# Boy Meets Girl (band)
**Boy Meets Girl** is an American pop duo formed in Seattle in 1982 by singer-songwriters George Merrill and Shannon Rubicam, who met while performing at a wedding at which both had been hired to play[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/boy-meets-girl-mn0000772363/biography). They are best known for writing two number-one hits for [Whitney Houston](https://www.edgepedia.org/whitney-houston), "How Will I Know" and "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)", and for their own 1988 international hit "Waiting for a Star to Fall"[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/boy-meets-girl-mn0000772363/biography) • [2](https://www.boymeetsgirlmusic.com/).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Members | George Merrill (keyboards, vocals) and Shannon Rubicam (vocals), both Seattle natives[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/boy-meets-girl-mn0000772363/biography) |
| Formed | 1982 in Seattle, WA; active from the 1980s into the 2020s[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/boy-meets-girl-mn0000772363/biography) |
| Biggest hit | "Waiting for a Star to Fall" (1988): top 5 on the Billboard Hot 100, number 1 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, and number 9 on the UK Official Singles Chart[3](https://www.rediscoverthe80s.com/2020/03/interview-with-george-merrill-shannon-rubicam-boy-meets-girl.html) • [4](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/boy-meets-girl-waiting-for-a-star-to-fall/) |
| Songs written for others | "How Will I Know" and "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" for Whitney Houston; the latter was not nominated for the Grammy Award for Song of the Year, which went in 1988 to "Somewhere Out There" by Linda Ronstadt and James Ingram[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/boy-meets-girl-mn0000772363/biography) • [10](https://www.grammy.com/awards/categories/song-of-the-year/1988/) |
| Albums | Boy Meets Girl (1985, A&M), Reel Life (1988, RCA), New Dream (1991, RCA), The Wonderground (2003, self-released), Five (2021) and We the People (2024)[2](https://www.boymeetsgirlmusic.com/) |
| UK chart record | One top 10 single ("Waiting for a Star to Fall", 14 weeks on chart) and one top 75 album (Reel Life, peak 74)[5](https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/16705/boy-meets-girl/) |
## Formation and debut
Merrill and Rubicam first crossed paths in the Seattle area in the 1970s, when Rubicam auditioned for a duo Merrill was part of and was accepted as a third harmony voice. Their first songwriting session happened spontaneously at a rental house in [Southern California](https://www.edgepedia.org/southern-california), when Merrill sat down at the piano and Rubicam began writing lyrics from stream of consciousness[6](https://www.songwritingmagazine.co.uk/interviews/boy-meets-girl). The pair married and, after moving to Los Angeles, signed first a publishing deal, with Thom Bell's Bellboy Music, and then a recording contract[6](https://www.songwritingmagazine.co.uk/interviews/boy-meets-girl).
Their self-titled debut album appeared on [A&M Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/a-and-m-records) in 1985 and ran 41:05, with all ten songs written or co-written by Merrill and Rubicam; the single "Oh Girl" came from it[7](https://www.allmusic.com/album/r2539) • [1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/boy-meets-girl-mn0000772363/biography). AllMusic's retrospective review highlights "From Now On", "Oh Girl", and "I Wish You Were Here", and credits the record's thoughtful arrangements and the interplay between the two singers[7](https://www.allmusic.com/album/r2539).
## Writing for Whitney Houston
The duo's reputation as songwriters was established not by their own records but by two hits they wrote for Whitney Houston. "How Will I Know" topped the pop and R&B charts, and "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" won the [Grammy Award for Song of the Year](https://www.edgepedia.org/grammy-award-for-song-of-the-year)[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/boy-meets-girl-mn0000772363/biography). According to the duo, "How Will I Know" was first offered to [Janet Jackson](https://www.edgepedia.org/janet-jackson), who passed on it[6](https://www.songwritingmagazine.co.uk/interviews/boy-meets-girl).
The two songs were connected by a rejection. After "How Will I Know", Clive Davis asked them for another uptempo song for Houston's second album, and they wrote "Waiting for a Star to Fall" for her; Davis declined it, possibly without Houston ever hearing it, and the pair went back to writing and produced "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" within days[8](https://www.musicradar.com/artists/once-we-had-that-chorus-its-like-everything-came-from-that-some-songs-you-agonise-over-but-this-was-not-one-of-them-boy-meets-girl-on-how-having-one-song-rejected-led-to-them-writing-whitney-houstons-biggest-80s-hit). Merrill later said the rejection probably cleared the way for "I Wanna Dance with Somebody", and that Davis's judgment that "Waiting for a Star to Fall" was not right for Houston was probably correct[8](https://www.musicradar.com/artists/once-we-had-that-chorus-its-like-everything-came-from-that-some-songs-you-agonise-over-but-this-was-not-one-of-them-boy-meets-girl-on-how-having-one-song-rejected-led-to-them-writing-whitney-houstons-biggest-80s-hit).
