*Photo courtesy of Elaine Tantra //* *@elainetantra*

Some might say that the golden age of girl groups is over with, that the days of swoon-worthy harmonies, fire choreographed dances, and coordinated outfits are done for. Well, they’d be so very wrong and missing out on the coolest and most unique group in the music scene right now.

For those of you who don’t know them, I’d like to formally introduce Queenie, Lillian, Makyhli, Olivia, and Elana of the girl group Boys World. In 2019, each member was scouted on Instagram and brought from different parts of the world to the vivacious Los Angeles, California. Together, the group underwent training for about nine months before the pandemic hit, and the presence of social media became even bigger. “In a weird way, it really launched us because everyone was on their phones all the time,” Makhyli says with a smile. Ever since their initial boom on Tik Tok singing covers, the five singers have been on a steady incline, attracting attention to their pop bangers with heavy R&B influence. Their lovable personalities and passion for what they do is the icing on the cake; it’s no wonder they’re making such a big splash.

Recently, Boys World released “Mantrum,” a banger track that features rapping, a 90’s melody, and the depiction of an ex who just couldn’t get his shit together. Makhyli lets us in on some behind-the-scenes insider details regarding the song. The concept all came together while talking in the backseat of a car where Olivia was venting about an experience she’d had with a guy. “He a grown man acting like a baby,” Makhyli reflects, “and I was like ‘Oh my god this is ridiculous. He’s throwing a man-trum.’”

“It was like a therapy session, and we all just poured out our hearts. We were there until God knows when.”

— Makhyli

“And I said,” Olivia adds with wide eyes, “Write that down. Write that down right now!”

With a clever title in mind, Makhyli and Elana entered the studio and started a session. The production process for “Mantrum” was an intensive one, beginning with brainstorming. “We had pictures, notes and links. At one point, I had, like–baby noises. I was like, ‘Let me find videos of my nephew.’ It didn’t make the cut but…” Elana laughs, “we were working.” The girls put 100% effort into the project, striving to create a perfect, full demo with ad-libs and background harmonies. “We started bouncing off of melodies and doing our own little writing processes. I did it on my phone and Makyhli was writing them down.”

Initially, [the single] was going to be passed on. “It wasn’t going to be a thing until we leaked it,” Elana confides. After receiving lots of love from their fans—called STARS—and showing the numbers to their team, “Mantrum” came to fruition, and thank God for that because it’s definitely been on repeat for me.

The unique and bonded friendships that are at the heart of their music are what make this group stick out as artists. Olivia happily reflects on the iconic release of the single “Wingman,” released in 2021, which fell on her birthday: “We all celebrated, and they played the song in my hometown, which was really cool. We were all in the room that we shared when we first got in the group, so it was really fun to just hear our song on the radio with everybody around me.”

Boys World apart also puts a big emphasis on other aspects of their musicianship, such as fashion and dance. When I asked each girl for their fit checks, they all provided individualized and unique specificities. Elana loves a good Y2K thrift find, Queenie describes her style as “feminine streetwear,” and Lillian is known for layering, donning an adorable shirt covered in cats for our interview. Additionally, every day, each of the girls picks out a different color scheme to wear. “Fun fact: we used to hate matching colors,” Queenie confesses, “I think through the years, we’ve established what our own styles [are], so we can match the same color and still look different.” Before, when the girls picked outfits for their music videos, they found they lacked a sense of symmetry–but through color coordination, they’ve discovered a way to have that classic girl group unity while remaining true to their individual senses of selves.

When it comes to dancing, Boys World consistently brings the heat. They have two choreographers, Sam and Gigi, who create dynamic and exciting sequences. For all of the dancers, everyone brings their own skills and talents to the table in order to make up the show that is Boys World. Elana has a background in competitive dance, so she draws on techniques from jazz and lyrical genres. Makyhli was a musical theatre kid, and this has influenced her facial expressions and X-factor when it comes to performance. Their diversity only enriches them as a girl group and makes them stronger.

As I listened to their storytimes and got to know the girls better, I discovered something: playing with shared and individual concepts is at the core of their musicianship. “The trauma and the relationships, and the situations that we’ve all experienced kind of inspire our music lately, especially as we’ve been writing a lot of music that’s about to come out,” Olivia says. “It’s usually [about] our own experiences as friends, going to our first party together, or like a breakup.”

Queenie chimes in: “I feel like any time someone has said, ‘Oh that’s a Boys World record,’ I’ve always tried to find the sound, but I think it’s more so the writing and the lyrics that really makes it Boys World.”

The band performed live for the first time ever in December of last year, and it was a wild experience for all of them. “When I first heard everybody scream, I was like, ‘Is that fake? Are they actually screaming for us right now?’” Olivia says. “It was the first time we’d ever heard that before in real life.” As soon as they hit the stage, all of the nerves went away and a magical adrenaline rush took over. “The second we [finished performing] and opened the back door, we all just dropped to the floor, dropped the mics, and started collectively bawling our eyes out,” Queenie reflects.

Up next for Boys World? More music, more projects and more life. They hope to go on tour this summer and push out all the tracks they’ve been developing this past year, so stay tuned and get ready to be blown away. 2023’s going to be a good one.

Dynamic Girl Group Boys World Talk Friendship, Fashion, and New Music