On Shygirl’s last single with Yseult, called, aptly, “Fuck Me” (a.k.a. the “‘WAP’ of 2024”), she offered up a riff on a classic phrase (“In God we trust”) by repurposing it to: “In the name of Shy we trust.” With her latest collaboration, “True Religion,” featuring not one, but two powerhouses of the “indie electronic” scene—PinkPantheress and Isabella Lovestory—Shygirl continues to prove exactly why listeners should keep trusting her. Or, more specifically, trusting her sonic instincts.
With “True Religion,” those instincts are aided by Shy’s co-writers and co-producers, Oscar Scheller and Nick León, directing the emphasis on Shygirl’s usual brand of braggadocio (some could even say Charli XCX wielded her as inspiration for what a “brat” is). As such, she immediately opens the track with the chorus, “You know you love me like a webcam girl/Webcam, webcam, webcam girl/Pussy too tight, make the mandem purr/Mandem, mandem, mandem purr.” Let us pause here to let the non-British types know that “mandem,” in this instance, means a group of men (or boys, the more common emotional breed of penis-packers on this Earth)—though it can also mean a man’s group of friends. Now, getting back to the chorus, which concludes, “Virtually lovin’, log in to me now/Put your digits in, run to the bank account/Only one love, got credited now/One love and another man down.”
Addressing the way of women’s money-making endeavors now—teeming with internet-accommodated sex work that’s been mainstream-ified by the likes of OnlyFans (even Lily Allen has a foot-oriented account)—Shygirl continues to extol the power of the pussy in ways that Beyoncé would never dare to. As the third single (following “Immaculate” featuring Saweetie and the aforementioned “Fuck Me”) from what will be Club Shy Room 2, “True Religion” continues to establish an ongoing motif in Shygirl’s music: that the feminine is, indeed, divine. A message that can’t be reiterated enough lately, particularly in a world that insists, with increasing violence, on upholding the patriarchy (hence, FKA Twigs also reminding on Eusexua’s “Girl Feels Good,” “When a girl feels good, it makes the world go round”). Thus, she appropriately she adds, in conjunction with PinkPantheress, “True religion, get no higher/True religion, you inspire/Soon touch heaven when your body work/Mm-mm-mm-mm/True religion, get no higher/True religion, you inspire/Soon touch heaven when your body work.”
So no, there is no real “nod” to the designer jeans company here (apart from some tongue-in-cheek artwork Shygirl shared on her Instagram), though Shygirl does probably identify more closely with the early 00s era (musically speaking) during which True Religion the brand was founded (and yes, Fergie definitely helped put said brand on the mainstream map with the Black Eyed Peas’ “My Humps” lyrics, “They say they love my ass in/Seven Jeans, True Religion/I say no but they keep givin’/So I keep on takin’”).
As for Isabella Lovestory’s verse contribution, naturally, she sings in Spanish, heightening the overall perreo flavor of the song with the lyrics, “Se pone delulu con este ass/Le digo: ‘Ciao,’ dice: ‘¿Dónde vas?’/A la putita boutique a comprarme más/A comprarme unos/Truey, uy-uy-uy/Matchy, matchy con un top Anna Sui/Le hablo dirty y a la nube lo subí/Catchy, catchy, como chica mala en la movie/Mándame, mándame, mándame/Regalito hasta el amanecer/Comme des Garçons [yet another brand mention], ooh-la-la bebé/Mistress y con los jeans distressed/Carteras de lujo para las tres.” In other words: “He gets crazy with this ass/I say: ‘Ciao,’ he says: ‘Where are you going?’/To the fucking boutique to buy more/To buy some Truey, uy-uy-uy [okay, so this song is a little bit about buying True Religion jeans]/Matchy, matchy with an Anna Sui top/I talk dirty to him and I uploaded him to the cloud/Catchy, catchy, like a bad girl in the movie/Send me, send me, send me/A gift until dawn/Comme des Garçons, ooh-la-la, baby/Mistress and with distressed jeans/Luxury handbags for the three of us.” Clearly, Lovestory is an egalitarian.
And yes, it seems there hasn’t been a more “correct” yet unlikely trio thrown together since Ariana Grande managed to secure verses from Miley Cyrus and Lana Del Rey for 2019’s “Don’t Call Me Angel” (a song that obviously required a trio since it was written for the Charlie’s Angels Soundtrack—needless to say, the music was more warmly received than Elizabeth Banks’ reboot). To be sure, it requires a very special kind of alchemy for songs with three strong solo singers to work—which is probably part of why it so rarely occurs (at least with a memorable effect).
So it is that Shygirl has done it again: proven that, out of every dance/“experimental” pop girl in the game, she is arguably the most gifted. Especially in terms of coming up with unique and unexpected collaborations. Which is why Charli XCX knew the importance of bringing Shy along on 2024’s Sweat Tour and Brat Tour, not to mention bringing her stylings to a remix of “365” for Brat and it’s completely different but also still brat. In truth, before long, Shygirl could be the one having the “overnight” success like Charli after ten years spent slogging at the game. That’s when the “In Shy we trust” lyric will finally mean something to more people. As it already does to those like PinkPantheress and Isabella Lovestory.
[…] the most unlikely trio of the year would by Shygirl, PinkPantheress and Isabella Lovestory with “True Religion,” it turns out that LISA, Doja Cat and RAYE had their own “back pocket” collab to unleash as […]