## "Waiting for a Star to Fall"
The song began at a Whitney Houston concert at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles in 1986, on her first tour. After Houston sang "How Will I Know", Rubicam looked up and saw a shooting star and wrote the phrase "Waiting for a star to fall" in her notebook. The pair demoed the song in a rental garage they had converted into a studio, and offered it to Davis, who turned it down as too poppy for Houston's move toward R&B[9](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/mar/22/waiting-for-a-star-to-fall-boy-meets-girl-on-how-they-made-a-pop-classic).
They then recorded it themselves. Their label directed them to the producer [Arif Mardin](https://www.edgepedia.org/arif-mardin), who listened to the demo in his hotel room and declared it a hit. In the studio Mardin added layers and musicians and pushed for a grand sound; much of the garage demo, including Merrill's Juno 6 synthesizer part and Susan Boyd's backing vocals, survived onto the finished record, and David Leonard, found by checking who mixed Prince's records, mixed the track[9](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/mar/22/waiting-for-a-star-to-fall-boy-meets-girl-on-how-they-made-a-pop-classic). [Robert Palmer](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-palmer) was set to record the song before Mardin asked him to hold off, and [Belinda Carlisle](https://www.edgepedia.org/belinda-carlisle) recorded a version that was never released because she was unhappy with it[9](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/mar/22/waiting-for-a-star-to-fall-boy-meets-girl-on-how-they-made-a-pop-classic).
Released on RCA, the single reached number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 1 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart[3](https://www.rediscoverthe80s.com/2020/03/interview-with-george-merrill-shannon-rubicam-boy-meets-girl.html). In the UK it entered the Official Singles Chart on 26 November 1988, peaked at number 9 on 21 January 1989, and spent 14 weeks on the chart[4](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/boy-meets-girl-waiting-for-a-star-to-fall/). Its follow-up, "Bring Down the Moon", also charted, reaching number 92 in the UK[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/boy-meets-girl-mn0000772363/biography) • [5](https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/16705/boy-meets-girl/). The music video, filmed as a document of the couple's home life, features their daughter Hillary with her preschool friends[9](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/mar/22/waiting-for-a-star-to-fall-boy-meets-girl-on-how-they-made-a-pop-classic).
## Later career
The duo recorded a third album, New Dream, in 1991, but it was shelved before release[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/boy-meets-girl-mn0000772363/biography). Through the 1990s they worked mainly as songwriters for other artists, scoring hits for the UK dance-pop groups OTT and Girlthing[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/boy-meets-girl-mn0000772363/biography). In 2005 they released fully remastered versions of their recordings, including the previously unreleased New Dream[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/boy-meets-girl-mn0000772363/biography).
Although their marriage ended, Merrill and Rubicam continued as musical partners. They revived Boy Meets Girl in 2003 with the self-released album The Wonderground, which dealt with their past as soft rock hitmakers, the end of their marriage, and their present lives[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/boy-meets-girl-mn0000772363/biography) • [6](https://www.songwritingmagazine.co.uk/interviews/boy-meets-girl). The 5 EP followed in 2021, their first new material in 19 years, with a deluxe edition in 2022 and the album We the People in 2024[9](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/mar/22/waiting-for-a-star-to-fall-boy-meets-girl-on-how-they-made-a-pop-classic) • [2](https://www.boymeetsgirlmusic.com/).
## References
1. [Boy Meets Girl Biography, AllMusic (Tom Demalon)](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/boy-meets-girl-mn0000772363/biography)
2. [Boy Meets Girl official site](https://www.boymeetsgirlmusic.com/)
3. [Interview with George Merrill & Shannon Rubicam of Boy Meets Girl, Rediscover the 80s (2020)](https://www.rediscoverthe80s.com/2020/03/interview-with-george-merrill-shannon-rubicam-boy-meets-girl.html)
4. [Waiting for a Star to Fall chart history, Official Charts Company](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/boy-meets-girl-waiting-for-a-star-to-fall/)
5. [Boy Meets Girl full Official Chart history, Official Charts Company](https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/16705/boy-meets-girl/)
6. [Interview: Boy Meets Girl, Songwriting Magazine (2021)](https://www.songwritingmagazine.co.uk/interviews/boy-meets-girl)
7. [Boy Meets Girl album review and track list, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/album/r2539)
8. [Boy Meets Girl on writing Whitney Houston's biggest '80s hit, MusicRadar (2025)](https://www.musicradar.com/artists/once-we-had-that-chorus-its-like-everything-came-from-that-some-songs-you-agonise-over-but-this-was-not-one-of-them-boy-meets-girl-on-how-having-one-song-rejected-led-to-them-writing-whitney-houstons-biggest-80s-hit)
9. [Waiting for a Star to Fall: Boy Meets Girl on how they made a pop classic, The Guardian (2021)](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/mar/22/waiting-for-a-star-to-fall-boy-meets-girl-on-how-they-made-a-pop-classic)
10. [Song Of The Year 1988 Winners & Nominees](https://www.grammy.com/awards/categories/song-of-the-year/1988/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musicians and ensembles › Ensembles and groups › Rock, pop, and metal bands › Musical duos, supergroups, and collaborative projects › Pop and rock duos › Pop and vocal duos*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license