Composition
"Loverboy" is an uptempo song, which draws influence from R&B, pop and hip hop music genres, and incorporates derivatives from 1980s melodies. The song's hook is built around a sample of "Candy", by Cameo. Aside from borrowing from the melody, "Loverboy" features Cameo as a lead vocalist on the track. According to Chuck Taylor from Billboard, "Loverboy" is reminiscent of several of Carey's previous lead singles, as they too were predominantly built around samples of older songs. He described some of its background flourishes as "swirling harmonies overtop", and noted the inclusion of many shouts and ad-libs from Carey and Cameo. Due to the song's heavy usage of the "Candy" sample, and the heavy blend of instrumentation and vocals, he said that to his bewilderment, the song was "devoid of a standard hook". NME's Elios Therepio felt the idea of sampling "Candy" was genius "on paper", but once recorded, suffered from various miscalculations. He felt it didn't match the success Carey's previous single, "Fantasy" (which also recalled its melody from an older song), and criticized the inclusion of several over-the-top "keyboard and synth arrangements". Regarding Carey's voice, aside from describing it as "obscured", Therepio expressed his difficulty in understanding her lyrical phrases, claiming it was weakened from "no-everyone-can-understand-what-you're-saying'-itis". Gil Kaufman from MTV News noted the inclusion of "bouncing funky bass rock guitars", while Roger Caitlin of the Hartford Courant described how Carey was often reduced to "breathy background vocals" on "Loverboy". Lyrically, the song finds Carey looking for her "loverboy", and a sugar-daddy that's going to "love her right". Therepio found it ironic how Carey was crooning for a sugar-daddy, when she had just left one (referring to her older ex-husband Tommy Mottola). Additionally, he felt Carey was molding her image from that of a balladeer, to a "pin-up image" of a pop star. The song's lyrics are racy, and feature the protagonist asking for her "loverboy" to fulfill her sexual desires: "Loverboy come on and love me / Give me more".
Read more about this topic: Loverboy (Mariah Carey Song)
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—Derek Gjertsen, British scientist, author. Science and Philosophy: Past and Present, ch. 3, Penguin (1989)
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—James Boswell (1740–1795)