Charli XCX's Road To 'Brat': How Her New Album Celebrates Unabashed Confidence & Eccentricity | GRAMMY.com (2024)

Charli XCX is a product of the internet. A teen during MySpace's peak years, Charli — born Charlotte Aitchison — landed her first gigs thanks to the platform. Her first amateur album, 14, caught the attention of a promoter organizing illegal raves in London, and soon enough, she was performing at those parties as Charli XCX — fittingly, a former online username.

Even though 14 never had an official release (and Charli has declared her distaste for it, calling the project "terrible MySpace music"), her earliest beginnings became the throughline to her current work. MySpace was a breeding ground for creativity and Charli used it to explore niche — and unheard-of — genres. To date, she's touched on every iteration of pop, including electro-pop and dance-pop, even being heralded as the figurehead for hyperpop. As a result, she's not your stereotypical pop star.

Just over a decade after the release of her debut album, 2013's True Romance, Charli XCX is bringing everything she's done from her MySpace beginnings to present day with her sixth studio album, Brat. Leaning on the time spent performing at raves and clubs as a young teen, she embodies the same childlike and larger-than-life approach she had when she was first starting.

Charli XCX was signed to Asylum Records in 2010 but felt lost, according to an interview with The Guardian. The process of figuring out her artistry earned her a trip to meet with producers in Los Angeles, where she met American producer Ariel Rechtshaid. After they wrote her eventual single "Stay Away," everything started falling into place. "I was freaking out: I had found a piece of myself in this crazy world where people are trying to drag you apart and make you into something," she recalled. "That's when things started to come together."

Before she even released her debut album, Charli XCX first found global success as a songwriter. After penning the club-ready song "I Love It," she opted to give it away to Swedish synth-pop duo Icona Pop because it didn't suit the sound Charli was leaning into. But she did feature on the 2012 track, which became a global smash and landed at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 — solidifying Charli as an artist to watch.

Almost a year later, Charli XCX released her major label debut with True Romance, her first studio album, in 2013. Although it didn't land on any major charts or spawn any hits, what the album did have was a clear, catchy direction. When reflecting on the album to NME, she stated that she was "just a MySpace kid" inspired by things that seemed out of reach for her, like the plots in teen movies and party photos from club scenes. True Romance was also integral to Charli discovering herself "as a person"; she's said that the album helped her better understand her voice, confidence, style, and stage presence.

Although True Romance didn't immediately make Charli XCX into a household name, it did usher in new opportunities for her as an artist. One of those opportunities was working with then-up-and-coming rapper Iggy Azalea on the track "Fancy," which marked a breakthrough moment for both rising stars. Along with spending seven weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and scoring Charli XCX her first two GRAMMY nominations (Record Of The Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance), she has insisted that "Fancy" helped open the doors for her to write for bigger artists.

Following the taste of the mainstream after "I Love It" and "Fancy," Charli XCX seemingly veered towards a poppier and brighter sound — and soon found herself on the charts as a solo act. Charli XCX's first top 10 solo hit, "Boom Clap," was first featured in the 2014 film The Fault in Our Stars and eventually became the lead single to Charli XCX's sophom*ore record, Sucker. Working with the likes of Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo, Rostam Batmanglij of Vampire Weekend, Benny Blanco, and more, Sucker showcased XCX's whip-smart songwriting and tongue-in-cheek aphorism, changing out gritty synths for glittery guitars and sky-soaring drums.

But the new sound didn't necessarily indicate a new direction. She has admitted that she was chasing chart points with Sucker rather than writing songs that she enjoyed, and pieces of the album "feel fake" to her as a result. Still, Sucker helped validate what Charli already knew about herself, even if she got a little lost along the way. As she told The Guardian in 2018, rebelling on the outskirts of mainstream music is where she's meant to be, creating her "own language" and her "own world."

Shrugging off feeling rather stifled post-Sucker, Charli XCX began working with Scottish producer Sophie in March 2015. In October of that year, the singer released the track "Vroom Vroom" and unveiled an EP of the same name a few months after, both of which signaled that Charli was embracing a more experimental electronic sound and marking a change in sonic direction for her.

"I've worked with Sophie on the new EP and what we create together speaks for itself," Charli said about Vroom Vroom. "The album goes to other places and I can't wait for people to hear it. I feel the most creative I have in a long time and I couldn't be more excited for the next chapter."

Although the EP didn't go over as sweetly as Sucker and True Romance did with critics and fans, Vroom Vroom is now heralded as a pioneering work in the hyperpop genre. When speaking with Vulture about the highs and lows of her career, she credits Sophie's production for the EP title track being a "f—ing masterpiece," noting that the song, in particular, was complex and niche, teetering between underground and mainstream. As she declared, it's why the song has "only retroactively found praise by those who now have a taste for that genre of pop."

Read More: Get Glitchy With These 7 Artists Essential To Hyperpop

In 2017, XCX's work in hyperpop continued with two Top 40 tracks, "After the Afterparty" and "Boys," the latter of which became an instantly viral track thanks to its sultry cameos from a slew of male celebrities. Both were meant to be part of Charli's third studio album, but after the album leaked, she opted to release two more electronic experimental mixtapes — 2017's Number 1 Angel and Pop 2 — rather than labelling them albums. Much like the way Charli approached her earlier recordings, the two mixtapes were her return to experimentation, and, by not calling them albums, she could freely create and avoid charting pressure from her label.

From the fall of 2018 to the fall of 2019, XCX released a slew of singles with other artists — "1999" with Troye Sivan, "Blame It on Your Love" featuring Lizzo, "Gone" with Christine and the Queens, and a few others all leading up to the release of her third album, Charli. Equal parts explorative and expansive, Charli saw XCX explore every emotion in abundance. Although she didn't move too far away sonically, at the time Charli was the "most personal album" she had ever made. She told The Standard that it "encapsulated all sides" of who she is, because she'd rather create the music she wants to create instead of sacrificing her art for a thinly veiled attempt to become a bigger artist.

Five years separated Sucker and Charli, but the star only took eight months to release her next album, 2020's How I'm Feeling Now. A six-week DIY experiment throughout the early months of the COVID-19 lockdown, How I'm Feeling Now became Charli's pandemic album. Produced alongside longtime producer AG Cook, she crafted an album that touched on the universal experiences everyone was going through ("I'm so bored – what?/ Wake up late and eat some cereal") and bristled with longing to return to a sweaty and sticky dance floor.

