The British singer and DJ is known for pushing boundaries in the music scene, particularly through her pivot from pop to hyperpop and experimental electronic sounds that were explored in albums such as ‘Sucker’ and ‘Brat’. She has built up a forward-thinking reputation for herself through these explorations, with the announcement contributing to her playful nature with music.

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The album that is still untitled, with no mention of a release date, is expected to include the necessities of a rock album. It is set to include distorted electric guitar, with live instrumentation and a sonic soundscape. Early reports suggest that Charli has been working with a long time collaborator, A.G Cook, which alludes a blurring of previous sounds that fans love, such as her experimental tone mixed with the energy of rock.

This pivot comes at a time where the music industry seems to be increasingly fluid, with many artist’s revisiting the rock scene lately, such as Yung Blud turning people’s attention onto UK arena rock tour. Charli’s particular pivot is notable, given her role in shaping hyperpop music in the last decade, and the success that was ‘Brat‘, that made a world tour with many talented special guests.

Charli herself, believes the pivot comes at the perfect time for her career, as she states in an unreleased song, whilst in a studio session that “I think the dance floor is dead, so now we’re making rock music”. This has already resulted in positive industry reaction, with Charli continuing to conform to her reputation as a trendsetter rather than a follower. The announcement has definitely confirmed Charli’s aid of being autonomous and breaking conventions, which will be an exciting listen for recent and long time fans 0f the ‘shape-shifter’ artist.

Indeed, she has built quite the anticipation amongst her listeners with the announcement, with fans wondering when they’ll get to hear her new content. The album is already revealing itself as set to be one of the most closely watched releases in the UK music landscape in 2026. The burning questions fans have for Charli will hopefully be answered before they know it.

Whether the album redefines Charli, or adds another layer to her auteurship, it is clear the music world has something to look forward to.

After the global sensation of her album ‘BRAT‘ in 2024, Charli shifted to a more gothic, dark musical lens with her soundtrack album ‘Wuthering Heights’, created for Emerald Fennell’s 2026 film adaptation of Emily Brontë’s novel. The album dropped alongside the film on 13 February 2026, which became a major box office success, significantly grossing their original filming budget.

The controversy began when Ferreira replied to a meme about Charli “getting Sky Ferreira in the studio for Wuthering Heights,” writing: “To record my old songs******”. She later responded to claims that the intro to Charli’s ‘Chains of Love’ was lifted from her 2018 demo ‘Ancient Idols’, and that ‘Altars’ was based on a 2015 Ferreira demo. In follow-up comments, Ferreira said the fan’s “industry insider” was “wrong,” but added, “I’m not going to get into it but it was definitely more than an intro. I have proof of everything with dates”.

Charli’s team denied the suggestion that she copied Ferreira’s material and said Charli “always shares credits fairly and appropriately, and values her collaborators tremendously”. In a statement cited by Billboard, the team said a “standard review process” was carried out before the Wuthering Heights release, involving managers, legal representatives, artists and producers, along with a review of archival materials and demo recordings. They also said all relevant parties were consulted, songwriting credits and splits were agreed collectively in writing, and all credits were formally approved before release.

In a statement to Billboard, Charli’s team said: “Charli has made seven albums, four mixtapes and one EP, and has written countless songs for other artists throughout her career. She began as a songwriter with ‘I Love It,’ and her work has been recorded by and pitched to multiple artists. She has her own personal history with publishing and production negotiations and because of this, she always shares credits fairly and appropriately, and values her collaborators tremendously.“

Ferreira is already credited on ‘Wuthering Heights’ as a featured artist, co-writer and vocal producer on ‘Eyes of the World’, one of the tracks on the album Charli released in February alongside Emerald Fennell’s film of the same name. The two artists have worked together before, including on Charli’s 2019 single ‘Cross You Out’. Charli has also publicly supported Ferreira in the past, which makes the dispute especially notable within their shared history.

]]> https://www.mxdwn.co.uk/news/charli-xcxs-team-responds-to-sky-ferreira-acussing-her-of-recording-part-of-her-old-songs/feed/ 0 https://www.mxdwn.co.uk/news/charli-xcxs-wuthering-heights-album-tops-album-charts/ https://www.mxdwn.co.uk/news/charli-xcxs-wuthering-heights-album-tops-album-charts/#comments Mon, 23 Feb 2026 16:23:51 +0000 http://www.mxdwn.co.uk/?p=117335 Charli XCX’s new album ‘Wuthering Heights’ has stormed to Number One on the UK Album Charts on February 20th, with a brooding, hyper-modern take on Emily Brontë’s classic tale of obsession and doomed romance. Framed as both a film soundtrack and a pop-music cultural moment, the album builds upon her bold, confrontational musical statements, affirmed with the ‘Brat‘ album, but extending into darker territory.

