17 June 2021 - Charli XCX ft. Kim Petras and Jay Park - Unlock It (Lock It)

If you have been reading this blog for a while, you probably expected a Charli XCX song to be the 1000th post.  Long-time readers of this blog will recall that I used to post about Charlotte Aitchison more than I even post about Béatrice Martin now.  That MAY be the only time those two artists will ever be mentioned in the same sentence. Trust me.  I Googled that. 

Anyway, this isn't the 1000th post.  It's number nine hundred and ninety nine.

In 2013, I thought Charli was ahead of her time.  Her 2013 album True Romance was a revelation - at the time, I said, and I quote, " Every single song can stand alone - and several have as singles - but the sum of all the parts - a dark pop gem that teeters between love and heartbreak - is so much greater."  Its follow-up Sucker was solid. Of course, there was also "Fancy".... you know, the post where I admitted I had a Charli XCX problem.

Remember when I consider an all-Charli XCX blog?  Good times.  

Then came Vroom Vroom.   The post I did about this song on September 1st, 2016 is the last time I posted about Charli XCX.  I had misgivings about the song but spun it positive.  Still, I found this period to be a step in a direction in which I wasn't interested - her subsequent single just didn't interest me.  So, I turned my back on this music, and, frankly, her catalog.

I even unfollowed her on Instagram.

In the ensuing years, she has released a couple of albums and mixtapes.  She's taken a stronger electronic direction, and a lot of it is really good.  I largely ignored her late 2017 mixtape Pop 2, and that was a huge mistake, because that represents her best work since True Romance.  

Apparently, though, I'm not the only one who missed Pop 2, because this video, released in April 2021, is for a song from that mixtape that has found a new life on TikTok.  It would appear that the world has finally caught up to this artist ahead of her time.

I'm not going to show you the countless TikTok videos that are set to this song.  I AM going to share a performance of the song, featuring Kim Petras, from 2019.  I have always had respect for the fact that Charli performs her songs live, and doesn't rely on a helper track for all her vocals.  Not every artist does that.  

1 September 2016 - Charli XCX - Vroom Vroom

I have to open up with this: I have serious misgivings about this post.

SERIOUS.

This is a sharp departure from any of her previous work.  In fact, I absolutely hated this..... until I went back and listened to the Icona Pop theft, and realized that, although this is far MORE heavy electronica than we've heard, it's still Charli.  And it's still good to see her making more music.

Still, not too much of this, OK?

28 January 2016 - Selena Gomez - Same Old Love

Do you know how hard it is not to type "feat. Charli XCX" on this?

You aren't imagining things.  That's her, on the chorus, uncredited.  It's obvious.  Some critics have even been critical of it, calling it a Sucker outtake (which may or may not be true). 

It's also the rawest song Selena Gomez has ever sung, and it shows real musical maturity.  I, for one, am proud of her growth as an artist.  The song, as performed, isn't catchy because some hip songwriting Brit decided to allow her backing vocal to remain on the final cut.  It's catchy because it's expertly delivered by Selena Gomez.

29 September 2015 - Ty Dolla $ign feat. Charli XCX & Tinashe - Drop That Kitty

Subtle.

I mean, we know what Ty Dolla $ign ACTUALLY means here.  He isn't talking about cats here, despite the prominent feline heads here.  He wants the ladies to drop it like it's hot.  That doesn't mean he didn't perform a very catchy song.  He seems to be competing with T-Pain in the Autotune sweepstakes (and winning).

He's kind of wasting Charli XCX and Tinashe (who both co-wrote the song - Charli was working on it for another artist before Ty came on board), though.  And they STILL manage to steal the show and get you to not notice Wiz Khalifa in the background.  I'd actually like to see what these ladies could do without anyone with a dollar sign in his name. 

But back to this subtle performance.   I mean, the real message kind of sneaks in there.....

21 April 2015 - Charli XCX - Famous (& Sucker)

I have a problem.

I know this.

But c'mon.  This song is fun, and this might be the most bizarre, inventive and awesome video in the last few year.  And as much as I just wanted to let this one go, and stop it with the Charli XCX posts...

