Pop powerhouse FLETCHER has announced that her third studio album, Would You Still Love Me If You Really Knew Me?, will be out on July 18th via Capitol Records. The platinum-selling New Jersey native also released the first single from the new album, “Boy,” a gorgeous and startlingly vulnerable beginning to a new chapter of her life and music career.
FLETCHER recently cleared her Instagram page, starting fresh with happy Pride Month wishes and several teaser posts, including a hand-written letter about the new album. She shared:
“This is my heart split open on record. Born from my terrifying question: would I still be loved if I shared who I am right now?… It is the sound of my cracking, but it is also the sound of my exhale. Both an open wound and an act of liberation, it marks the start of a new chapter in a longer story. One I am still learning how to tell. So let’s start. Not at the beginning, but somewhere in the middle.
Love Always, Cari xx”
FLETCHER has been an essential queer voice for a long time now. She openly identified as queer in a 2021 Instagram post, stating, “I just exist. If someone needed to put me in some sort of category for themselves to better understand, I would say I identify as queer.” In the same post she expressed a leaning towards strong feminine energy, and has generally been perceived as bisexual or lesbian since.
“Boy” pulls the curtain back on the fear that has come with falling in love with a man, and revealing this new side of herself to the world. With remarkable honesty and courage, FLETCHER addresses the surprise her listeners may feel, as well as her own (“I kissed a boy / And I know it’s not what you wanted to hear / And it wasn’t on your Bingo card this year / Well, it wasn’t on mine / I fell in love / And it wasn’t with who I thought it would be / And I’m scared to think of what you’ll think of me”). With her velvety, reverberated vocals and a laid-back country-pop composition featuring hazy slide guitars and delicate piano, the sensitive songstress invites listeners to sit right in the thick of her fears and worries with her.
I happen to know firsthand that being queer in a heterosexual relationship can conjure a lot of confusion about the validity of one’s queerness. If this achingly tender ballad is any indication of what is to come on Would You Still Love Me If You Really Knew Me?, we’d better all stock up on tissues and book with our therapists ahead of time.
“Boy” is available to stream wherever you listen to music, and you can pre-save Would You Still Love Me If You Really Knew Me? here.
Keep up with FLETCHER: Instagram // Twitter // Facebook // Website
