E-girl Trilogy

The thumbnail of "Your New Boyfriend", the third and final song in the e-girl trilogy.

“I’m in Love with an E-Girl”, “Internet Ruined Me”, and “Your New Boyfriend” are songs by English YouTuber, Twitch streamer, and musician Wilbur Soot and are known collectively as the e-girl trilogy. They were released in January, May, and December of 2020, respectively, and feature Wilbur as the focal character, Lonely Boy.

All three are comedic indie pop songs featuring guitars, drums, and piano. Lyrically, they depict a narrative between three fictitious characters, Lonely Boy, a female streamer, and her boyfriend Jared. “I’m in Love with an E-Girl” and “Internet Ruined Me” focus on Lonely Boy’s unrequited obsession with the streamer, while “Your New Boyfriend” features both the streamer and her new boyfriend, Jared.

Although “I’m in Love with an E-Girl” and “Internet Ruined Me” did not receive as much attention when they first premiered, “Your New Boyfriend” quickly gained traction. Alongside trending on Twitter and on YouTube, the song accumulated over 500,000 views within two hours and appeared on several UK charts.

Background and release

Wilbur previously created several parody songs, including "The 'Nice Guy' Ballad", and posted them on his second channel, Wilbur Music. These songs satirized various aspects of Internet culture, such as the "nice guy" persona. However, while these songs went viral, they were not posted on streaming platforms such as Spotify. Wilbur later stated that this was because although he felt they had good lyrics, they overstepped boundaries.

Wilbur originally wrote and completed the first song in the trilogy, "I'm in Love with an E-Girl", in February 2019. However, he shelved it because he did not like it and worked on Your City Gave Me Asthma instead. Months later, with Elodiegif's encouragement, Wilbur posted a music video on his main channel. Although it was not popular at first, it later gained traction, prompting Wilbur to continue the trilogy.

Composition and lyrics

The three songs of the e-girl trilogy describe different stages of the main character's (Lonely Boy's, usually called Simpbur by Fans) relationship with a female Twitch streamer at different points in their lives. "I'm in Love with an E-Girl" focuses on his infatuation with the streamer and his belief that being in a relationship with her will resolve his mental health issues. "Internet Ruined Me" follows Lonely Boy in his continued pursuit of the streamer. "Your New Boyfriend" takes place some time after and features Lonely Boy as he persists in emailing the streamer and sings about her new boyfriend, a character named Jared. The trilogy does not end with the end of Lonely Boy's infatuation with the streamer, implying that he still pursues her after the song ends.

The lyrics satirize Internet culture, especially simp culture and incels. Lonely Boy is a stereotypical example of an incel who spends every moment trying to get closer to the streamer. The one-sided relationship, for example, has lasted several years. In "I'm in Love with an E-Girl", Lonely Boy sings that he "punched a hole through [his] bedroom wall" and has "self-diagnosed" depression. Both Lonely Boy's over-aggressiveness and depression reference how teenage boys attempt to attract attention from e-girls. Lonely Boy also states in "Internet Ruined Me" that he's "spent the past ten years of [his] life" following the streamer.

Lonely Boy also demonstrates other behaviors that mark an incel. For example, he sings about sleeping on call with the streamer and mentions police intervention due to his stalkerish habits. The second reference, which occurs in "Your New Boyfriend", is about restraining orders. Wilbur also sings "Jason Derulo" after this, a reference to Derulo's habit of singing his own name in songs as well as Derulo receiving a restraining order a day before the release of "Your New Boyfriend".

In addition, "Your New Boyfriend" has been seen as a bisexual anthem by many fans, as Wilbur implies desiring both the female Twitch streamer and Jared, her boyfriend. A line from Jason Derulo's song "Get Ugly" is also commonly used in TikTok coming out videos.

Reception

The first two songs of the trilogy did not chart, but have both accumulated over seven million views on YouTube. “Your New Boyfriend” appeared on several UK charts after its release on December 11, 2020. It peaked at number 10 on the UK Independent Singles Chart, number 2 on the UK Independent Singles Breakers Chart, and number 70 on the UK Singles Downloads Chart. Wilbur also appeared as number 46 on Billboard’s Emerging Artists Chart on December 26. In December, Rolling Stone reported that Wilbur sold 9.6 million units due to “Your New Boyfriend”.

Track listing

E-girl trilogy singles

#	Thumbnail	Title	Release date	Length
1		"I'm in Love with an E-Girl"	January 29, 2020	3:59
2		"Internet Ruined Me"	May 25, 2020	4:15
3		"Your New Boyfriend"	December 11, 2020	3:59
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Trivia

• The video for "Your New Boyfriend" was filmed in Wilbur's old office. As a result, almost every shot contains a fire exit and/or fire extinguisher.
• The "Jason Derulo" insert may also represent self-obsession, as Derulo often sings his own name in his songs.