Lorde Praises Charli XCX’s ‘Brat’ Album Amid Speculation That ‘Girl, So Confusing’ Is About Her: ‘There Is No One Like This B—-‘
Charli XCX’s “Brat” album is not out in the United States until tonight but fans in other parts of the world are already digging in. One of those fans is Lorde, who shared a sweet message about the much-anticipated record as rumors began swirling that one of the songs on “Brat” is focused on her.
In a track titled “Girl, So Confusing,” Charli details a complicated dynamic with another female singer. She describes feeling confused over these emotions because she’s envious of this unnamed person while still finding things to admire about her. There’s been widespread speculation that the song is about Lorde since the pair of pop singers have been widely compared in the past — even getting mistaken for each other in interviews and daily interactions — and more so because Charli recently admitted she felt jealous about Lorde’s success when she released “Royals” in 2013.
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Speaking with Rolling Stone UK, Charli said, “When ‘Royals’ came out, I was super jealous of the success that that song got, and that Ella got. You piece all this stuff together in your brain, like: ‘She was into my music. She had big hair; I had big hair. She wore black lipstick; I once wore black lipstick.’ You create these parallels and think, ‘Well, that could have been me.’ But it couldn’t have because we’re completely different people. I wasn’t making music that sounded anything like ‘Royals’. I think you just read what you want into it because you’re feeling insecure about your own work.”
On “Brat” album release day, Lorde took to Instagram to confirm there were no hard feelings between the pair, and shared a paragraph of praise for the album on her stories. She didn’t mention “Girl, So Confusing,” nor did she make note of Charli’s comments. Instead, she said: “The only album I’ve ever presaved is out today… Charli just cooked this one different… So much grit, grace and skin in the game. I speak for all of us when I say it’s an honour to be moved, changed and gagged by her work. There is NO ONE like this bitch.”
Charli appeared on Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang’s “La Culturistas” podcast on Friday and discussed the song further, not yet revealing who she’s singing about. “I haven’t quite decided whether I’m revealing,” she said. “When I wrote it, I was like, ‘I’m revealing!’ But now, you know, the time is here; I’m like, ‘Mmmmrrmm.’ Do you think I should reveal?… People are gonna guess. You probably have an accurate guess, and I’m not gonna say out loud ’cause you’ll tell by my face, but it’s probably going to be that person.”
She also explained the song’s ethos, stating, “I think we live in the world of pop music right now where women are like, ‘I support other women! I love women! I’m a feminist,’ and that’s great. Love that… I don’t think you become a bad feminist if you maybe don’t see eye to eye with every single woman. That’s not the nature of human beings. There’s a competitiveness between us. There’s envy. There camaraderie. There’s all of these different dynamics.”
Lorde is reportedly working on her own record, the follow-up to 2021’s “Solar Power.” She’s been more active on socials than ever while fans eagerly await the New Zealand-born singer’s next move. Charli, meanwhile, will head out on her joint “Sweat” arena tour with Troye Sivan starting Sept. 14 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Mich. It marks both XCX and Sivan’s biggest venues to date.
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