Prom Queen (Beach Bunny song)

Trifilio wrote the track for a friend that was struggling with body issues.[1] The song has been called "a protest of Euro-centric beauty standards."[2] Trifilio was nervous to release the song, with it lacking a romantic theme that was commonplace for many of her songs:[3] "I was scared it would be listened to in the wrong way, like I was encouraging eating disorders. In general, I think there’s a void (in pop music) in discussing social issues, and I hope to write more songs like that."[1] The song is the namesake of the band's fourth extended play, first issued in August 2018.

"Prom Queen" is one of many songs that went viral on the Chinese video-sharing service TikTok, with hundreds of thousands of user-generated videos featuring the song as its soundtrack. Abby Jones at Pitchfork described many of these clips as featuring "a girl posing in front of a phone camera to illustrate Trifilio's opening lines: 'Shut up, count your calories/I never looked good in mom jeans.'"[2] The song first went viral in April 2019, months after its release.

Greg Kot from the Chicago Tribune said the track "distills tween anxiety and self-doubt with a rare directness. It’s a survivor’s manual dressed up in dark wit and a sharp, guitar-driven melody."[1] Jones from Pitchfork called it indicative of the band's formula: "sentimental and wistful, with a plainspokenness that prompts immediate sympathy."[2] Paper's Eli Enis said the song "radiates a sense of emotional victory, as if Trifilio has expelled the unpleasant subject matter and is now singing from a place of resilience."[3]

Credits adapted from the group's Bandcamp.[4]

Beach Bunny

• Lili Trifilio - vocals, guitar, songwriting
• Jonathan Alvarado - drums
• Matt Henkels - lead guitar
• Aidan Cada – bass guitar

Production

• Ray Riot – recording engineer
• Nick Reuille – assistant recording engineer
• Aaron Cada – mixing, mastering