Rita Ora’s ‘Girls’
Everyone is talking about Girls, but for all the wrong reasons. Rita Ora’s frothy squad anthem had all the makings of a potential song of summer with its roster of boss ladies Cardi B, Charli XCX and Bebe Rexha and it’s 2018-friendly message of sexual fluidity. But backlash to the “bisexual bop” has been swift: LGBTQ artists Kehlani and Hayley Kiyoko criticized its tone-deaf lyrics (“Red wine, I just wanna kiss girls, girls, girls”) for implying that women hook up with one another only when they’re drinking. Ora said she was inspired by Katy Perry’s breakthrough I Kissed a Girl, which explains why this otherwise-catchy single falls flat. Maybe next time, leave the male gaze back in 2008?