 " Loverboy " was met with generally mixed reviews from music critics ; many were not impressed with the incorporation of the sample , and felt the song didn 't lead Carey into any newer ground or innovation . Additionally , several reviewers were not impressed with Carey 's concealed vocals and the song 's overly @-@ complicated production . Sarah Rodman of the Boston Herald described the song 's production as a " traffic @-@ jam " and wrote " ' Loverboy ' is another in an increasingly long line of glitzy , candy @-@ coated , creatively stunted song . " Writing for the Los Angeles Times , Natalie Nichols felt " Loverboy " was " predictable " and presented nothing new for Carey 's audience . USA Today 's Edna <unk> wrote the song off as " skimpy " , while Glenn Gamboa from Newsday described its overall reception as " lukewarm " . Harry <unk> from <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> the song as one of Carey 's " finest moments " on Glitter , and disagreed with criticism regarding the " overly @-@ populated " musical background " . Allmusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine listed the song as the only " recommended " song from Glitter , while Gil Kaufman of MTV News called it a " fun , uptempo dance number " . Craig Seymour from Entertainment Weekly rated " Loverboy " a <unk> , and criticized its lyrical content and production . An anonymous writer from The Guardian felt the song had " no <unk> tune " , due to the inclusion of electronic musical instruments and background shouts and ad @-@ <unk> . Billboard 's Chuck Taylor described the song as " self @-@ sabotage " , and felt Carey was gambling her longevity . He described the production as a " <unk> <unk> of disparate elements " , and wrote " the mighty may have fallen here " . 