1. She is one of the most original pop artists today.
2. She's a reasonably prolific songwriter.
3. Charli XCX posts are usually the most widely read ones on this blog.

So, yeah, I am a fan.  I won't deny that. But this is all about pandering.  And enjoying what is a truly great pop song.

Also, check at about 2:38, to hear the one song off the Sucker album - the title track - that can never be a single.



You know I always like to give you a bonus.  So how about a live version?   Here ya go!



And, here is "Sucker" live...... Completely different style... less pop... very angry... and she pulls it off.

9 February 2015 - Charli XCX - Need Ur Luv

You all wanted a Charli XCX post.

You aren't getting the one you expected.

This isn't yet a single.  I really hope that it is.  The song that closes Sucker, it is, in this writer's opinion, the best song on the album.  It is full of ache and angst and hurt and love. It deserves to be a gigantic hit, and I hope it is.

This live performance from The Late Show With David Letterman begs two questions:

1. When did Charli stop getting dressed for public appearances?

 

2. Why did Dave give Charli a Cat Paw?

17 December 2014 - Charli XCX - Breaking Up

You knew this post had to happen.   You just thought it would happen on Monday, the day when Sucker was released.

Nope.  I was too busy listening to Sucker. Highly recommended.  It isn't True Romance - few albums in the last 20 years are THAT good (and we had three in 2013 that were that good, in my opinion) - but it is a solid record.

And this song... Some of the comments online about it have not been kind.   It continues the fuzzed-up sound of "Break The Rules", but this is a much angrier song. 

It's not like this is a new song.  It was around at least in March, when Charli was at SxSW..... Lyrically, it's a little different, but not significantly, and it is clearly the same song.


Oh, in case you were wondering....  Night Time, My Time, by Sky Ferreira, and Pure Heroine, by Lorde. With True Romance, the three best albums of 2013. 

27 August 2014 - Charli XCX - Break The Rules

True story - I did consider starting a Charli XCX-centered blog.  I mean, I post enough of her stuff here.  

But I didn't.

I am, however, a fan of hers on Facebook, and I was discussing with other fans who were bemoaning the end of True Romance-era Charli, calling songs like "Fancy" and "Boom Clap" a "different kind of creative."  Others shouted down that comment, but I agreed.  Evolution isn't necessarily bad.  Sucker - her upcoming album - will be poppier but solid.  We had already heard the sugary "Boom Clap" (which is also on the new album) and the pop/EDM of "Superlove" )which is also presumably on this album - Charli said that it was there last year, but it isn't on the pre-announced track list, which I find odd).  So we are looking at a more mainstream pop record. So I thought.

I wish I had heard "Break The Rules" first. This song here is why I never should have posted "Boom Clap".  This should have been the big hit song, not that.  But this could be a big hit song.  I'm hoping this is a big hit song.  This song reminds me of the great "Nuclear Seasons" - dark and punky, while retaining its pop edge.  By the way, that song will be your #1 suggestion at the end of this video.  Thanks, YouTube!

Back to this song..... so far this and others I have heard from Sucker (NOT named "Boom Clap") really have a straight-ahead rock feel - very Runaways-inspired.  This song is what I think what we would hear if Joan Jett discovered EDM. 

Also, she quite famously cannot dance. Any number of live performances of "Fancy" should have told you that.  Or the first 30 seconds of the "What I Like" video. This video leaves no doubts. Just check out her moves on the top of that bus.  Or this live performance of the song..... which I'd like to add sounds really good even without all the effects on Charli's voice....

18 July 2014 - Charli XCX - Boom Clap

I have a confession to make.  

I long ago wrote this post.  I knew this song was coming, because, even though I've kept it a secret, I'm a little bit of a Charli XCX fan.

This is most likely my least favorite Charli XCX song.  I really, desperately want to like it.  It's not a bad song, to be sure - it's got a nice beat, and lyrically, it's smart and sweet, like a lot of the other great songs that Ms. Aitchison has written.

