Gregory Hicks of The Michigan Daily commented that Bieber is copying Timberlake's R&B style on the song, and described the lyrics as original "in the sense that few artists are willing to introduce this much poetic stupidity into their music.". RedEyes Ernest Wilkins said that Bieber doesn't know how to rap well, adding that "I yearn for the days of the Wahlberg men being the most awkward white male rappers on Earth." Chart performance
A few hours after its release, "Boyfriend" reached the top position on the US iTunes Store. According to Keith Caulfied of Billboard, industry sources suggested that the track could sell around 400,000 downloads by the end of the tracking week on April 1, 2012, and noted that it could debut into the top five of the Hot 100 chart. The song debuted at number two on the chart, only being held off the top spot by "We Are Young" by Fun. featuring Janelle Monáe. It sold a total of 521,000 digital units, the second-highest-ever debut digital sales week. Bill Werde of Billboard noted that it failed to debut at number one because the digital download of the track was only available through iTunes Store, "restricting the buying option for those that do not frequent the Apple retail store." The song has sold 3,216,000 downloads in the US by December 2012. "Boyfriend" is also Bieber's first single to ever reach the top position on the Canadian Hot 100 by debuting at number one and staying on for one week.
Gregory Hicks of The Michigan Daily commented that Bieber is copying Timberlake's R&B style on the song, and described the lyrics as original "in the sense that few artists are willing to introduce this much poetic stupidity into their music.". RedEyes Ernest Wilkins said that Bieber doesn't know how to rap well, adding that "I yearn for the days of the Wahlberg men being the most awkward white male rappers on Earth." Chart performance A few hours after its release, "Boyfriend" reached the top position on the US iTunes Store. According to Keith Caulfied of Billboard, industry sources suggested that the track could sell around 400,000 downloads by the end of the tracking week on April 1, 2012, and noted that it could debut into the top five of the Hot 100 chart. The song debuted at number two on the chart, only being held off the top spot by "We Are Young" by Fun. featuring Janelle Monáe. It sold a total of 521,000 digital units, the second-highest-ever debut digital sales week. Bill Werde of Billboard noted that it failed to debut at number one because the digital download of the track was only available through iTunes Store, "restricting the buying option for those that do not frequent the Apple retail store." The song has sold 3,216,000 downloads in the US by December 2012. "Boyfriend" is also Bieber's first single to ever reach the top position on the Canadian Hot 100 by debuting at number one and staying on for one week.