While Sucker was Charli trying to appease the public at the expense of her art, her snarky fifth studio album, 2022's Crash, leaned into that mindset tenfold. Playing a dramatized "soulless" caricature of herself, Charli wrote and promoted the conceptual album satirically, stating that it's her "major label sell-out" album by heavily leaning into the concept of selling one's soul to get what you want. And it worked: the album debuted at No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart, her first time ever hitting No. 1 in the UK, in addition to debuting at No. 7 on the Billboard 200, which was her first top 10 and her highest-charting album to date in the United States.

Looking back, XCX felt that Crash, much like Sucker, didn't resonate deeply with her. "There were songs on Crash that I would never listen to," she asserted to The Face earlier this year. Longing to change things up, yet again, brings Charli to Brat.

For an artist who is truly a sonic shapeshifter, it makes sense that she'd eventually return to her club roots on Brat. "Von Dutch," the album's lead single, serves as a throwback to her teens with its punchy synth-driven electropop melody reminiscent of her earlier tracks. The album's second single "360," an electro-pop ear-worm, features Charli's signature on-the-nose songwriting, singing, "I went my own way and I made it, I'm your favourite reference baby." It's apt, then, that the music video brings together the internet's "It Girls" — Julia Fox, Gabbriette, Emma Chamberlain, and many others — to try and find the next viral sensation, all while poking fun at the ridiculousness of the influencer world.

"I just want to be able to make the music that I want to make without having to sacrifice any of my artistic decisions," Charli told The Standard during the release of Charli. "I don't ever want to become something that I'm not because I've done that before. I didn't even know myself properly as a person let alone as an artist. I think I've figured out who I am now."

Five years later, and the release of Brat is, in a way, her coming full circle. Pairing her origin story — illegal raves, club nights and the internet world — with a decade of working on her own music and collaborating with big-name artists has been the catalyst to Brat. But it's also her official declaration that she's staying true to her artistry, for herself but also for her fans.

As she told British GQ ahead of Brat's release, she still grapples with the temptation of tapping into a more commercial sound. "Sometimes I tempt myself with going there, but I think the problem is my fan base knows that that's not who I am, so they kind of smell a rat, and they're like, 'This is inauthentic.' But then I think that sometimes puts me in this position where the masses are like, 'What the f— is this?'

"But I would in no way be as happy, creatively satisfied or, honestly, as good as some of the people who are operating on a hugely commercial level," she adds, "because maybe I'm just not built for it."

And maybe she's not. But her unashamed and unfiltered confidence is exactly what's made her such a beloved star, as well as what brings Brat together — and it's likely what we'll continue to see from Charli XCX from now on.

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It's no secret that Filipinos can unapologetically belt out a song from Celine Dion, Whitney Houston or any pop diva on the mic. But beyond the viral videos of them singing their hearts out in malls or in their homes, the Filipino music scene is vibrantly filled with heart and emotions; and often taken over by powerful soloists like the Philippine pop princess Sarah Geronimo, balladeers like Martin Nievera or Morisette Amon, and acoustic/rock bands like Ben&Ben or Up Dharma Down that often sing about love, heartbreak and life.

Within the last decade, we've seen an evolution in the Philippine music scene: while solo stars continue to shine, pop groups have begun to take over the spotlight. The concept of pop groups have existed before in Philippine entertainment, however, were usually formed through variety shows or composed of actors and actresses — not necessarily pop idols that you can compare in other Asian music markets like Japan and South Korea.

It really wasn't until 2018, during the peak of third-generation K-pop, where we saw the beginning of first generation Pinoy pop idol groups. Inspired and influenced by the K-pop idol training system, some P-pop entertainment companies have begun implementing similar systems, or inviting Korean mentors who are active in the industry for any vocal and dance training needed.

Two of the most notable first-gen P-Pop groups are SB19 and BINI, who are at the forefront of bringing P-pop to a global audience. Five-piece boy band SB19 became the first Southeast Asian group to be nominated for a Billboard Music Award in 2021, and their 2023 single "GENTO" was approved for GRAMMY consideration last year. Meanwhile, eight-piece girl group BINI have earned the title as the Nation's Girl Group after a string of successful viral hits including "Salamin, Salamin" and "Pantropiko"; just this year, they made history as the first P-pop act to perform at KCON in Los Angeles.

Of course, the P-pop universe wouldn't be complete without solo acts. P-pop fans love to celebrate the timeless discography of Sarah Geronimo or gush over Asia's pop heartthrob Darren Espanto, and there's always new individual talent proving that the scene is still thriving.

As major P-pop stars continue to make waves, there's tons of blossoming acts who are helping to raise the Filipino flag in the global music scene. In light of the bright future ahead, here are a mix of P-Pop groups and soloists you should check out.

ALAMAT

If the actual country of the Philippines were a pop group, it would be ALAMAT. The six member group — composed of Taneo, Mo, Jao, Tomas, R-ji, and Alas —under Viva Records values Filipino culture in their concepts.

Each member hails from different regions of the Philippines and also speak different dialects from their respective regions. Using dialects and culture to their advantage, ALAMAT often incorporates traditional folk dances, instruments, and lyrics in their native languages; and blends them into the modern sounds of hip-hop, R&B and dance.

BGYO

Formed in 2018 and officially making their debut under Star Music in 2021 with "The Light," the quintet composed of Gelo, Akira, JL, Mikki, and Nate are known as the "Aces of P-Pop." The name BGYO even celebrates their heritage, as it's an acronym for "Becoming the change, Going further, You and I, Originally Filipino."

Often fusing pop sounds with R&B, the boy group isn't afraid to get quirky with their concepts — whether they're singing a ballad in suits or wearing vibrant oversized ones. As a result, their music is helping BGYO score big wins: Their single "The Baddest" made them the first Filipino act to top Billboard's Next Big Sound chart in 2021, followed by P-Pop Group of the Year at the TikTok Awards Philippines in 2022.

KAIA

Debuting under SB19's former label, ShowBT Philippines, KAIA is composed of members Angela, Charlotte, Sophia, Alexa, and Charice. The quintet officially made their debut in 2022 with their lead single "BLAH BLAH" — a powerful EDM-pop track that can be considered for your gaming playlist.