But what I do like is that this is a hit song, and so, for that reason, I am going to take a little bit of guilty pleasure in the fact that an artist that I have been touting for the better part of a year and a half is finally getting recognized for her work.



(I mean, you all knew I had to post this, right?)

19 March 2014 - Iggy Azalea feat. Charli XCX - Fancy

(Goddamn it, Tony, enough Charli XCX!!!!)

OK, but hear me out. Two young white non-American women have written and performed a song that has become a high-charting song on an American hip-hop chart! Co-written by Charlotte Aitchison and Amethyst Kelly - Charli and Iggy, respectively (why Amethyst Kelly needed to change her name to a different one for a stage name is beyond me.  Amethyst Kelly would be a great stage name!) - the song is an ode to glam, the video a tribute to "Clueless". 



But even this great, catchy, fun song wouldn't have been enough for me to ONCE AGAIN put Charli XCX on this blog - this is her 7th appearance - if not for Seth Meyers.  He had both of them on Late Night this week.  We'd love to have it here for you, but NBC isn't letting me post, so go here and see this really solid performance.

And, if you are too lazy to do that, watch their performance from SXSW.  It's clearly Iggy's song - she's the one in the murda bizness - but she's also clearly gracious for Charli's appearance, who knows what she's doing.




(Update: 10 June 2014) - This song has been #1 for the last two weeks. And you knew so long ago. Congratulations for being in on the ground floor.

10 March 2014 - Charli XCX feat. Brooke Candy - Cloud Aura

I know what a lot of you are thinking.

"Enough with the goddamn Charli XCX."

The reason I am posting this anyway?  I mean, besides my undying respect for anything that Charlotte Aitchison touches?  It's the bravery in partnering with the intensely charismatic and immensely polarizing Brooke Candy, and not getting overshadowed.   Brooke Candy, to her credit, is far less in-your-face than usual.

Also, it's a lesbian love song.  Well, a lesbian break-up song, anyway.


So what happens when Brooke Candy isn't available?  It still works - Charli has some hip hop chops, if not the metal bra and absolutely insane hair.

30 December 2013 - Charli XCX - Take My Hand

This is most likely my last post of 2013.  So I chose to feature an artist that's been on this blog no less than four times already (including once with Icona Pop).  And each time, you've reacted with zeal - all of them have gotten you reading, and three of them rank among our ten biggest posts of all time - including the top two.

Charlotte Aitchison took four years to write, record and release what would be her fantastic debut album (and my pick for 2013 album of the year), True Romance.  She released singles from the album as she recorded them, and made videos for many of them.  This was the sixth (and final) video from that album, commissioned by Urban Outfitters and released in the wake of "I Love It (I Don't Care)" (a personal finalist for 2013 single of the year, by the way).  

That's right.  You didn't think Charli XCX was her real name, did you?  Supposedly, the XCX came from an early signoff fo from her MySpace/YouTube releases - the X's are kisses, and the C is, well, Charli.  And it stuck.

The more you know.

In my opinion, this is the poppiest song from the album - and even it's a little dark.  Some people have compared it to Madonna's "Holiday" in energy level and subject matter. I agree - and I think this is the beginning of something big.

You might notice, if you are familiar with her other videos - specifically "What I Like" - some of the same background actors in this one.  They're Charli's friends, people.  She's only JUST 21.  Let's not forget how young she is and how accomplished.... and let's admire the fact that she's taking her mates along for the ride.



This is a live show from Philadelphia, recorded June 2, 2013.  Let's all be clear - this is someone who has not been top-billed on any pop hits.  The Icona Pop song doesn't count - because, let's be honest, most of the time "feat. Charli XCX" is dropped from that description (even though she wrote the song - but I'm not bitter) - so this is someone who doesn't have any American pop hits.

And yet the crowd is singing along.



This isn't a fluke.  This is from the very next night in Brooklyn.  June 3rd.  Even more energetic singing.



My point - watch for more Charli XCX in 2014.  Her new album is expected to be released in June.  Her time is coming.  And you can gloat and say that you heard her first.

