Am I a Dove Cameron fan? Pull up in the girl and the dreamcatcher!
No, but really, I’m a card-carrying member of the Dovelies community. Am I biased? Perhaps. I first met her back when I was working at PopCrush. We filmed a whole interview and performance feature back in 2016 when she was briefly performing as a duo – which, come to think of it, is nearly a decade ago. (My God…)
In any case, I was sold on the spot. Dove’s got something special, and while I am a few generations above the one that grew up watching her on Disney shows like Liv and Maddie and Descendants, you know wattage when you see it. She was a a sweetheart, but there was an edginess to her that I just knew would pop out in the music eventually.
Cut to a few years later, and it’s all happening.
We’re finally getting to see Dove, well, spread her wings (sorry!), from Alchemical: Volume 1 (“Boyfriend,” “Breakfast”) to collaborations with Diplo (“Use Me”) and Marshmello (“Other Boys”), to her latest output, which is proving to be the most exciting stuff yet.
After the release of the still-excellent “Too Much,” the 29-year-old singer-songwriter returned on Friday (May 2) with a similarly brilliant offering, “French Girls” – and it’s clear now that she’s found her theatrical synth-pop sweet spot.
Like “Too Much,” the track was again produced by the talented and versatile Tyler Spry (Bad Bunny‘s “DtMF,” Tate McRae‘s “exes”) and co-written with Victoria Zaro and the unstoppable Madison Love, who has done everything from Kesha to BLACKPINK to Selena Gomez to Ava Max.
Think all the over-the-top vocal drama and synth-pop of Allie X, Lady Gaga and Marina, paired with an iconic reference to Titanic (a winning strategy, just ask Britney!), and you’ve got “French Girls,” an alluring anthem that’s more conflicted than it seems on the surface.
“Paint me like one of your French girls,” Dove declares on the instantly catchy chorus, complete with a most satisfying “ooh-ooh-ooh” post-chorus. “In emeralds and curls, I give myself over to you / I wanna be remembered, be yours forever / Make me your whole world, your muse.” (Your WHAT? Clearly a reference. Flattery will get you everywhere, Ms. Cameron.)
“‘French Girls’ is a very playful, high energy, and joy-filled dance track, which is the space I was in while writing most of this album,” Dove says.
“But lyrically, the chorus explores something a little more intricate. I’ve always questioned my own place in the world of celebrity and visibility. What does it mean to be watched, consumed, to give yourself over to the world – the highs and lows of that commitment?”
Much like so many pop queens before her – from Britney‘s “Lucky” to Marina‘s Electra Heart to Gaga‘s “Plastic Doll” – Dove is feeling out her own relationship with The Fame and leaning in with sacrificing her humanity with sarcasm-drenched enthusiasm. (“I live for your touch, I live to inspire / So carve me to pieces, do it in style.“)
“I wanted to explore my feelings around the tension between the joys of connection on a mass scale and the vulnerability that comes with that. The artifice and the intimacy and the surrealism of fame, the people who I look up to, who I consider icons, and where I fit within that, or if I even do. ‘French Girls’ is a love letter to the romance of my relationship with the world around me, which, like any real relationship, has always been and will always be complex,” she adds.
We’ve already got a debut live performance, courtesy of Everything Must Go, a livestream benefit concert supporting the National Alliance on Mental Illness held a few weeks ago. (22:46 minute mark, if it doesn’t automatically load there.)
Picture frames, choreography, and serving (and swiping) face, all while selling off items mid-performance for a great cause. Instantly sold.
With any luck, an album announcement is imminent, because Dove is making all the right moves. And frankly, it’s about time she has her own “Espresso” moment.
At the same time, it was also just announced that Dove will be the opening act for Dua Lipa’s Radical Optimism Tour for select performances across England, the UK and Ireland. Click here for tickets.
Dove Cameron’s Radical Optimism Tour Dates
June 20, 2025 – Wembley Stadium – London, England
June 21, 2025 – Wembley Stadium – London, England
June 24, 2025 – Anfield Stadium – Liverpool, UK
June 25, 2025 – Anfield Stadium – Liverpool, UK
June 27, 2025 – Aviva Stadium – Dublin, Ireland
Read the lyrics of “French Girls”…
Listen to the MuuTunes playlist on Spotify…
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Photo credit: Richie Shazam
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