The name KAIA is a double entendre: a Cebuano word "kinaiya" meaning one's self and personality; and the Tagalog word "kaya" which roughly translates "to be able to" or "can do." In other words, a P-pop girl group that can give you the extra boost when you need that sonic encouragement on the daily.

Inigo Pascual

One of the Philippine heartthrobs, Inigo Pascual is a suave and smooth pop soloist who aims to make you swoon with his R&B-pop serenades. His pop-doowop hit "Dahil Sa'Yo" off his solo debut of the same name became the first song to top the Billboard Philippines Top 20 chart in 2016.

Right from his debut, the actor and singer/songwriter continued to soar in his career when he released his international single "Options" in 2019. Just last month, the chart-topping singer unveiled his latest project, Basta't Alam Kong Tayo 1, a three-track single-album under Republic Records Philippines.

G22

If you already listen to K-pop, then you are familiar with the girl crush concept where the sounds are bass-heavy and the looks are all about dark outfits with smokey makeup. If that's up your alley, then check out G22.

Under Cornerstone Entertainment, the former quartet-turned-trio composed of members AJ, Alfea, and Jaz are known to be the "Female Alphas of Philippine Pop." The trio officially made their debut in April 2022 with their first single "BANG!" which was then followed by their second single "Babalik!" in May. But don't be fooled by their powerful demeanors — the trio also has a light and soft side to themselves in their B-sides and singles too.

VXON

If G22 is dubbed as the "Female Alphas of Philippine Pop," then VXON are said to be the "Monsters of P-pop" — so don't be fooled by the pretty boy looks VXON may carry. They are a P-pop group that can balance bubblegum pop with beast-like concepts, as if you're watching the transformation of boys to men. But at their core, they're making music to capture your heart (see for yourself with their viral R&B hit "Sandal").

Making their official debut in January 2022, the group consists of five members: C13, Franz, Patrick, Vince and Sam. After a big first year — they won Favorite Rookie P-Pop Group at Nylon Manila's Big, Bold, and Brave Awards in 2022 — VXON have continued winning hearts, most recently delivering a series of swoon-worthy live sessions on their YouTube channel.

Maymay Entrata

A multi-talented soloist, Maymay embodies Filipino entertainment, a fun and vibrant breath of fresh air within the Philippine music scene. She takes pride in her Visayan roots and stays grounded from her humble beginnings, even naming and singing her songs in Visaya, Tagalog and English.

First known as the season 7 winner of "Pinoy Big Brother" in 2016, Maymay has made a name for herself as a musical artist in the last couple of years. Signed under the same label as BINI and BGYO, Maymay is grandiose in her music, presenting a plethora of genres in her discography, from disco to dance pop to a little salsa with visuals that encapsulate inspiration from Filipino culture. "Her journey is only going further as she teased her first and upcoming international single "Paradise"at the 'ASAP Natin 'To in California' concert earlier this month."

PLUUS

Formerly known as SBTCBoys, the six-member boy group composed of Theo, Gab, Justin, Yen, Haro, and JL made their debut in 2023 with their first EP +.Y.M. (stylized and read as Time). Steering away from the traditional lead single promotions, PLUUS broke boundaries by promoting three tracks at once with "Amigo," "My Time" and "Cross My Heart" last year.

The trio of tracks also displayed PLUUS' wide array of talents: "Amigo" is a hip-hop-heavy dance pop track celebrating camaraderie; whereas "My Time" follows the personal stories of being an idol; and "Cross My Heart" is a love song about letting go. They've continued showing their versatility in 2024, with the airy single "Universe" and the thumping track "Summotion."

1st.One

1st.One was already putting themselves on the map, and embodying their name, before they even made their official debut in July 2020; the month before, they became the first Filipino act to perform at the Seoul Music Awards. The six members —Ace, Max, Alpha, J, Joker, Jayson — debuted under the Philippine subsidiary of FirstOne Entertainment in South Korea with their single electronic pop single "You Are The One (Ttak Maja Nuh)."

If you're into the nostalgic sounds of second-gen K-pop, 1st.One may be your seamless transition into P-pop. But just like any other group, they've explored different sounds and concepts; earlier this year, the group switched it up and dropped their R&B slow jam single "Dito" that was choreographed by member Max.

DIONE

1st.One's sister group, DIONE (or stylized as D1ONE), also debuted in 2020, carrying that girl crush aesthetic with them. Some members of the group were first introduced as LUNA, a project trainee group under FirstOne Entertainment set to debut. Eventually, the quartet composed of Joyden, DK, Clara, and Ella released their digital single "BLING BLING" in April 2022.

Upon their official debut, the quartet's image delivered expensive pop, soundtracking their luxurious, high-fashion looks with EDM-driven pop — somewhat reminiscent of the sounds of second-gen K-pop groups like 2NE1 and After School. Their music is fun, energetic and quite tantalizing.

YARA

Fairly new to the game, YARA is oozing with charisma, from their rap flows to their dance moves. Signed under Sony Music Philippines, YARA consists of four members — Gelou, Rocher, Christa, and Kim — who blend rap, hip-hop and pop all together.

Debuting in March 2023, the P-pop girl group released their first single "Adda" (short for "Apat Dapat Dapat Apat"). Earlier this year, the group revived the old school bubblegum pop song "Bakit Papa?" by variety show girl group Sexbomb Girls, and gave it an R&B twist. Their recent track "Katawan Flow" sees the group making the dancehall genre their own — hinting that their musical direction will always be unpredictable.

Maki

Maki isn't your typical idol pop singer, but that's exactly what makes him a promising soloist. He seamlessly blends alternative rock and pop together, triggering a listener to get in their feels along the way.

When he's not dancing to BINI's "Cherry On Top," you can often find Maki strumming a guitar, questioning various love-related situations. And it seems his approach is working: his latest release, "Dilaw," topped the Billboard Philippines' Hot 100 and Billboard Top Philippines Songs for multiple weeks in July.

CALISTA

Officially making their debut under Tyronne Escalante Artist Management and Merlion Events Production in 2022, CALISTA is working toward being the next P-pop greats. Carrying more of a girl crush vibe, CALISTA's sounds blend dreamy pop with 808 beats and R&B.

Originally debuting as a six-member ensemble with the trap-inspired pop single "Race Car," the group has spent the majority of 2024 as a quartet comprised of Anne, Dain, Elle, and Denise. Their latest single "Let Me Know" has made its way around TikTok, helping them get one step closer to achieving superstar status.

