike (June 8, 2020). "10 Years Of Christina Aguilera's 'Bionic'". Idolator. Hive Media. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  21. (2010) Liner notes of Bionic by Christina Aguilera. RCA Records.
  22. "Search: Gaon International Download Chart - Issue date: June 06, 2010 - June 13, 2010". Gaon Chart. Archived from the original (To access the applicable chart, change "년 (Year)" to "2010" and select the week "June 06 - June 12, 2010") on April 7, 2012. Retrieved May 15, 2012.
  23. "Christina Aguilera – I Hate Boys – Issue 793". The Music Network. June 28, 2010. Archived from the original on April 6, 2012. Retrieved September 27, 2012.
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