27 September 2013 - Charli XCX - Superlove

Yesterday - 26 September 2013 - Charli XCX released her new video to YouTube.  And since then, it's been on heavy rotation in my office.  Which mean that, even though I was quite cognizant of the fact that I've posted an awful lot of Charli XCX over the last few months (and Scott posted one, too, but that song was popularly misbilled.....), I knew what I had to do.

It's a public service.

To be fair, it was not expected - the single, the first off her second album, isn't out until 1 December on iTunes (unless it gets moved up like I think it will), and she just released her excellent debut album in April.  But it's just SO GOOD!!!!  Not nearly as dark as anything off the first album - or even as much as "I Love It (I Don't Care)" - yeah, I said it! - she still shows off her electronic pop chops and a love of minor chords.



If I'm being totally honest, Charli XCX is clearly heavily influenced by (onetime collaborator and close friend) Marina and the Diamonds.  Gee, we like that electronic grunge-pop music on here, don't we?

I was serious when I said they collaborated...... Now tell me where Charli stops and Marina starts.  It's hard to tell in parts.



UPDATE: (30 September 2013):  This post has been so hugely popular - about twice as much as any prior - that I added some bonus footage.  Here is Charli performing this song, live.  I was a little surprised to see this already.  The biggest surprise: the performance is from September 20th, a full week before the video was released.



UPDATE: (28 June 2014). Yes, I am updating this post. Because I am, for the time being, denying the existence of "Boom Clap".   And this performance from "The Fault In Our Stars" premiere is brilliant without losing the energy of the song.

16 August 2013 - Charli XCX - What I Like

This post is 100% pandering.

You see, THIS POST is the 2nd biggest one we've ever had.... by far.  And if you want my opinion, it's for good reason - Charli XCX is a fantastic talent.  If the year were to end today, her True Romance album would be my hands-down pick for Album of the Year.  I honestly think she's going to get some Grammy love for her hand in writing "I Love It (I Don't Care)."

But let's talk about this video.  It feels a little gratuitously jailbait-y to me.  The song is actually quite a sweet love song, and more mature than a woman who JUST turned 21 two weeks ago (and therefore, this one was written when she was in her teens) should be writing.  But this video.... I feel like I shouldn't be watching this....

1 July 2013 - Charli XCX - Nuclear Seasons / You (Ha Ha Ha)

I am going to try to go through this entire post without referencing Charli XCX's biggest hit, which just hit #1 in the UK on 30 June 2013. I mean, I love it, but I don't care, even if she wrote it.  No, we are going to talk about her terrific debut album - True Romance - with which I am totally and completely obsessed.  Originally slated for release in April 2012, it was eventually released in 2013, after, well, you know, that little hit song we aren't talking about.

The first track is a throwback of a song, very heavy on the synth, that would have worked just as well in 1985 as it does today.  Charli's strong voice reminds me of Dale Bozzio of Missing Persons in this song.



Whereas the first track is a throwback, the second, while retaining heavy synth, is far more modern in its pacing and mix.  It's somewhat hard to follow on first listen.  I urge you to try it twice.  It grows on you.  It's definitely different than anything you've heard on the radio, to be sure.



Aw, what the hell.  Here's Charli with Icona Pop at SXSW 2013, performing The Song That Shall Not Be Named.  As far as I know, this is the only time they've performed it together.  Scott did a more complete post about this song here - and I covered it here on Totally Covered.  As I wrote here, Charli XCX co-wrote the song (and probably should have kept it for herself).

21 May 2013 - Icona Pop (featuring Charli XCX) - I Love It

I Love It is an effervescent and defiant electro-pop thrill-ride by Swedish DJ duo Icona Pop. I heard it for the first time a couple weeks at the Taylor Swift concert (it was part of her intro music). Judging by crowd's over-enthusiastic response, I think I may have been the only one who hadn't heard it before (apparently, I live in a cave). Anyway, I'm sort of surprised Tony hasn't covered this one before as this one's the definition of a Wicked Guilty Pleasure. (I'm sure he was "planning to" and he'll message me later today saying as much). Love it!