ECLYPSE

Originally known as YAMA, ECLYPSE is fairly new, but definitely promising, to the P-Pop game. Comprised of six former participants of reality-survival show "Top Class" (Lex, Gilly, Dean, Clyde, Gab, Joshuel) and one who was announced as a member on the live-streaming app KUMU (Rave), the group have been forming since 2022 and made their official debut this year under GKD Labels.

Whether they're taking on a light or dark concept, their sounds revolve around the EDM genre — a seamless fit for their tones and voices. If you're a fan of synths, harmonies and falsetto, this may be the group for you.

At multiple points during our conversation discussing her latest album Buzz, NIKI falls back on one phrase. "I should speak for myself." While she cuts herself off often, physically but gently coaxing herself back on track, NIKI's latest release is defiantly personal.

"I think it's going to mark a new era for me musically. Personally, it is my favorite thing I've ever done." she says of the album.

The past few years of NIKI's life have been spent in constant flux. The artist started her career as a performing artist on YouTube, did a headlining tour in support of her second album Nicole, and eventually became the first Indonesian artist to perform at Coachella (alongside fellow 88Rising labelmate Rich Brian). For the former self-proclaimed perfectionist, the exhaustion and rudderlessness of touring threw open the doors to some much needed introspection. When NIKI found herself alone, she realized had no idea who she was or what she was doing. So, she did the only thing she could do: write songs.

"I write songs as a way to process my life as it's happening. Everyone has different ways of coping, and that just happens to be mine," the 25-year-old singer confesses. Buzz was written between tour dates, with no "concrete vision" in mind; in fact, it was probably the first time that NIKI had truly processed everything that had happened in her career. "Writing 'Buzz' was a very reflection-oriented time. I was making sense of my present and how my past has sort laid down the stepping stones, and everything in between."

Confronted with a constant feeling of being uprooted and the vast unknown, NIKI realized that keeping a tight grip on how she approached, understood, and perceived her emotions was counterproductive. "Writing 'Buzz' was my way to deal with a lot of this existentialism that I was coming into for the first time in my early 20s," she continues. "I feel like everyone is starting to ask the big, deep, difficult questions when they start to live on their own and have to trudge through life as their own person."

With an intimate, oft-minimalistic sound and almost stream of consciousness lyrics Buzz is an album for letting go of control and the learned behaviors of perfectionism in the favor of self-awareness, where NIKI processes "a spectrum of world weariness, of excitement, of joy and pain and all the moments in between."

"Buzz" is where she finds herself anew. She takes her time mulling over the hard questions on "Nothing Can", allows herself to grieve the loss of a great love on "Paths", breaks the cycle of generational trauma on "Strong Girl" and "Heirloom Pain", and learns that there is "freedom in accepting that everything is just incomplete and messy all the time."

This interview has been edited and condensed.

When I was reading about the album, it appeared that you faced an identity crisis while making it. Do you feel satisfied with it or are you anxious about how people will receive it?

I think it's both. Anytime I'm on the cusp of releasing something, I'm always a little bit nervous as to how people are going to receive it. At the same time, I feel like I made this record with full conviction in myself and in my artistry.

I think this is really the first time that I'm able to say that. I steered the making of this record myself.

A lot of the songs on 'Buzz' felt like waves, with a very natural flow and progression to the songs on the album. It felt like you were giving into a feeling or embracing something. Did you allow yourself to feel [this flow] or did you have a concrete vision?

Buzz was the first album that I made that I didn't actually have a concrete vision in mind. It was just an organic synthesis of what's been happening over the past two years.

Two years ago I started headline touring, and that inspired a lot of the album. Just this feeling of constantly being on the go, being uprooted time and time again, so the theme of acceptance is a huge one on this album. The acceptance of life being a constant state of uncertainty. We, as people, are constantly developing and irresolute. So this album was kind of made to process those feelings.

It’s an album of nuance, of nestling into this area of gray that we so often wrestle with in life. I definitely tend to see things as black and white. I was raised to think that way, with my Indonesian upbringing. My mom was very religious, so I think this album is about unlearning a lot of that stuff, taking what serves you from childhood and letting go of what doesn't, and embracing that things will feel messy very often.

Yet you ended the album itself on a very hopeful note. Was that intentional?

Absolutely. Sometimes I joke that the universe has its foot on my neck right now. But I think, in general, I'm quite an optimistic person, or at least I try to be. I gravitate towards art or music that tends to skew that way, because I think we all need a little bit of hope in this very difficult, scary world.

The record ends with "Nothing Can." I love that song, because it's a blend of optimism, but also it's just telling it as it is. Like, nothing and no one will be able to save you and I think that was an important thing that I had to teach myself.

Growing up, you watch a lot of movies and so much of media is like, somebody's going to come swooping in knight in shining armor-style and maybe rescue you. Or a job will save you from your pain or the perfect fill-in-the-blank is gonna be the answer. That's impossible. You are responsible for your own happiness. What "Nothing Can" is about is that despite the mess and the suffering and the pain there are still moments in between that make everything worthwhile.

Did you go through a similar process of realization when it comes to making music? A moment where you thought, 'Maybe I'm expecting my career to make me happy but it should be the other way around?'

How do I eloquently say this? It's like... before Buzz, and even before Nicole, the way I perceived making music was like aceing assignments. I think I had always been a little bit of an overachiever. Buzz was my first real, true exercise in just writing and making art just to make art for myself versus to fulfill expectations. I found a lot of artistic healing through making this album because it was the first time I really kind of put my head down and was like: I'm going to make an album for myself in a way that I want and that feels authentic.

I realized quickly that every time I hit a milestone, I would aspire for the next milestone. And then there's always sky above sky — that is what my mom always told me. There is always something more to aspire to. So you really have to find peace and joy within yourself in order to show up the way you want to in your life. I wrote Buzz, just to help myself let go of the perfectionist streak.

So, if you were to describe the relationship between 'Nicole' and 'Buzz' knowing what you do now, what would you call it?

I have fondly nicknamed Buzz Nicole's older, wiser sister. Nicole walked so that Buzz could run. Nicole was a very diaristic window into my past and Buzz is very much rooted in my present. Nicole is about the subject matter that's important to you when you're 17, like your first ever breakup with your first love that feels so cataclysmic and earth-shattering. That's no longer relevant to me the same way that things are happening in my 20s now.