Released to coincide with Emerald Fennell’s big-screen adaptation of Wuthering Heights, the album finds Charli stepping into the role of narrator, ghost and anti-heroine all at once. Across its twelve tracks, she channels the emotional turbulence of the source material into jagged synths, industrial drums and yearning melodies that feel tailor-made for both club systems and midnight headphones. Lead singles ‘House’ and ‘Chains of Love’ set the tone. The former single is a eery, slow-building anthem featuring spoken-word contributions from The Velvet Underground’s John Cale. The latter single is a feverish pop song that twists the language of devotion into something closer to possession, much like themes within the film. Elsewhere, she plays with tempo and texture, drifting between whispered confessionals and full-throttle rave breakdowns.

Critics have praised ‘Wuthering Heights’ as one of Charli’s most cohesive projects to date, noting how it fuses her instinct for hook-heavy pop with the narrative discipline of a film score. Rather than simply decorating the movie, the songs expand its emotional world, moving between characters Cathy’s feral longing, Heathcliff’s rage and the bleak isolation of the moors. Glitches, distorted vocals and choirs buried in reverb create a sense of haunting continuity, as if the album itself were a restless spirit pacing the halls.

Commercially, the project marks a new peak. Topping the charts has confirmed Charli’s ascent from cult and club-classic experimentalist to an artist who can turn a 19th-century novel into a modern-pop hot topic. Early sales and massive first-week streaming numbers have been driven not just by her core fanbase but by a wider audience drawn in by intrigue around the film and the album’s peculiar visuals. The cover features a grainy image of a boiled egg being fed to someone, leaving room for cryptic metaphors regarding the film. Special edition vinyl pressings and elaborate pop-up installations have further fuelled the sense of event around the release.

For pop and film music alike, ‘Wuthering Heights’ proves that a soundtrack can function as a daring, self-contained album that works both in tandem and isolation with the film. For Charli XCX, it cements her status as one of the decade’s defining pop innovators, capable of turning historical pieces of literature into something raw, electric and defiantly alive.

Charli XCX has been one of the biggest names in British music for the last few years, but she’s cast her eye on the silver screen in 2026. Today she revealed the full track listing for her soundtrack to the new ‘Wuthering Heights’ film, releasing in February.

The film is the latest of many adaptations of Emily Brontë’s 1847 romantic tragedy novel of the same name. Directed by English moviemaker Emerald Fennell, the film stars Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi as its leading couple, and with a budget of $80 million and the legacy of such a famous story, it has a lot to live up to.

Director Emerald Fennell reached out to Charli XCX in December 2024, initially proposing that Charli could write just the one song for the score. At the time, she was experiencing severe burnout from the fame and touring that came with 2024 album ‘Brat’. The project was so popular that it caused a major cultural event, with “Brat summer” even having its own Wikipedia entry.

However, in her official Substack blog, she explains how she was drawn into the project and committed to creating the full soundtrack. “I called Emerald and asked her what she was hoping for from my read of the script. She coyly suggested “A song?” and I suggested “An album?”” She wrote a majority of the score with frequent collaborator Finn Keane, who has contributed to several of her albums and biggest chart hits.

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She unveiled the full track list for ‘Wuthering Heights’ in a post on Instagram yesterday, following the movie’s premiere in Los Angeles. Previously three singles have been released in promotional material, beginning with the November 2025 drop of ‘House’, featuring vocals by former Velvet Underground member John Cale, and second single ‘Chains Of Love’. This was followed by the surprise release of ‘Wall Of Sound’ on the 16th of January 2026.

The full 12 track listing for ‘Wuthering Heights’ looks like this:

1. ‘House’ ft. John Cale
2. ‘Wall of Sound’
3. ‘Dying for You’
4. ‘Always Everywhere’
5. ‘Chains of Love’
6. ‘Out of Myself’
7. ‘Open Up’
8. ‘Seeing Things’
9. ‘Altars’
10. ‘Eyes of the World’ ft. Sky Ferreira
11. ‘My Reminder’
12. ‘Funny Mouth’

Charli XCX is keeping herself especially busy of late, and she’s also involved in another film – her own. ‘The Moment’ is her personal mockumentary-slash-biopic, telling an original story written by her and starring her as lead actress. It explores a fictional version of the steps before her world tour following ‘Brat’’s release, and what could have happened if the stars hadn’t aligned as they did. ‘The Moment’ launches in select theatres and cinemas on the 30th of January, before a wider launch on the 6th of February.

