Charli XCX, the star of confinement

"I am recording an album. Departure date: May 15. Provisional title: How I'm Feeling Now ”. On April 6 this year, British pop star Charli XCX posted a video on her Instagram in which, recording herself with her phone, she said that, since confining herself with her boyfriend in Los Angeles, she was going to record and launch a new album, just seven months after the previous one, Charli , one of the most celebrated references of the past year. In the video, the artist detailed what the creation process was going to be like. There would be Zoom conferences with fans to discuss progress, an email address where ideas for lyrics, rhythms or videos could be submitted that would later be used to compose the clips for the singles. the length.

For his part, Charli was going to upload pieces of songs to his networks, he was going to record himself writing the lyrics live and he even had the intention of singing pieces of melodies, although in the background his boyfriend was heard washing the dishes or cursing that piece puzzle that didn't fit him. Anyway, when it seemed that pop had no more secrets for the public, who knew the life and miracles of even the one who prepares salads for Taylor Swift or the third makeup artist of Camila Cabello, this girl born in Cambridge in 1992 and took it all to a level we could never have imagined.

"Yesterday I panicked. I only have two songs mixed, ”he told The Guardian a couple of weeks before the scheduled release date. "Put it off? It is not an option, I would feel terribly guilty. I have to do it. " Indeed, on May 15 the album was published. And indeed, it was titled How I'm Feeling Now. Best of all, it wasn't about entertainment without substance, the way a successful artist had found to hang out and make her fans believe they were part of her life and work. No, it was a remarkable album. It was announced on giant screens in an empty Time Square. As useless as it is flashy.

The album may not tell us what the pop of the new normal will be like, but it does give us clues about how a certain artist profile must face that era that is coming upon us. “I am locked up at home. The people I normally collaborate with, too. We are all very self-reliant, we don't trust record labels to tell us how to be creative. In fact, we run away when they try to do so. So maybe it is ugly to say it, but a global pandemic fits with my way of understanding this, ”he commented in an interview with the PopJustice website just six days after announcing that he was getting (and getting) down to business with this feature. . The Englishwoman had no problem with missing out on more luxurious promotion options than a Skype interview, presentation parties, dazzling clips, and ticket presales. She has always belonged to that new breed of pop stars who are just because they make pop music. Everything else in his worldview has little or nothing to do with the universe of despotic light, color and manager that is associated with the profile.

Just two days after locking himself up at home, Charli had already decided that his confinement was not going to be like that of other musicians. Instead of doing Instagram live shows playing the piano, Charlotte Aitchison (her real name) started broadcasting live conversations with colleagues, such as Kim Petras, in late March, where they both had fun with quizzes from those from back in the day. you go to school, or you go very fart He also scheduled and broadcast gym classes alongside musician, DJ, and producer Diplo. A live mask was made with Rita Ora. He even programmed a half-makeup tutorial with singer Zara Larsson, in which, after putting on false eyelashes, they got involved to chat about their things and forgot about everything else. Once the making of the album started, the artist continued recording the program she has on the BBC or doing direct for French magazines on Instagram.

On May 20, five days after the launch, Charli posted on her Instagram a photo of her in the messy bathroom of the house, accompanied by a long text about how fragile and exhausted she was. He doubted the usefulness of everything he had done, whether his music was really important to someone, the obsession with always doing things. It was going to stop. And he did. Of course, only one day.