Nicole was also sonically a lot more pop. On Buzz, I was inspired by a lot of artists. Obviously Joni Mitchell, and a current artist that I really love that I feel like echoes Joni Mitchell is Madison Cunningham. I am so inspired by her musicianship and guitar playing specifically. It made me think: I would want to have an album that I'd be so stoked to play every single night for however long on tour and I never get sick of these songs. Buzz is more musical, and there is a looseness to it that I feel Nicole lacked.

I also remember you saying in an interview that back when you wrote 'Nicole,' you went very heavy on imagery and metaphors. In contrast, 'Buzz' is still poetic, but very rooted in practicality. Do you think that's a natural consequence of growing up, and dealing with the realization that once life has hit us in the face, we don't prefer not to look at things with rosy lenses?

[Laughs.] I think it is a natural consequence of growing up. I think Nicole was so unapologetically schmaltzy. The way I wrote, I definitely cringe now because, you know, it's that 17-year-old drama. Everything feels so blown up out of proportion when you're 17, right? It was so emotional. The way I write [now] is totally different because there's a big dose of practicality and pragmatism in the way I perceive things. I think it's a lot more emotionally healthier to balance emotion and reason, than having emotions just completely drown reason.

Buzz, specifically, is very much a reflection of the kind of writing that I gravitate to now, which is a lot less like "My world is going to end because you're leaving." Because you know when you're 25, you don't really necessarily feel that anymore. I feel that's really obvious in songs like "Take Care" and "Paths" where it is an older kind of love. A significant relationship of mine ended, and I still very much have only respect and love for this person and also wanting the best for them. I feel like, on Nicole, it was all so punitive. It was like, "You must be punished for how you hurt me!"

Was there anything that helped you learn to deal with things in this way? I did read that the album also contains some lessons that you learned in therapy.

Therapy has had a direct link to this record. Therapy has been transformative in the way I think and therefore the way I think shapes the way I write, and the way I write shapes the album that I make.

For example, I call "Heirloom Pain" and "Nothing Can" my "radical acceptance" songs. That was a term that I learnt through therapy. Radical acceptance does not mean demeaning your grief or repressing your pain. Radical acceptance is saying, This really sucks, but I'm going to respond to this in a different way. Without therapy, I probably would still be writing very punitive schmaltzy Nicole songs.

I think everything can be processed, though! I feel like Buzz has a balance. I feel like I'm still pretty petty on "Colossal Loss" and "Focus" is just shade central.

"Focus" really made me think you must be in your 'I'm not your therapist" era.

Exactly, I'm in my "no clowns" era. [Laughs.]

Radical acceptance makes a lot of sense. "Heirloom Pain" has this keen realization that our parents did their best, and they're only human, so you can't really blame them.

I think it humanizes everybody in [your family tree] that came before you, and at the very end, I flip it around onto [the listener] and [the song says] "You're gonna fall in love and f— up too."

We are born and everyone does the same thing over and over. We never learn! But at the same time, it doesn't shy away from the genuine pain and trauma. I literally called out my dad's temper and my mom's mistakes. Sometimes I'm like, 'Why did you guys not think about this before you had kids?' [Laughs.]

As you grow up…your parents kind of fall off the pedestal, you start to get on their level. You see them as humans.

This is such a primitive album for you in some ways. What was the recording process for this like?

When I am in work mode, I don't always feel it. If I'm singing a painful song, usually that hits me a little bit later. When I recorded "Paths," that was basically a one-take thing that I did in my own studio at home. I remember just singing through the whole song for the first time, and at one point in the middle, I choked. I started to tear up because I felt so emotionally moved.

With this album specifically, I've learned my methods. I never do more than three takes, especially for vocals. If I do more than three takes, it starts to... you know the feeling of when you look at a word too long and the word doesn't look like a word anymore? When I sing the same thing too many times, I start to not feel it anymore. ["Paths"] felt like exposure therapy. I wrote the thing that I was really scared to write and then I was singing it.

It's interesting you say that you don't like singing your songs on repeat. What is your relationship with touring like then? Does it get exhausting performing the same song or set over and over?

Touring is definitely a different beast. I feel like it's more important to get the right take when you're recording an album, because an album is forever. A show is different every single night. To be completely honest, sometimes as a performer, if you do it so many times like it's muscle memory. You can slip into autopilot over time. The constantly changing variable on tour is the crowd. So whatever is happening in the crowd is usually enough to inject a newness to the show.

I also wrote Buzz for this reason. I wanted an album that felt looser and felt more relaxed even in its DNA so that when I go on tour, I can play it as loosely as possible to create space for variety.

It also feels like you've learned to be more accepting. Your recordings used to be a fairly solitary affair but now you've actively started involving more people in it.

I definitely ventured out into involving more collaborators and it's not just me and my laptop and headphones anymore, but I definitely still am very selective with who I let into my musical universe, because I have a specific vision of how I want things to sound, and what kind of environments I work best in.

The way I like to work is that I start a skeletal framework for [a song], I produce it a little bit, record some parts. Then I call a producer that I respect, who I've seen work on my other favorite artists and then I give them that framework and then we finish it together. I worked with Ethan Gruska, who worked with Phoebe Bridgers, and Tyler Chester – who helped me produce "Strong Girl" – worked on all of Madison Cunningham's stuff. It's really fun to keep the circle small.

A lot of songs on 'Buzz', like "Blue Moon," "Paths" and "Magnets" talk about putting faith in a higher power.

I grew up very religious. My mom was a singer at church, so God was always an integral concept growing up. I wouldn't call myself a Christian now, but I definitely still believe in something greater than all of us. Julia Cameron, who wrote The Artist's Way, said: "God can be God to you, or it can stand for Good Orderly Direction." I think it is a beautiful way of thinking about it.

I definitely am also an astrology girlie. I do believe that we were all made with intention. I do think there's a great creator out there and I believe that there is something out there — the universe, God, whatever you want to call it — that's guiding us or has our best interest.

Do you like revisiting your past stuff? I ask this because it feels like with every new album, you have proverbially wiped the slate clean.

I will literally listen to my work or my music a million times before it's out. And then once it's out, I rarely ever revisit it.I almost see it as yours; it's the world’s now. It's ours. It's not something that I have been intentional about. Even when I had a YouTube channel when I was 15, I did this. I would watch my video and edit it five million times. And then as soon as I uploaded it, I never watched it again.