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As of this week, Charli’s focus on social media is split between both projects following their premieres. ‘Wuthering Heights’ is on course to be a big success, with its Valentine’s Day-oriented release on the 13th of February and a large advertisement campaign. The official soundtrack releases on the same day, with preorders available now from Charli XCX’s website.

In a new trailer for the film, Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi portray the two main characters, reimagining Emily Brontë’s classic film, with the scenes set against Charli’s song.

Charli confirmed on X that ‘Everything Is Romantic’ is one of several original songs she created for the film.

She told fans, “new original songs by me for Emerald Fennell’s “Wuthering Heights” starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi. in theatres february 14th. happy early valentines <3.”

new original songs by me for Emerald Fennell’s “Wuthering Heights” starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi. in theatres february 14th. happy early valentines <3 pic.twitter.com/e716t8qRJh

— Charli (@charli_xcx) September 3, 2025

She first broke into music by co-writing Icona Pop’s global hit ‘I Love It’ and later appearing on Iggy Azalea’s ‘Fancy’. Her song ‘Boom Clap’, released in 2014, then gained major popularity.

Her album in 2022, ‘Crash‘ brought her to the top of the UK charts,

‘Brat‘ released last year, sparked the viral “brat summer” trend. ‘Brat’ ended being described as “not just an album. It’s a state of mind. It’s a lifestyle.” with it reaching number 1 in the UK charts.

Alongside music, she has also moved into acting, with recent roles in Erupcja, and 100 Nights of Hero. 

With Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights, Charli continues to expand her influence into films through acting and music.

The reaction to the new adaptation has sparked conversations on social media with people saying,”what part of the wuthering heights movie requires a charli xcx song.”

Further reactions have been, “don’t get me wrong I LOVE when period pieces add modern twists with sound and music (dickinson for example) but having charli xcx over the wuthering heights trailer just feels so out of touch.” 

The adaptation is set is be in cinemas on Valentine’s day, February 14 next year.

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The flag was very obviously inspired by The 1975’s drummer’s fiancée and cultural phenomenon Charli XCX and her acclaimed album ‘Brat’ which came out in June 2024.

Denise has now put the Brat flag, which comes with the bra still, up for auction to raise money for Children North East, a charity which provides mental health support for children, helps support families in crisis, youth services and safe spaces, as well as support groups.

A total of 13 people have placed a bid for the item which now has a price going up to £685. The auction will end on Monday August 11 and will see Denise personally present the flag to the winner.

She took to Instagram to say: “So at Glastonbury in June, @charli_xcx showed me a photo and said, ‘Have you seen the Denise Welch Brat flag!! It became quite a story and featured on lots of the coverage of the festival especially @loosewomen of course!!! We’re now auctioning the flag (and bra) to raise money for the amazing @children_ne who do so much for children living in poverty in the north east of England. It would be so kind of you would bid for the flag and whoever wins I’ll present it to them personally! (sic)”

You can place a bid for the Denise Welch brat flag at the link below: https://www.jumblebee.co.uk/denisewelch#buzz_expend_318859.

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The singer was wearing a  Vivienne Westwood mini dress with a traditional veil, Jimmy Choo heels, and her infamous sunnies. Photos and videos were quick to surface on social media on Saturday with captions such as “Mrs and Mr XCX”. The couple plan to have a bigger ceremony in Sicily, Italy where they first met. The Sun reported last month: “Charli and George fell in love with Sicily and knew they wanted to get married there. There will be no expense spared.”

After her collaboration on No Rome’s song ‘Spinning’ in 2021, Charli and Daniel started dating in 2022 and announced their engagement in November 2023 whilst working on ‘Brat’ whit his collaboration. In a 2024 interview with Rolling Stones UK, Charli opened up about their relationship saying: “We want to impress each other, and we think we’re both really good, but I’m actually such a b**ch in the studio with George. Because we’re obviously so close, you lose everything in terms of the normal studio boundaries.”

The pop singer shared a couple of TikToks from the party, one seeing her pretending to be annoyed and walking away, captioned: “When George isn’t crying when he sees me walking down the aisle.” But “Luckily he did xx” was the accompanying sentence. A later video, included shots of Daniel wearing his now-wife’s veil, surrounded by friends and captioned “bridal party energy”, by XCX.

The couple’s wedings rings have both been individualy valued as £10k and £15k, with matching wedding bands for both musicians. Laura Taylor from Lorel Diomands told MailOnline: “Charli’s wedding band is where she’s really made it her own. Rather than going for a traditional band to sit next to the solitaire, or even an eternity band like we’re seeing with other celebrities, she’s chosen something much bolder.”

