"You’re down to chase, I'll break your heart." Izzi De-Rosa sings on "loverboi," her addictive pop song about the push and pull of dating. Later, over fast-paced garage drums, she switches the perspective and admits "You'll break my heart, But that's the game." The track marks a slight change of direction for the London-based artist, whose previous singles (including last year's "Welcome To My Life") have leaned on the grungy side. "loverboi," in contrast, is bright and sparky with De-Rosa's sharp lyricism backed by equally sticky melodies.
"loverboi" comes with a video that captures the feeling of the song; an addiction to the chase and all the ups and downs it brings with it. She dances in the rain and parties with the boy in front of a big red heart, only to find herself moments later crying into the romantic gifts she's been given. The action starts over again, though, as De-Rosa dusts herself off and goes again.
In a statement, De-Rosa says: "As soon as I wrote ‘loverboi’ I had this idea of what I wanted the video to look like - flirty, fun, and empowering. Although ‘loverboi’ is a love story in many ways, it is equally an anthem for hot girl summer and a reminder for everyone to sit in their power when pursuing love. In order to portray this in the video, I wanted to switch the narrative that has existed in society for far too long - that women are to be chased and submissive in love. In this sense, I didn’t want the entire video to be centred around "loverboi" himself but intertwined with a strong feminine energy.
"Visually, I really wanted it to capture British summertime (which actually worked perfectly as it rained on the day, although I was dressed in a bikini) and have a carnival feel in order to match the energy of the song. The early 2000s are a massive influence for me, and I wanted to draw upon this in the video, referencing the works of iconic director Hype Williams and artists such as Gwen Stefani, Fergie, and Nelly Furtado.”