I guess I do this to process my life as it's happening. Once it's shared, it's difficult for me to view it as just my own anymore. That's why every time I move on to a new project it feels like a completely different thing, because I never look at my past work. I never draw from that as an inspiration. I look forward instead.

Another month has passed us by, and August brings us closer to the end of the season. However, several new tracks and albums have dropped to lift our spirits. With brand new projects like Khalid's Sincere, Maren Morris' Intermission, and 49 Winchester's Leavin' This Holler, the beginning of August promises bright things ahead.

A slew of singles dropped, too, from exciting collaborations like Charli XCX's "Guess" remix with Billie Eilish and Jessie Murph's new track with Teddy Swims to new offerings from Big Sean, Jhené Aiko, Jelly Roll, Suki Waterhouse, and more. Whether you're looking for full projects or a few new playlist additions, you will not be disappointed.

As you prepare to close out summer, be sure to check out these 10 new songs and albums.

Charli XCX & Billie Eilish — "Guess"

Just 24 hours after Charli XCX set the internet ablaze with a tease of her next collaboration, she not only unveiled the special guest, but she also dropped the track as a New Music Friday-eve gift: a remix of "Guess" with her fellow pop queen, Billie Eilish.

The pulsating song keeps the same club-ready aesthetic of the original from Charli XCX's brat, but taps into the sexual fluidity of Eilish's HIT ME HARD AND SOFT with the "LUNCH" singer adding a new verse (fans particularly went into a frenzy over Eilish's line "Charli likes boys but she knows I'd hit it"). The track offers a raunchy brand of girl power, further emphasized by the underwear-strewn video, as the unworn undergarments will be donated to survivors of domestic violence through I Support the Girls.

Kacey Musgraves — 'Deeper into the Well'

Seven-time GRAMMY-winner Kacey Musgraves is expanding the well she first introduced in March. With the release of Deeper Well, Musgraves showcased a softer side of herself that she discovered during periods of self-introspection following significant changes in her life.

Now, with Deeper into the Well, she takes us further along on her journey. Musgraves gave a taste of the additional seven songs with the release of her single "Irish Goodbye," which narrates the tale of someone struggling to find forgiveness for someone who abruptly left. The extended edition also includes two new features, "Perfection" with Tiny Habits and "Superbloom" with Leon Bridges.

The release comes one month before Musgraves is set to kick off her Deeper Well World Tour in Pennsylvania; she'll hit cities on both coasts, and conclude in Nashville in December.

Read More: For The Record: Why Kacey Musgraves' Timeless Album Golden Hour Still Shines 5 Years Later

Saweetie — "My Best"

Maintaining her message of confidence and self-worth, Saweetie releases "My Best," an unapologetic anthem that emphasizes knowing your worth and surrounding yourself with people who prioritize your best interests.

The music video visually represents Saweetie's personal growth, both as an individual and as an artist. Shot at hometown landmarks like her high school and childhood neighborhood, she invites fans on a nostalgic journey of introspection — while also reminding them to stay true to themselves.

Learn More: Meet The First-Time GRAMMY Nominee: Saweetie On Her Long-Awaited Album Pretty B^^^^ Music

Tones and I — 'Beautifully Ordinary'

Four years after her smash "Dance Monkey" took over the world, Tones and I releases her second studio album, Beautifully Ordinary. The follow-up to 2021's Welcome to the Madhouse, the 16-song project reflects the artist's growth, exploring themes of nostalgia, love, and self-acceptance. Each song invites listeners to embark on an emotional, personal journey with Tones and I, offering a source of catharsis for those who relate to her experiences.

Tones and I first gave listeners a taste of the project in June with lead single "Dance With Me," a track that delves into themes of heartbreak and desperation. Despite its underlying message of loneliness, the track retains Tones and I's signature upbeat rhythms and vibrant instrumentals — and the rest of Beautifully Ordinary follows suit, offering intimate and heartfelt narratives through her radiant musicality.

Sam Smith — 'In The Lonely Hour (10th Anniversary Edition)'

Celebrating the six-times-platinum debut album that catapulted them to stardom, Sam Smith is releasing the 10th anniversary edition of In The Lonely Hour. This special edition features a reimagined version of their classic "Stay With Me," and a brand new track, "Little Sailor."

The original project launched Smith's career into the stratosphere, receiving critical acclaim and earning them four golden gramophones at the 2015 GRAMMYs, including Best New Artist.

"I feel so incredibly lucky to be celebrating this milestone with you," Smith wrote on Instagram. "My team and I have created this beautiful anniversary edition for us all, and for the last 10 years."

Learn More:

Killer Mike — 'Michael & The Mighty Midnight Revival, Songs For Sinners & Saints'

Fresh off going three-for-three at the 2024 GRAMMYs, Killer Mike delivers another potent project, Michael & The Mighty Midnight Revival, Songs For Sinners & Saints. A follow-up to his autobiographical album 'MICHAEL', the 10-song collection dives deeper into his personal narrative, offering an epilogue filled with introspection and celebration — including the poignant track "HUMBLE ME," which reflects on his arrest after winning his GRAMMYs in February.

Killer Mike provided fans with a gift, releasing the album as a free download for the first 48 hours. In support of the release, Killer Mike electrified audiences with six performances over three nights at the legendary Blue Note jazz club in NYC, including a live-streamed show that attracted nearly 100,000 viewers. This project is a testament to Killer Mike's ongoing dialogue with his audience, addressing both tribulations and triumphs. As the tour continues with a stop at Lollapalooza just one day after the album's release, fans can engage further with tracks like "NOBODY KNOWS" and "HIGHER LEVEL," which offer a glimpse into the rapper’s evolving journey and continued impact on hip-hop.

Tiera Kennedy — "Cry"

Still riding high from her vocals featured on Beyoncé's COWBOY CARTER, country star Tiera Kennedy releases her latest single, "Cry," which samples Justin Timberlake's 2002 Timbaland-produced hit "Cry Me A River." It's another taste of Kennedy's forthcoming debut album, which she dubs "R&B/country."

"I've been really inspired by the music I grew up listening to," Kennedy shared in an Instagram video. "Timbaland had a hand in a lot of those songs."

Known for her distinctive approach to blending genres, Kennedy invites listeners to immerse themselves in her world of creative storytelling with her latest track. "Cry" explores the narrative of someone who has made their bed and has to lie in it, while Kennedy has already moved on.

