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Male Fantasy
"Male Fantasy" is a song by American singer-songwriter Billie Eilish, included as the closing track on her second studio album Happier Than Ever (2021). A country-tinged, folk ballad about a break-up, it was written by Eilish and its producer, her brother Finneas O'Connell. In the verses, the narrator attempts to watch pornography to distract herself from her problems, and she criticizes how its standards around beauty and sexuality negatively affect people. She fantasizes about her past lover in the chorus, admitting that she can never hate them no matter how hard she forces herself to do so.
"Male Fantasy" was one of the last songs written for Happier Than Ever, and Eilish selected it as the album's concluding track since she considered the song reminiscent of closing credits. It was released as the seventh and last single from the album on December 6, 2021. The song received praise from music critics, who complimented it for the simplistic arrangement and inventive lyrics, and became a fan favorite. "Male Fantasy" was Happier Than Ever's least commercially successful single, with low peaks on national charts in Australia (59), Canada (62), and Portugal (80). In the United States, the song failed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, only entering the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart at second place.
Eilish directed and edited the music video for "Male Fantasy", which premiered the same day as its release. The video features several jump cuts and a predominantly light blue color scheme; in it, Eilish wanders around a claustrophobic house alone. She performed the song as part of a Vevo Live video series on YouTube, singing it while on a golden bed in an Old Hollywood-esque hotel, and a mashup for Saturday Night Live alongside Happier Than Ever's title track. Eilish included the song in the set lists of a 2021 concert film and a 2022–2023 world tour in support of the album.
"Male Fantasy" was written by Eilish and Finneas O'Connell, with the latter serving as the track's producer. O'Connell also instrumented the track with an acoustic guitar, synthesizer, and Wurlitzer electronic piano. The idea for the song was formed by the singer after she had a conversation about how "stupid and unrealistic" pornography is. She saw this topic as a "good idea" for a song, hence it is "uncomfortable" to discuss and can "make you feel violated and good at the same time". In an interview with i-D, Eilish opened up that she usually writes about her past, since it is easier for her than setting lyrics of current events. However, Eilish admitted that the process was "hard and satisfying and revealing and exposing and also incredibly cathartic too", whereas the song "pretty much wrote itself".
In early February 2021, the song was not considered to be included on Happier Than Ever, with the title track concluding the track listing. However, after "Male Fantasy" was written, the singer said that it "felt better to close it with that", since the track "felt like credits". Additionally, Eilish did not want to end the album on an "angry note", expressing that "nothing should end on a bad note". The singer also enclosed that the song is one of her favorite album tracks, and as a result of her synesthesia, she finds it to be represented by a light blue color. The song was picked as the seventh single promoting the album on December 6, 2021.
Musically, "Male Fantasy" is an acoustic, country-flavored, guitar-driven folk break-up ballad. According to the sheet music published by Universal Music Publishing Group, the track has been composed in D major key. It is set in the time signature of 4
4 with a tempo of 108 to 112 beats per minute. Eilish is heard singing in her higher register, with her vocals spanning from B3 to D5. The singer is depicted as heartbroken on the track, trying to distract herself with pornography. Afterwards, she uses the song's first verse to criticize how pornography affects youth and beauty standards, and additionally utilizes the concept present honesty and facade in relationships. After singing: "I know I should, but I could never hate you"; Eilish asks "Want me to sing in here?", which according to Slant Magazine's Sal Cinquemani, symbolizes "perhaps unintentionally, [the singer's] struggle to assert her own agency." She begins the second verse by singing about how she has nothing in common with an old friend. Later, she self-reflects and "further explore[s] her own role in a male dominated entertainment world".
According to Carl Wilson of Slate, even though the song begins on "pondering how the male gaze shapes unrealistic portrayals of women's satisfaction with sex", it is actually about an "equally distracting fantasy about a male, and how he might have been better to her". Pitchfork's Cat Zhang made a remark that "Male Fantasy" resembles the style of Phoebe Bridgers's Stranger in the Alps (2017); whilst Konstantinos Pappis from Our Culture Mag said it is "the kind of plaintive acoustic song you could now imagine Clairo singing backing vocals on". In an article published on MTV, Athena Serrano wrote that the track tries to distinguish what is the true love. Writing for MTV Australia, Jackson Langford commented the song is "melancholy and ethereal", describing its production as "muted", similar to the rest of the album. Rolling Stone's Rob Sheffield added that the singer wonders "how much of her own life is just fantasy" in the song. Rachel Brodsky from Uproxx wrote that the track is about "being kinder to yourself, about letting yourself take the necessary time to heal after a broken heart".
"Male Fantasy" was met with widespread praise from music critics and also became a fan favorite. Derrick Rossignol of Uproxx said that "Male Fantasy" is one of the more "personal" moments on Happier Than Ever; while Robin Murray from Clash described the song as a "subdued finale" with a "bravura lyrical performance (...) sharpened by the minimalist arrangement". According to Pappis, the song is one of the album's "quieter moments", but unlike "Everybody Dies" and "Halley's Comet", he did not call it "half-baked". To the contrary, he dubbed the song as a "notable exception". Neil McCormick from The Daily Telegraph picked the same set of the songs, and opined that they are "drowsy ballads (...) counterbalanced with a fuck-you spikiness that ensures Eilish never comes across as a victim". Writing for Beats Per Minute, Tim Sentz commented that "Male Fantasy" is a "perfect example of how Eilish can be both naïve and wise beyond her years at once; something that is displayed repeatedly over the course of the album". Mary Siroky from Consequence opined that the song is "fearless" and a "despondent meditation on heartbreak and modern womanhood".
