Let's Be Friends (Emily Osment song)

Let's Be Friends is a dance/rock song performed by American artist Emily Osment. The song was released for digital download on June 8, 2010 as the lead single from Osment's debut album, Fight or Flight. It was written by Emily Osment, Toby Gad, and Mandi Perkins. The upbeat song has prominent pop rock characteristics, and lyrically talks about friends with benefits.

"Let's Be Friends" garnered great success in Japan, debuting and peaking at number twenty-four in the Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart, making the song Osment's first top-thirty hit as a single and her most successful single to date. In addition, the single was also successful in Germany, peaking at number sixty-seven and remained in the German chart for over six weeks.

Background
The song was written by Osment herself, as well as Toby Gad (who has written hits such as Fergie's number one single Big Girls Don't Cry) and Mandi Perkins, who is the lead singer of Canadian rock band "of Verona". "Let's Be Friends" is a upbeat pop song that contains a strong use of drums and electric guitars. The song shows a musical transition for Osment, leaning toward more of a mature audience.

Osment has previously stated in an interview that "Let's Be Friends" is about a complicated relationship she held with someone in 2009. She also mentioned she chose the beach as the scene for her music video as beaches reminded her of that person. In the same interview, Osment said she wore the same clothes she wore when she met that person.

Critical reception
The single has been met with mixed to positive reviews from critics. However, several critics, and many fans, have commented that the song sounds like a mixture of Miley Cyrus's "Can't Be Tamed" and P!nk's "Funhouse". They also compared Osment to her Hannah Montana co-star Miley Cyrus, stating that she has turned to more of a mature and sexual image.

Music video
The single's video features Osment going to the beach with her girlfriends, and flirting with random attractive men. It begins with Emily and her friends pulling into the parking lot of the beach in a mustang. They then proceed to go out to the water, where Osment finds a cute boy and begins to flirt.

Live performances
Osment performed the song on her Clap Your Hands Tour, along with previous singles "All the Way Up" and "You Are the Only One". It was also performed on the morning television show Toronto Breakfast Television, in Canada. The acoustic performance changed many of the lyrics, changing phrases such as "let's be friends so we can make out" to "let's be friends get lost in the sound." Osment performed the original version of the song on The Dome 55 in Germany.