Explore More:

Gryffin — 'PULSE'

Returning with his third studio album, electronic artist Gryffin embarks on a new era and unveils a fresh side of his artistry with PULSE. The 14-track album features collaborations with a range of artists, including Rita Ora, Disco Lines, MAX, and more.

"PULSE is a return to why I fell in love with dance music in the first place, and this is the most creatively inspired I've felt in years," said Gryffin on Instagram. "I can't wait for you all to hear the new sound and feel the passion I've put into these tracks."

John K — "Lost"

After more than a year of not releasing music, John K is back with a new single, "Lost." It's a song that vulnerably reveals feelings of completeness after finding the right person — a fitting narrative for the happily married singer, who is expecting his second child with his wife, Lenée. . Becoming a father is one of the several major life changes John K has experienced in the past few years, all of which have shaped his upcoming music and brought his musical artistry to the next stage.

"I was writing with the aim of challenging myself to do something I hadn't done before," John K said in a press statement. "I shattered the box of what I thought I had to be, and it allowed me to get to deeper levels of honesty and really gain even more confidence. I took risks, and I honestly expressed myself.

Jack White — 'No Name'

After releasing two albums within four months in 2022, Jack White has essentially gone silent since — until now. Just two days after announcing his sixth studio album, No Name, the rock icon unveils his latest masterpiece.

The 13-track album stays true to White's DIY philosophy, with the recording, production, and mixing all handled by the artist himself at his own Third Man Studio. Even before the album dropped on Aug. 2, reviews were already glowing, with Variety calling it the album "fans have been lusting for" due to its parallels to the rip-roaring rock of his former band the White Stripes — but "without seeming retro or leaning too heavily on nostalgia."

Explore More: Songbook:

Bootsy Collins — "Pure Perfection"

Ahead of his forthcoming album, Album of the Year #1 Funkateer, Bootsy Collins has released "Pure Perfection," a smooth, sultry track featuring German rapper FANTAAZMA and rapper Giz. The track also features one of the funk icon's legendary alter-egos, "Bedroom Bootsy," who brings a sultry tone to the tune.

Due Oct. 25 (the day before Collins' 73rd birthday), Album of the Year #1 Funkateer includes an 18-song track list with contributions from Snoop Dogg, Wiz Khalifa and more. And if the smooth, thumping vibe of "Pure Perfection" is any indication, the funk vet is ready to take fans on a trippy musical journey — one that only Bootsy Collins can moderate.

Some artists are lucky enough to have a moment: a song of the summer, a radio hit, or a point at which their song dominates the pop conversation. Before even launching her own singing career, Amy Allen has done just that — multiple times.

In 2022, the Maine native contributed to hit songs from Harry Styles, Lizzo, Charli XCX, and King Princess; at the 2023 GRAMMYs, she was one of the inaugural nominees for Songwriter Of The Year, Non-Classical, and celebrated an Album Of The Year win alongside Styles thanks to her work on Harry's House. And as of press time, two songs she co-wrote with Sabrina Carpenter are in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart: "Espresso" and "Please Please Please," the latter of which hit No. 1.

When you have a resume and catalog as impressive as Allen's, it's hard not to get stuck in a run of highlights — but Allen's writing style is so full of remarkable emotional depth and inevitable hooks that her life and career deserves further exploration. After binging on classic rock and performing in rock and bluegrass bands in her youth, Allen began writing songs for others in the mid 2010s and has only continued to expand her impact on audiences and collaborators alike.

"Amy is a once-in-a-lifetime writer and friend — it all comes to her very naturally and effortlessly," Carpenter recently told Variety. "She's super versatile: She can wear any hat and yet it still feels authentic. I've learned a lot from her and admire what an incredible collaborator she is."

Along the way, Allen has continued honing her skills as an artist in her own right, releasing a handful of EPs and singles since 2015, initially under the name Amy and the Engine. But on Sept. 6, she's ready to fully introduce herself with her debut album — fittingly titled Amy Allen.

Just after Allen celebrated her latest No. 1 and released her newest single, "even forever," GRAMMY.com rounded up the key details you need to know about the singer/songwriter's diverse musical background, from her advocacy for female creators to seeing Harry Styles sing a song she co-wrote to a massive audience.

Her Origin Story Features A Lot Of Car Talk

Allen's early musical growth relied on four-wheeled vehicles to drive the plot forward — in many different forms. Growing up in rural Maine meant long car rides to for school and family outings, which in turn meant a lot of time with the radio.

"My dad is the biggest classic rock fan, so since I was little, I spent hours every day listening to music in the car with him and my sisters," she told Variety earlier this year.

When it came time for one of her sisters to start a band, the elder Allen named it No U-Turn, setting the theme. When the band needed a new bassist, Amy took up the low end at just 8 years old, learning classic songs from the likes of Tom Petty and Rolling Stones. The band started collecting opening spots at a bar in Portland, Maine, and lasted until Allen was in high school and her sisters had left for college. In addition, she started playing in a bluegrass band called Jerks of Grass alongside her high school guitar teacher.

Eventually, Allen thought about moving on and changing course. "I went to nursing school at Boston College for two years, and within a month of getting there I was like, 'I made a big mistake,'" she continued. After moving over to the prestigious Berklee School of Music, Allen started a new project, yet again turning to vehicular terminology: Amy and the Engine, who would go on to open for the likes of Vance Joy and Kacey Musgraves. The project's timeless indie pop charm shone brightly on singles like "Last Forever" and the 2017 EP Get Me Outta Here!, fusing references ranging from the Cranberries to the Cure.

She's A Major Champion For Women In Music

Back in 2021, Allen pondered whether it was time to carve up one of America's most prominent monuments. "Can you imagine tit* on Mount Rushmore/ And Ruth Bader Ginsburg from dynamite sticks?" she sang on "A Woman's World," a highlight from her 2021 solo EP AWW!. The song backs off from that explicit ask, but the low-slung waltz of ghostly piano and gentle acoustic guitar still subversively slices at traditional gender roles and power dynamics.

And while the track may focus its first verse on the Notorious RBG, Allen designed it as a more approachable anthem. "I felt very proud of that song. And it's something that I love to play live, because I think that it's nice as a woman to give that moment to other women in the audience where I see them," she told The Line of Best Fit upon the EP's release.

