Last week, through the dense, dank crowd of an R&B DJ set in Cambridge Heath, I saw the most beautiful thing. Three men, seemingly unknown to each other, started performing what can only be described as an impromptu synchronised dance routine in the crowd. There was chest popping, leaning, bopping – the lot. It wasn’t disruptive, it wasn’t TikTok fodder, you’d only have noticed this understated, Step Up 2 deleted scene if you were right next to them, as I was. East London’s late, late answer to JLS might not seem like much on its own, but it's actually part of a wider trend: ladies, gentlefolk, the Loverboy is back.
It’s been a while since we were serenaded with the simultaneous mating song and dance of the Loverboy – a character so ever-present throughout the 90s and early 2000s and so depressingly absent from the 2020s. Now, iconic Loverboys of days gone by are rising from their slumbers: Usher is back on tour, coming to London for a whopping nine date run at the O2 (with three of those dates added on due unprecedented demand). Also set to take the stadium by storm are Ne-Yo and Mario, who have joined forces for their ‘Champagne and Roses’ tour, coming to London this month. And then there’s the impending return of Bruno Mars, who is diverting energy from Silk Sonic, his duo project with Anderson Paak, to work on his first solo album since 2016's 24K Magic.
It’s not all about the comebacks, either. Fans of the British rapper Central Cee will have noticed a pivot in recent weeks: good ol’ trap star Cench has switched up his typical drill and rap vibe to a significantly slower jam on ‘I Will’, something stans have largely blamed on him rekindling his love affair with model Madeline Argy. And in US rapper Jack Harlow’s recent No 1 single ‘Lovin’ On Me’, Harlow refers to himself as ‘Young Enrique’ and ‘Young Missionary’ while he effuses his love of ‘vanilla’ sex.
But Loverboys also take a lot of heat. A rapper’s transformation to more soulful, romantic music, or the decision to dance along to their tracks (a near-mandatory condition of being a woman in music) can be met with anger, undeniably laced with whiffs of homophobia. When Drake exerted a small amount of energy in his music video for ‘Hotline Bling’ in 2016, he was mocked relentlessly – the resulting meme format still endures to this day. People fond of Central Cee’s more traditional rap tracks are annoyed with his new sound, commenting things like ‘Don’t drop this’ and ‘I really miss the drill Cench’ across his social promotions of the track. Harlow even pre-empts this response on ‘Lovin’ On Me’, pleading with the male fans in his audience ‘waiting for the next track’ to ‘cut your boy a lil' slack.’
Rap aficionado and music writer Thomas Hobbs knows the Loverboy is nothing new – ‘Is Central Cee offering to buy a female lover a luxury handbag and then take her out for dinner really any different to LL Cool J whispering sweet nothings into his muse's ear amid the lovelorn synths of his 1987 song "I Need Love"?’ he says – but points to TikTok for the reason behind their rival. ‘A new era of music fans are discovering the sensuous, heartfelt pop deities from the 2000s for the first time, and because there's a vacuum in the mainstream for slow-groove R&B music, these songs are being revived and reclaimed,’ he says. ‘These type of artists sang confessional songs that prioritised female pleasure and had enough of a conscience to delve into the idea of being heartbroken. In 2024, there's more of a male-dominated misogynist glare to mainstream rap and R&B, so people are looking backwards as a form of protest.’
Plus, it opens an artist up to wider audiences. ‘Inner city emcees have always showcased a more sensitive side and lothario sensibility,’ Hobbs says, ‘which offsets the more nihilistic commentary present in their music. Their aim was to give club anthems to both genders.’
We’re craving the Loverboy more than ever, despite the flak they may attract. And there’s more than enough of a market for it – No Guidnce, the all-singing, all-dancing four-piece boyband set on ‘bringing back R&B groups for real,’ have amassed a huge following (2.7m on TikTok and counting), making it to the mainstage of Wireless last year with only a single EP in their baggy back pockets. They proudly spin and twirl for the camera while crooning for their fans, and the audience are absolutely eating it up.
It might be a tough pivot, but with the success of Harlow, Central Cee’s new song sitting pretty in the top 20, and the welcome return of R&B boybands, it’s clearly a worthwhile one. You know what they say: you wait for one Loverboy, then four come at once.
