Why Charli XCX's Artistry Can't Be Defined To One Realm

This album was made predominantly in Paris at the end of 2025 alongside Charli XCX’s longtime collaborators, A.G. Cook and Finn Keane. Following the release of her sensational album BRAT, a worldwide tour, a mockumentary film The Moment, taking on movie roles, and making the soundtrack for Wuthering Heights, Charli XCX understandably felt she needed to slow down and give herself a break.

The Kylie Jenner scene from The Moment perfectly encapsulates that feeling.

Charli: “Funny you say that thing about leveling up because some people have been telling me to slow down. Maybe even disappear?”

Kylie: “No! No, bitch. Absolutely not. That’s crazy. The second you think people are getting sick of you, that’s when you have to go even harder.”

Despite proclaiming she believed any album following BRAT wouldn’t have the same impact, I disagree. Being defined as a popstar comes with its own set of unique challenges and expectations. Music, Fashion, Film is the opposing response to BRAT, expressing the exhaustion that comes from creating a cultural phenomenon and navigating knowing when to allow an era of one’s life to come to an end. Charli released a self-directed documentary to accompany the album, which has been posted to YouTube here. In it, she states, “Well, I love music, and I love fashion, and I love film. It’s not that I’m an expert in any of those fields, it’s more just so that they’re so intrinsically what my life is about.” BRAT was blunt, but this album is about coming to terms. Charli’s Instagram has erased neon-green homages to BRAT and now focuses on mostly black-and-white photography, mirroring the raw emotions this album encapsulates. Fame, living inside of a persona, and feeling compelled to perform perpetually come with side effects. Although it may not be the chicest thing to be the last person to leave the party, we’re all forced to at some point.

The album has been marked by a rollout that not only introduced the new era this album represents for Charli but also showcases the artistry that goes into each project she completes. “Rock Music”, “SS26”, “Wink Wink”, and “Camera” were all accompanied by their own music videos directed by the brilliant Aidan Zamiri. Music was represented by “Rock Music”, fashion by “SS26”, and Film with “Camera.”

“Rock Music” was the introduction we all received into the world of Music, Fashion, Film. Dance music and electronic sounds don’t define this project in the same way as BRAT, but I think that’s what everyone needed. To be clear, this isn’t a rock album. Veering more into the realm of rock sound allows Charli to feel less pressure to stay confined to one niche and gives the pop music she’s making a different feeling. When Charli said, “I think the dancefloor is dead”, she didn’t mean it literally. She meant she had made the decision to leave a chapter of her life defined by electronic and dance music behind.

“SS26” brought the reality that influences art-specifically fashion-to the forefront of our minds. Lyas, Carine Roitfeld, and Anthony Vaccarello, among other fashion icons, appear in the music video, which features Charli walking the runway. It communicates the world we’re all living in, one that focuses on art while most other things seem like absolute chaos. The behind-the-scenes is rarely as glamorous as the finished product.

Spring summer ‘26/ When the world is going to end
No hope for any of it
Yeah, we’re walking on a runway that goes straight to Hell/
Nothing’s going to save us, not even music, fashion, or film

“Wink Wink” was Charli XCX going back to her roots with a video shot in the Essex countryside not far from where she grew up. It pays homage to her past eras where she could have been more of a bad girl and how others judged her for it. It describes the contradictions of how others perceive us and our ability to change whether others like it or not. It’s a satirical way to poke fun at the boxes society likes to place people in. In her interview with Nicky Reardon, Charli clarified,

“It’s also about past romantic relationships who didn’t get me, weren’t cool with me being outwardly sensual and in touch with my desires, etc. It’s sort of me talking to them and convincing them that I can be the person they wanted me to be. I guess it’s hard dating a popstar lol. But George gets me, and that’s why I love him so much and why I married him.”

“I’m Afraid” is noted as being very Jonatan/Yung Lean by Charli. “It’s a sad song. It talks about my avoidance. George likes it though. I think he understands.” “I’m Afraid” is about admitting one’s flaws (often shaped by childhood) and the challenges that make us want to run from close romantic relationships.

Happiness came in a box/ Never meant that much before
Till I met someone who knew/ How to balance who I am
As we know, I’m insecure/ I replicate the things I learnt
I’m a wife/ I’m a kid/ I’m destroyed/ I’m a bitch
I’m too drunk, I can’t sleep/ I can’t feel, I’m afraid
I’m nothing without him/ What if I ruin it?
Take the ring, take the ring

“Camera” is a conversation about the thrilling experience of being in the spotlight as a superstar, but the existentialism that comes with being defined by fame for one thing-music. The song is about asking herself what she wants to be known for as an artist, how venturing into film would affect her career, and wrestling with the thrill of giving acting a shot. Fame is a beast one feeds, but Charli has reached a level of success where she can decide the direction she aims to go in artistically. Her anxieties and fears of how she’ll be perceived pale in comparison with the euphoric feeling she gets from creating art and daring to do something different in front of the camera.