Her solo work sits in a long line of female pop and rock stars looking to lift others up — with Allen's list of influences including everyone from the Carpenters and Pat Benatar to No Doubt, Hole, and Siouxsie and the Banshees. But she's also aware of the shortcomings in the industry when it comes to behind-the-scenes matters, with female songwriters representing a disproportionately small percentage of the industry and often at lower revenue than their male counterparts.

"It's important to have more women writing and performing so that younger girls can be hearing that and really connecting with that and resonating with that, and then being inspired to do that themselves," she continued. "I'm really excited to hear what the next generation of singer songwriters creates, and I want to do my part in making sure that they're able to."

She Went Full Circle With Selena Gomez

Allen's emotionally salient and indelibly quirky songwriting with the Engine caught the attention of more than just adoring fans. While on a tour stop in New York, she connected with Scott Harris, a songwriter who has worked with the likes of Shawn Mendes, Camila Cabello, Niall Horan, and Meghan Trainor; when Allen eventually moved to New York, she would take on some of Harris' writing sessions when he was in Los Angeles. One of those sessions spawned the first song she'd place with another artist: Selena Gomez's "Back To You," which ended up on the soundtrack for the second season of Netflix's teen drama "13 Reasons Why" in 2018.

"I grew up listening to Selena Gomez, and I know that she's going to be a pop icon forever," Allen told People in 2020. "She's awesome. I was so psyched…It definitely propelled my career in the pop writing field further."

Two years later, she would re-team with Gomez for "My Mind & Me," a single released alongside a documentary film of the same title following the impact of the star's diagnoses with lupus and bipolar disorder on her career. The single similarly offers an openhearted, empathetic look at big mental health struggles, this time in the form of a sweeping, cathartic power ballad driven by stumbling syllables and stair-step piano.

The track was shortlisted for Best Original Song at the 2023 Academy Awards, charted in more than a dozen countries, and, perhaps most importantly, seemed to have made quite the connection with Gomez. "Honestly, it was therapeutic for me," the pop star and actress told Variety in 2022. "I felt super connected to what I was singing and what I was saying."

She Loves Seeing Her Collaborators Live

Songwriters often wind up hidden behind the scenes, unable to really gather the impact that their artistic expression is making on others. But thankfully, Allen has been able to catch a peek in on the arena-sized reactions for some of her biggest collaborators.

One of Allen's most-played co-writes is "Adore You," a highlight from Harry Styles' 2019 album, Fine Line, which has nearly 1.7 billion streams on Spotify alone as of press time. The buoyant, slippery burst of Fleetwood Mac-indebted funk pop embodies the start of an infatuation, and fans similarly felt under the song's spell. And Allen finally got to see that feeling come to life at Styles' album release show at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles in 2019.

"Watching Harry, I was really nervous because the album had only been out for a couple days and I wasn't sure if anybody would know that song," Allen told Variety in 2020. She also noted that the song was a hard turn from more heartbroken tracks she'd written for the likes of Halsey. "'Adore You' was my first feel-good song, so I'm psyched about that," she added.

Though not in person, Allen got a similar bolt of joy when she was able to watch Lizzo perform Styles' track for BBC Radio 1 in 2020. "I idolize Lizzo," Allen continued. "It really just goes to show that the right song can be performed by many different people."

Little did Allen know that she'd get to celebrate a GRAMMY nomination and win alongside Lizzo and Styles, respectively, just three years later. She co-wrote "If You Love Me" from the flute-jamming pop star's 2022 record Special, which was nominated for Album Of The Year at the 2023 GRAMMYs, where Styles' Harry's House (which featured Allen's co-write "Matilda") won the coveted honor.

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She Shapeshifts Her Songwriting For Each Artist

When a songwriter has to split their tracks up between multiple different artists, it might be difficult to ensure that each track sounds appropriately fitted to each performer. For Allen, it all comes down to knowing when to follow the rules and when to break them.

"Sometimes we'll be writing and someone will say, 'It should go straight to the chorus here,' and in my brain I'm like, 'But we need a pre-chorus!' — you know, following the ABCs of songwriting," she told Variety. "But I've really been trying over the last couple of years to deconstruct some of those — that you don't need to pull out all the tricks all the time. It can actually make the song more interesting."

In fact, it might come down to what she prioritizes when sitting down to write, rather than which rules to follow. While walking the red carpet for the 2021 Ivor Novello Awards for songwriting and composition, Allen explained her perspective on songwriting formulas to PRS For Music: "When I'm writing for myself, I usually start with the verse and move my way through, and lots of other times when I'm writing with another artist I make sure the chorus is bulletproof."

The GRAMMYs Are Helping Change Her Family's Perspective On Her Career

Allen earned her first GRAMMY nomination in 2022 for her work on Justin Bieber's Justice, but her most meaningful nomination came a year later for Songwriter Of The Year, Non-Classical at the 65th Annual Awards ceremony (alongside Nija Charles, The-Dream, Laura Veltz, and Tobias Jesso, Jr.). While Allen had a hard time contextualizing the recognition, it helped her loved ones better understand the impact of her career.

"I'm just so grateful…Even my closest family and friends, they're like, 'I've listened to this artist for so long, or I listened to this song on the radio, and I had no idea there was a team that helped make this happen,'" she told VERSED: The ASCAP Podcast in 2022. "People like me growing up in small towns, we don't know that being a songwriter for a career is an option… I watched the GRAMMYs when I was growing up, and if I had known that people were making great careers, I would've gotten on the track a lot earlier."

Though the inaugural award ultimately went to Jesso, Jr., Allen seems to agree that he's deserving of the honor — he's one of her collaborators on her upcoming album.

Maine Will Always Be Home — and An Inspiration

For those who haven't been to Maine, a quick look at Allen's social media will reveal just how stunning the American Northeast can be. Among TikToks promoting her music, Allen almost inevitably drops in a clip displaying the expansive natural beauty of her home state — whether she's on a rope swing over a dazzlingly blue pool of water, or dropping a front spin while skating on the ice, or watching the massive waves from her family home.

"POV: ur back home in maine and wondering why u ever left," she plastered over one particularly stunning TikTok montage of a dazzling day swimming amongst waterfalls. The only thing as beautiful as the scenery is the music behind it is an unreleased track about missing home — proof that Maine will always be part of her, and that she clearly made the correct choice in following her songwriting dreams.