In Praise of Silent Men: Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Shy Boy”

Despite barely a year passing since Carly Rae Jepsen released her sixth album, The Loneliest Time, the Canadian “pop savant” has spared the wait for fresh material via a new single called “Shy Boy” (which will probably appear on The Loneliest Time: Side B). Clearly inspired by the vocal stylings of Kylie Minogue and Jepsen’s own bashful boo, Cole M.G.N. (formerly married to Ramona Gonzalez a.k.a. Nite Jewel), said producer is featured as the love interest (not much of an acting stretch) in the “official visualizer” (which really just looks a lot like a music video) as though to further iterate his role in her life. Indeed, Jepsen has urged her fans during the promotion of this single, “Don’t rule out the quiet ones.” Which, to be sure, sounds more like reminding people not to rule “the quiet ones” out as murder suspects (because, as the well-known cliché goes, “It’s always the quiet ones”). As opposed to, you know, romantic prospects. But Jepsen is definitely onto something with recommending the pursuit of a shy boy because, to be sure, he tends to be better in bed.

The problem with shy boys, of course, is actually getting them to come out of their shell long enough to ensnare them. That, and they can often be too shy to dance. Or take the initiative to ask a girl to join him in one “on the floor” (to use a J. Lo song title). So it is that Jepsen opens the track with the très direct sentiment/question, “You’re pretty, we’re drinking/So I say what I’m thinking/How come everybody’s dancing but you?” With an ego boost from an extrovert like Jepsen (elucidating, once more, that if you ever met an introvert, it was because they were friends or lovers with an extrovert), it shouldn’t take much longer before the shy boy becomes ephemerally emboldened. Which is clearly what must have happened between her and Cole M.G.N., who Jepsen has been dating since mid-2022 (with Jepsen going “Instagram official” with the producer on her November 21st birthday). In fact, she displayed her own sense of shyness about publicizing the relationship because, as she phrased it, “I’m careful… [relationships are] something I want to protect and keep for myself. But at the same time, it’s fun to show the development of something when you’re really excited about it, and I’m definitely very excited about him.”

“Shy Boy” further confirms that outlook months later as Jepsen makes Cole M.G.N. her leading man in the folie à deux (at least when it comes to the “shared delusion” of falling in love) visualizer. But who knows, maybe it was just Jepsen’s way of apologizing for not letting him produce the single (James Ellis Ford got that privilege instead). Driving down L.A.’s 4th Street Bridge (which also recently made a cameo in Doja Cat’s “Attention” video), her shy boy rides shotgun as they exit the bridge and approach the Honey building (better known as “the coupon deal app that took over the historic Coca-Cola building”). From there, the two oblige in Jepsen’s desire to dance when Cole twirls her around in front of a theater’s exterior. At this point, the “visualizer” portion of the video comes into play when the chorus of the song is inserted as though we’re watching a silent movie (after all, Jepsen is an L.A. enthusiast, which automatically infers being a movie history one as well).

So it is that, through this chorus (whether visualized or heard), Jepsen gives shy boys everywhere a dose of confidence when she says, “Shy boy stir me up/You didn’t even know you got the Midas touch/Whoa/Come pick me up” and “He’s got the Midas touch/Everything he touch turns to gold.” And, in truth, Jepsen may end up doing a disservice to women (and gay men) everywhere who were already well-aware of the value of a shy boy. Then again, perhaps that’s also the type of boy that Britney was talking about on “Radar” when she said, “A man with a Midas touch/Intoxicate me, I’m a lush/Stop, you’re making me blush/People are looking at us.” In which case, the shy boy can turn an extrovert equally shy with his steamy stare.

The duo’s whimsical drive through Downtown L.A. continues as the visualizer then cuts to Jepsen inching toward the Haas Building on 7th Street before the scene cuts to her moving through a more residential neighborhood. After a long day of “romantic driving” (because, yes, such a thing exists in California…when there’s no traffic), the L.A. stage switches to the MacArthur Park Lake set, where a bevy of swan boats are showcased as they twinkle in conjunction with the city lights. Jepsen then persists in her tourism ad for Los Angeles by appearing in one of said paddle boats with her shy boy. Afterward, the pair walks through the streets of L.A., lights strung all over the place, as though the only two people left in the world are them (like Lana said, “The world was built for two”). Even if that’s the case, there might still be an unanticipated third party watching them with voyeuristic zeal as we then get a POV shot from the street below their window. One that frames Cole twirling Jepsen around again (they love that move) for a heightened effect that serves “only lovers left alive” vibes in spades.

As for Jepsen’s sexual innuendo abilities, there’s plenty of meaning to be extrapolated from, “Shy boy, stir me up/I get a little somethin’ from your morning cup.” Namely, like, is she talking about his morning load? Because that’s how it comes across to the so-called filthy-minded. Either way, Jepsen concludes the whimsy-laden visualizer with “FIN” for added 60s French film-level quirk. Thus, with that “FIN,” a new appreciation for shy boys and the adage they embody—“silence is golden”—is entered into the pop music canon. Joining the likes of other odes to shyness and introspection, such as the Beach Boys’ “In My Room,” Bananarama’s “Shy Boy,” Kajagoogoo’s “Too Shy,” The Smiths’ “Ask,” Radiohead’s “Creep,” Kate Nash’s “Mariella,” Jordin Sparks’ “Shy Boy,” Hailee Steinfeld’s “Hell Nos and Headphones,” Bebe Rexha’s “Me, Myself and I” (more so than Beyoncé’s “Me, Myself and I” ‘cause it’s about “resorting” to being alone only because you’ve been cheated on) and Em Beihold’s “Too Precious.” And, undoubtedly, the next “shy”/“shy boy” song to come out is going to have to be something really special to one-up Jepsen’s.