 " Loverboy " ' s hook is built around a sample of " Candy " , by Cameo . Aside from <unk> from the melody , " Loverboy " features Cameo as a lead vocalist on the track . According to Chuck Taylor from Billboard , " Loverboy " is reminiscent of several of Carey 's previous lead singles , as they too were predominantly built around samples of older songs . He described some of its background <unk> as " <unk> harmonies <unk> " , and noted the inclusion of many shouts and ad @-@ <unk> from Carey and Cameo . Due to the song 's heavy usage of the " Candy " sample , and the heavy blend of instrumentation and vocals , he said that to his <unk> , the song was " devoid of a standard hook " . NME 's <unk> Therepio felt the idea of sampling " Candy " was genius " on paper " , but once recorded , suffered from various <unk> . He felt it didn 't match the success Carey 's previous single , " Fantasy " ( which also recalled its melody from an older song ) , and criticized the inclusion of several over @-@ the @-@ top " keyboard and synth arrangements " . Regarding Carey 's voice , aside from describing it as " obscured " , Therepio expressed his difficulty in understanding her lyrical phrases , claiming it was weakened from " no @-@ everyone @-@ can @-@ understand @-@ what @-@ you 're @-@ saying ' <unk> " . Gil Kaufman from MTV News noted the inclusion of " bouncing <unk> bass [ and ] rock guitars " , while Roger <unk> of the Hartford Courant described how Carey was often reduced to " breathy background vocals " on " Loverboy " . Lyrically , the song finds Carey looking for her " loverboy " , and a sugar @-@ daddy that 's going to " love her right " . Therepio found it ironic how Carey was <unk> for a sugar @-@ daddy , when she had just left one ( referring to her older ex @-@ husband Tommy Mottola ) . Additionally , he felt Carey was <unk> her image from that of a <unk> , to a " pin @-@ up image " of a pop star . The song 's lyrics are <unk> , and feature the protagonist asking for her " loverboy " to fulfill her sexual desires : " Loverboy come on and love me / Give me more " . 