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Male Fantasy
"Male Fantasy" is a song by American singer-songwriter Billie Eilish, included as the closing track on her second studio album Happier Than Ever (2021). A country-tinged, folk ballad about a break-up, it was written by Eilish and its producer, her brother Finneas O'Connell. In the verses, the narrator attempts to watch pornography to distract herself from her problems, and she criticizes how its standards around beauty and sexuality negatively affect people. She fantasizes about her past lover in the chorus, admitting that she can never hate them no matter how hard she forces herself to do so.
"Male Fantasy" was one of the last songs written for Happier Than Ever, and Eilish selected it as the album's concluding track since she considered the song reminiscent of closing credits. It was released as the seventh and last single from the album on December 6, 2021. The song received praise from music critics, who complimented it for the simplistic arrangement and inventive lyrics, and became a fan favorite. "Male Fantasy" was Happier Than Ever's least commercially successful single, with low peaks on national charts in Australia (59), Canada (62), and Portugal (80). In the United States, the song failed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, only entering the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart at second place.
Eilish directed and edited the music video for "Male Fantasy", which premiered the same day as its release. The video features several jump cuts and a predominantly light blue color scheme; in it, Eilish wanders around a claustrophobic house alone. She performed the song as part of a Vevo Live video series on YouTube, singing it while on a golden bed in an Old Hollywood-esque hotel, and a mashup for Saturday Night Live alongside Happier Than Ever's title track. Eilish included the song in the set lists of a 2021 concert film and a 2022–2023 world tour in support of the album.
"Male Fantasy" was written by Eilish and Finneas O'Connell, with the latter serving as the track's producer. O'Connell also instrumented the track with an acoustic guitar, synthesizer, and Wurlitzer electronic piano. The idea for the song was formed by the singer after she had a conversation about how "stupid and unrealistic" pornography is. She saw this topic as a "good idea" for a song, hence it is "uncomfortable" to discuss and can "make you feel violated and good at the same time". In an interview with i-D, Eilish opened up that she usually writes about her past, since it is easier for her than setting lyrics of current events. However, Eilish admitted that the process was "hard and satisfying and revealing and exposing and also incredibly cathartic too", whereas the song "pretty much wrote itself".
In early February 2021, the song was not considered to be included on Happier Than Ever, with the title track concluding the track listing. However, after "Male Fantasy" was written, the singer said that it "felt better to close it with that", since the track "felt like credits". Additionally, Eilish did not want to end the album on an "angry note", expressing that "nothing should end on a bad note". The singer also enclosed that the song is one of her favorite album tracks, and as a result of her synesthesia, she finds it to be represented by a light blue color. The song was picked as the seventh single promoting the album on December 6, 2021.
Musically, "Male Fantasy" is an acoustic, country-flavored, guitar-driven folk break-up ballad. According to the sheet music published by Universal Music Publishing Group, the track has been composed in D major key. It is set in the time signature of 4
4 with a tempo of 108 to 112 beats per minute. Eilish is heard singing in her higher register, with her vocals spanning from B3 to D5. The singer is depicted as heartbroken on the track, trying to distract herself with pornography. Afterwards, she uses the song's first verse to criticize how pornography affects youth and beauty standards, and additionally utilizes the concept present honesty and facade in relationships. After singing: "I know I should, but I could never hate you"; Eilish asks "Want me to sing in here?", which according to Slant Magazine's Sal Cinquemani, symbolizes "perhaps unintentionally, [the singer's] struggle to assert her own agency." She begins the second verse by singing about how she has nothing in common with an old friend. Later, she self-reflects and "further explore[s] her own role in a male dominated entertainment world".
According to Carl Wilson of Slate, even though the song begins on "pondering how the male gaze shapes unrealistic portrayals of women's satisfaction with sex", it is actually about an "equally distracting fantasy about a male, and how he might have been better to her". Pitchfork's Cat Zhang made a remark that "Male Fantasy" resembles the style of Phoebe Bridgers's Stranger in the Alps (2017); whilst Konstantinos Pappis from Our Culture Mag said it is "the kind of plaintive acoustic song you could now imagine Clairo singing backing vocals on". In an article published on MTV, Athena Serrano wrote that the track tries to distinguish what is the true love. Writing for MTV Australia, Jackson Langford commented the song is "melancholy and ethereal", describing its production as "muted", similar to the rest of the album. Rolling Stone's Rob Sheffield added that the singer wonders "how much of her own life is just fantasy" in the song. Rachel Brodsky from Uproxx wrote that the track is about "being kinder to yourself, about letting yourself take the necessary time to heal after a broken heart".
"Male Fantasy" was met with widespread praise from music critics and also became a fan favorite. Derrick Rossignol of Uproxx said that "Male Fantasy" is one of the more "personal" moments on Happier Than Ever; while Robin Murray from Clash described the song as a "subdued finale" with a "bravura lyrical performance (...) sharpened by the minimalist arrangement". According to Pappis, the song is one of the album's "quieter moments", but unlike "Everybody Dies" and "Halley's Comet", he did not call it "half-baked". To the contrary, he dubbed the song as a "notable exception". Neil McCormick from The Daily Telegraph picked the same set of the songs, and opined that they are "drowsy ballads (...) counterbalanced with a fuck-you spikiness that ensures Eilish never comes across as a victim". Writing for Beats Per Minute, Tim Sentz commented that "Male Fantasy" is a "perfect example of how Eilish can be both naïve and wise beyond her years at once; something that is displayed repeatedly over the course of the album". Mary Siroky from Consequence opined that the song is "fearless" and a "despondent meditation on heartbreak and modern womanhood".