I have never trusted a beach day that required too much clothing or too much male supervision. Emily Roberts and dagi show up on ‘Bikinis’ with the confidence of women who already know the group photo is going to eat while DHALI gives them an electro-pop/dance-pop pulse that feels built for sunscreen on shoulders and somebody turning the speaker up too fucking loud. The whole thing has that last-weeks-of-summer looseness where the tan lines are visible and your standards for acceptable daytime drinking quietly disappear. It sounds bright and shamelessly pleased with itself. Frankly, if the bikini fits, I support the behavior.
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Confidence this loud usually gets called obnoxious by somebody whose opinion we already deleted. “Girlies in Bikinis, / Are riding Lamborghinis, / Shiny things, diamond rings / You wish that you could be me” turns envy into part of the fun because these women are fully aware that somebody is watching from the sidelines wishing she had their nerve. They are enjoying being seen and having a damn good time with it. If another girl secretly hates your swimsuit and still watches you walk past, babe, that is free fucking engagement.
My favorite summer dress code has always been whatever makes me feel hot enough to stop checking who approves. “Pretty boys, making noise / Tie up – (act) like Houdini / Our body, our choice / Addicted to the feeling” puts that attitude right at the center of the song because these women decide who gets access and everybody else can behave accordingly. Male attention is available. Their approval is the thing that matters. I support any philosophy that lets me wear three triangles of fabric and still somehow feel overdressed, because what the hell else is summer for?
Somewhere between the second drink and the music getting indecent, the beach starts feeling like the only club worth getting into. “Tanning, Sipping, no boys looking / Too hot the dj’s cooking, / Besties dancing, bassline hitting, / It’s better, when we’re beaching” keeps the pleasure inside the friend group, where everybody already understands the assignment and the afternoon belongs to them. Feeling hot around women who hype you up can put a little extra sex in your walk before anybody has even flirted with you. That shit is powerful. Give me my girls and something tiny with strings for straps and my responsible ass can come back tomorrow.
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Emily Roberts comes into the collaboration with serious dance-pop credentials, including the gold success of ‘Bittersweet Symphony’ with Gamper & Dadoni and a No. 1 Billboard dance airplay collaboration with Loud Luxury on ‘LOVE YOU FOR LIFE’. dagi built a multi-million audience in German content culture before her spontaneous ‘Ibiza, Circoloco’ moment exploded online and carried her further into music. DHALI brings the club pedigree, with his work at 23HOURS moving through melodic and Afro-influenced house alongside collaborations with Felix Jaehn and MOGUAI. ‘Bikinis’ gives those backgrounds one very horny little beach towel to share.
So yes, I stand by my beach rule. ‘Bikinis’ makes a convincing case for putting on whatever makes you feel hot and letting the whole fucking afternoon revolve around the girls. Any boy enjoying the view should consider himself lucky to have been invited. If my bikini ends up in the group chat before sunset, assume I made excellent decisions.
