Greyson Chance has clearly decided that subtlety is overrated.
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His new album Boystown comes with male desire, heartbreak, muscles, mesh, “Jock P*rn,” and a particularly suggestive command to “best be a good boy and listen to the album tonight.” But beneath all that deliciously thirsty energy is something even more interesting: after 17 years in music, Chance finally gets to make exactly the kind of record he wants.
And apparently, what he wants is very queer, very personal, and occasionally very horny.
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Nobody Is Telling Greyson Chance What To Do Anymore
Boystown is Chance’s first fully independent album, and that freedom seems to have changed the way he approaches his music.
BOYSTOWN out everywhere. my fifth studio album with @cainculto on SAND. love is an odyssey, and mine is yours now. https://t.co/nJ9pX8vPlh pic.twitter.com/6aJpyhFygu
— Greyson Chance (@greysonchance) September 25, 2026
“I got signed 17 years ago, and I think this is the first time in my entire career where there haven’t been these outside voices,” he tells BuzzFeed. “There hasn’t been a record label, an A&R, or a manager, and it’s really scary, to be honest, because I’m not used to it. The beginning of my career was so high, really fast, and I kind of had everything laid out in front of me. Then I lost all of that.”
Instead of trying to figure out what somebody else expects from him, Chance says he has been asking himself what he actually wants from the music.
“This album is me really enjoying it and saying, ‘Okay, I’m gonna roll with this. I’m not gonna overthink it.’”
That attitude might explain why Boystown feels so comfortable in its own skin.
Yes, Greyson Is Having A Very Hot Era
The album’s lead single, “Jock P*rn,” immediately established that Chance wasn’t interested in playing it safe. The song explores male erotica, masculinity, and identity, while the album’s visual rollout has leaned heavily into bodies, muscles, mesh, and plenty of skin. He has also been more than willing to make himself part of that visual conversation.
Then came the Instagram post: a nearly nude thirst trap, with Chance covering just enough to keep things technically decent, accompanied by the caption, “best be a good boy and listen to the album tonight.”
Sir. If that is the marketing strategy, consider the album already playing.
The thirst actually fits the larger story of Boystown. He isn’t simply trying to make himself look sexy; the album is deeply interested in sexuality, masculinity, queerness, and what it means to feel comfortable with yourself.
After spending so much of his career under other people’s expectations, there is something particularly satisfying about seeing him decide how much of himself he wants to put on display. Apparently, the answer is quite a lot.
Welcome To Boystown
The title takes its name from Chicago’s Boystown neighborhood, now officially known as Northalsted, but Chance wanted the album to feel like more than a reference to a place.
“I wanted the album to feel like a gay neighborhood. I wanted it to feel like it had different alleys and different back channels.”
That idea gives the album plenty of room to wander.
“Dirty Laundry” turns the end of a relationship into something wonderfully petty, while “Stages” digs into the emotional chaos of getting over someone. “Garçonova” brings playful wordplay into the mix, and “Sand,” featuring queer artist Cain Culto, adds another queer voice to the record. It’s pop, but Chance isn’t interested in staying neatly inside one box.
“This is a true-to-form pop record where there’s a lot of genre-bending. You get a little bit of everything on this record, and that was really important to me.”
Which feels fitting for an album called Boystown. You never really know what’s around the next corner.
Three Weeks, One Breakup And A Lot Of Freedom
The entire album was made in just three weeks, following a breakup and a period when Chance says he had been wanting to take control of his life and career again.
“A breakup happened at the top of the year, but a lot had been building up to that — this wanting to take control of my life and my career again,” he tells AOL. “I was sitting at home over the holidays, and it just kind of happened. I saw a world for a record, and the music came together pretty naturally.”
The speed was intentional. He knew that if he waited too long, he might second-guess himself.
“I knew that if I didn’t act fast, it would fade, and then I would second-guess it.”
That instinctive approach is part of what makes Boystown feel less like a carefully constructed career move and more like an artist finally letting himself have fun.
Even the heartbreak comes with attitude. Talking about “Dirty Laundry,” Chance explained that he began listing all the things he wouldn’t miss about his relationship, including folding his ex’s laundry and spending time with his parents.
Honestly, if turning your ex’s laundry into a pop song isn’t healing, we’re not sure what is.
The Sexiest Part Is That He Doesn’t Seem To Care
For all the skin, sexuality, and cheeky imagery surrounding Boystown, the most compelling part of this era is the confidence underneath it. Chance isn’t trying to become somebody completely different. He’s finally creating without worrying so much about whether somebody else will approve.
“Any artist who’s been around for this long and is on their fifth album has gone through hell and back to get there,” he says. “I feel excited, pissed off, and liberated. I feel free. I’m ready to fuck shit up.”
That pretty much sums up the energy.
After 17 years, Greyson Chance isn’t the kid people remember from a viral piano performance. He’s an independent artist making a record about desire, heartbreak, identity, and freedom — while apparently having a very good time showing off along the way.
And if Boystown is what happens when nobody tells Greyson Chance to tone it down, maybe we should have stopped telling him to behave a long time ago.