Charli XCX Reacts To Reports That She's Written New Songs For Britney Spears
Charli XCX has broken her silence on the longstanding rumors that she’s been writing music for Britney Spears.
On Monday’s episode of Bravo’s “Watch What Happens Live,” the British singer-songwriter confirmed she had, in fact, been working on songs that she’d believed were intended for Spears, who pledged earlier this year that she would “never return to the music industry.”
“Well, yes, but it leaked to the press,” Charli XCX said. “Britney then did this post where she was like, ‘I don’t have random people write for me.’ And I was like, ‘Oh, OK, go off!’ So I don’t know that she was part of the process.”
She went on to note: “Her team were running before they could walk.”
Reports that Spears was working on a new album began to surface in August, shortly after the pop icon and her former husband, Sam Asghari, announced plans to divorce after a year of marriage.
Watch a clip of Charli XCX’s “What What Happens Live” chat below.
Those claims began picking up steam in January, when Rolling Stone reported that Charli XCX and Julia Michaels were among those working on music for Spears’ supposed album.
“As of right now, she’s not actively in recording, but they’re getting [songs] done to present to her,” a source told the publication. “The hype around this is that everyone wants her to make music again, but I don’t know if she’s there yet.”
The Rolling Stone report, however, drew a fiery social media response from Spears, who declared: “Just so we’re clear most of the news is trash !!!”
“They keep saying I’m turning to random people to do a new album ... I will never return to the music industry !!!” Spears wrote in a since-deleted Instagram post. “When I write, I write for fun or I write for other people !!! For those of you who have read my book, there’s loads that you don’t know about me.”
Her Instagram remarks were consistent with her 2023 memoir, “The Woman in Me.” Much of the discussion around the book focused on Spears’ early relationship with her former “Mickey Mouse Club” co-star Justin Timberlake, as well as the court-ordered conservatorship that for years stripped her of control over her personal and financial affairs.
However, in one passage that received less attention, Spears wrote that “pushing forward in my music career is not my focus at the moment,” and that “it’s time for me not to be someone who other people want; it’s time to actually find myself.”
Spears’ last album, “Glory,” was released in 2016. She made a brief return to music in 2022 when she duetted with Elton John on his single “Hold Me Closer.”
While Spears may not be heading to the studio any time soon, Charli XCX is still hopeful for a future collaboration.
“It would be a dream come true,” said the musician, who will release her sixth album, “Brat,” next month.
