Charli XCX has had one of the more unusual careers in recent pop memory. She had a lot of success early on in the 2010s, with her and Iggy Azalea’s “Fancy” topping the charts, while “Boom Clap” and Icona Pop’s “I Love It” were both top-10 in the US. Charli later shifted into an experimental phase, though, with albums like Charli and How I’m Feeling Now, both of which were critically esteemed. She got back into a more straightforward pop lane with this year’s Crash, and that worked out well: It was her first top-10 album in the US and her first No. 1 in the UK.
Now that Crash has proven to be a hit, Charli is left not quite sure how to move forward.
In a new BBC Music interview, she said of the album’s success:
“It’s still a shock to me — and it’s quite stressful because I’m like, ‘Oh crap, what do I do now?’ I feel like the narrative around my work has often been, ‘She’s one step ahead,’ or, ‘She’s pushing the boundaries and no one ever quite gets her.’ So to achieve these things feels really special and unique, and it’s something I feel like I’ve achieved with my fans. But at the same time, what does it mean for me?”
In that same conversation, she also revealed she used to request her dressing rooms be intentionally trashed.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. .