It makes me wanna throw my life away/ All the music, all the people
Not a single kiss goodbye/ Your French exit, chase the stars
Yeah, the ones in your eyes/ But let’s be honest, I’m talking about the ones on the pavement
‘Cause that look, it’s a bullet/ It makes me question what I’m doing
Do I wanna make music? Am I being fucking stupid?
If I try to be a girl on the screen when I’m turning thirty-four?
Something new and undiscovered/ And something kind of violent
Daring to fail and being ugly/ I’m inspired and alive

“Card Declined” is about the empty feeling of consumerism and how money doesn’t fix someone’s life. “It’s not really about shopping, I suppose. It’s more about shopping for a new identity. Things and clothes can make you feel like a different person sometimes, and sometimes you can feel lost until you’ve found them.” - Charli. I think this song was released at the perfect time. We’re living in a time where everyone is so desperate to be noticed, is aiming to be famous, and is under the impression that attention and money can fix any emotional void or feelings of grief we may have. BRAT was such an identity-defining album that it makes evolution difficult.

Let’s go shopping/ I’ll buy a handbag/ I’ll buy some shoes/ I’ll buy a smile
I’ll buy some jewelry/ A personality/ A whole backstory/ Card declined
I’ll buy some perfume/ A Maj Jong sofa/ A new apartment/ Jaeger Lecoultre/ A whole new life/ Card declined 
I keep thinking ‘bout you every single day

“Persona” is in the same vein. It talks about the narcissistic tendencies associated with fame and the way people can hide their true selves behind personas. Personas prevent people from having to be vulnerable and often blur the lines between reality and what’s fabricated.

Wish you could be honest about your internal dialogue, it wouldn’t faze me
Every day you’re suffering, but you say you’re doing fine
I love the stories you tell, but I can tell when you lie
Don’t fucking choke on your ego when you see me coming
I know you’re performing, I know that you’re hurting

“Magic Metal Montana” is an ode to A.G. Cook and their longtime relationship of friendship and creating music together. I think this song is really sweet and that it’s so important to express gratitude for those who help us achieve success along the way. Charli XCX wouldn’t be who she is without A.G. Cook.

You speak my language, but we’re different
You like old things: Magic, metal and Montana
I want your life/ With only child stuff/ We’re the same
I’d be nothing without you

“2007” is about making Tiktoks, life before fame, and the sacred relationship between artists and their art before it’s released to the world. “2007” is about making music, mostly from the solitude of her bedroom. Charli officially began posting music on MySpace in 2008. 2007 was a time when she had full control over the art she chose to make and how it would be delivered. Charli always knew she wanted to be a popstar, often noting how much she admired Britney Spears growing up. In a TikTok from 2021, Charli posted a clip of the experimental videos she used to make in 2007. While she may have found it cringe, she was free.

Pop star in my bedroom like it’s 2007/ I can take you to heaven like it’s 2007

“No One Lasts Forever” expresses this existential sentiment even further, wrestling with the fleeting nature of life and how art will or will not live on after death. As artists, we are defined by our work and the highs and lows of its success. Charli met David Cronenberg in Toronto and stayed in touch with him, having conversations about life, death, and art that resonated with her enough to ask him to have a feature on the song. His part of the song states:

As I was lying there on the sidewalk, I did not think about art at all
I thought about people, I thought about life
Oblivion is freedom
They are dead, they are gone, no one lasts forever
BRAT gave Charli a persona and a sense of confidence that marked the height of her career. Despite this, the song is about the moment she realized she had to leave that era of her life behind. She didn’t want to be defined by the BRAT persona for the rest of her career.
Now I’m more confident than ever/ Since everyone knows my name
All the parties got better/ So now I’m sitting on the floor of a Parisian apartment
With a French girl talking about philosophy/ And I know deep down that it’s here and now
‘Cause nothing’s gonna last forever
Everyone thinks I’ve got a problem/ Since everyone knows my name
That I’m irresponsible and rude/ That I’ll put the drugs in my veins

Music, Fashion, Film is Charli XCX’s way of reclaiming herself as a multidimensional artist and as a person. Art is an escape from one’s self and an opportunity to build a different world. Music, Fashion, Film is Charli’s more in depth approach to communicating her process of making art, art she says she would live and die behind. I love this album, I love all the attention to detail and passion that went into it, and I love the raw honesty that the project encapsulates. It features figures such as Marc Jacobs, Vincent Cassel, John Cale, and Martin Scorsese, all men who have inspired her with their culture-defining work.

The more Charli XCX continues to make art (of any medium), the more iconic she becomes. True fans and art lovers will appreciate her work throughout every era because that’s what makes artists dynamic and inspiring. Charli XCX represents a rebellion against being defined by any one’s standards and is an inspiration for women across all art forms-especially music, fashion, and film.

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Photo © Charli XCX via Instagram (@charli_xcx)