Tom Grennan’s Boys Don’t Cry

WRITTEN BY A.A.V.

With two number ones under their impressive repertoire of songs and projects, English singer and songwriter Tom Grennan (he/him) has graced the listeners with his newest single, “Boys Don’t Cry.” Alongside other singles such as “Shadowboxing” and “Higher” teased to be released in his fourth-upcoming album Everywhere I Went, Led Me to Where I Didn’t Want to Be on August 15.

Grennan’s relationship with music is certainly a fetching tale. After being dropped from his football team, he was later caught singing karaoke with a few too many drinks in his system, unaware that fateful event would change the trajectory of his life. Grennan told Metro the events leading up to him eventually getting signed that “I’ve grafted for like three years going from pub to pub Monday to Friday hoping to get a gig here and there. I didn’t do my uni really. I was living off the government while trying to gig!”

After being signed, Grennan dropped three albums; Lightning Matches in 2018, Evering Road in 2021, and What Ifs & Maybes. Grennan’s description about “Boys Don’t Cry” stems from personal relationship with the controversial saying. Grennan stated, “in a lot of towns, especially where I come from, there's still this stigma around emotion. Men are told they need to be about football, beer, and zero emotions. 'Boys Don't Cry' is the tonic to the negative 'man up' usage, a term used by us lads who find it hard to deal with other vulnerability and in fact our own.”

The single itself incorporates late 70s to mid 80s wavesynth and techno undertones. Matched with Grennan’s clear and passionate singing, “Boys Don’t Cry” stands on its own among many other 80’s inspired soundtracks in the music market. This song can be played after hours on a dreary drive back home, with friends, or perhaps, like Grennan, singing karaoke drunk. 

Tom Grennan is already a rising star but with “Boys Don’t Cry,” he’s proven to everyone he’s a force on the horizon and his highly expected album Everywhere I Went, Led Me to Where I Didn’t Want to Be, will be another smash hit.