The British power couple both performed at Glastonbury at the begining of the summer, Charli being a headliner as well as The 1975. The Guardian reviewer Shaad D’Souza gave Charli’s performance five stars and wrote: “Despite being a prodigiously talented mainstream songwriter, she has dedicated her career to exploring the most caustic, hallucinatory sounds of the underground, and working out how best to synthesise them with the pleasures of pure pop music.”

The 1975’s performance, was also received with acclaims from The Guardian’s Alexis Petridis, referring to the set as “bold, experimental, occasionally confounding, but ultimately hugely impressive”.

Charli refers to her partner, now husband, on stage and in song. “I wanna dance with George,” she sings on song ‘Club Classics’, a song co-produced by Daniel who also co-wrote the song ‘Apple’.

During her set, the backdrop shared a message hinting that even after a successful year with ‘Brat’, this era is not over. Her message told the fans, “So tell me the truth, will you hate me if I stick around??? Because honestly, I don’t know who I am if it’s over. And so… I’ve decided I want this to last forever. It wasn’t just a summer thing.” Charli continues to hint at more music coming through a billboard, found in Brooklyn, New York, and London, UK, to celebrate her one year of ‘Brat’ saying “forever <3”  

365 days of brat <3 pic.twitter.com/C6UwOVIf0y

— Charli (@charli_xcx) June 7, 2025

Charli surprised fans with a second performance on Sunday, June 8th, as a guest alongside French musical duo, Air. Air’s duo, Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel, from Versailles, France, had a career spanning over eight albums, breaking up in 2014, to then reviving the band in 2023 in celebration of 25 years of their debut album ‘Moon Safari’, released back in 1998.  Air’s We Love Green setlist included songs ‘All I Need’, ‘Remember’, ‘Highschool Lover’, as well as the popular hit ‘Sexy Boy’. Air brought out Charli XCX, shocking fans as they performed their song ‘Cherry Blossom Girl’, from the 2004 album ‘Talkie Walkie’, together. 

 

 

 

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Back in December, when Spotify Wrapped stats were released, Charli shared that Air had been her second most listened to artist of 2024. She also re-shared a video of her performance with Air, expressing that it was a “dream come true <3″. 

dreams come true <3 https://t.co/BSwwXlq4im

— Charli (@charli_xcx) June 8, 2025

Charli XCX is set to perform in the UK in London and Manchester, as well as Dublin and Belfast in Ireland, this coming week. Tickets can be found here. 

Air is currently on a world tour in Europe this summer, with their Dublin, Ireland show coming up on June 17th. The band will also head to North America in the fall to continue the tour. Tickets can be booked here.   

Charli XCX picked up the prize for the Ivor Novello ‘Songwriter of the Year’. In her down-to-earth, humorous manner, she demonstrated her “songwriting genius” by quoting the lyrics for her song ‘Club Classics: “I wanna dance to me, me, me / When I go to the club, club, club.”

She joked, “I’m sure you all agree, I am hardly Bob Dylan. But one thing I certainly do is commit to the bit.”

Charli’s win adds another notch under her belt, after an incredible year of critical acclaim and new heights of fame following ‘Brat‘. As well as her new Ivor, she won big at the Brits earlier this year, taking home five awards, as well as three at the Grammys.

Lola Young managed to claim the ‘Rising Star’ award, after the success of her breakthrough single ‘Messy’, which spent four weeks at No. 1 on the UK charts. She’s since performed and been nominated at the Brits, played at Coachella, and is set to take to the stage at Glastonbury later this summer.

After winning the award, she told the BBC: “This is such a big moment for the kid in my bedroom that was 10 years old, writing songs on her guitar. To be here now is such an honour, and such a gives me such a warm feeling.”

Rapper/producer/songwriter Berwyn also saw victory last night, grabbing the award for ‘Best Album’, with his debut release, ‘Who Am I’. The judges praised the record and its “vivid storytelling that transcends generations, race and social differences, offering a voice to those often unseen by society”.

This year’s awards saw 22 songwriters and composers collecting prizes in 14 categories. While 70% of the winners this year were first-timers, it wasn’t only new talent that was being celebrated. Rock heroes U2 became the first Irish band to win the ‘Fellowship of the Ivor Novello Songwriting Academy’.

U2 performed tonight at the Ivor Novello awards, seen here performing an”Angel of Harlem”, we’ll have a more complete report later. And yes, that’s Larry Mullen performing with them on stage.

Video clip here via Universal: https://t.co/RaNzIfRTeg #U2 pic.twitter.com/IsurzO39VH

— U2Songs.com (@u2songs) May 22, 2025

Accepting the academy fellowship, Bono spoke on the strength and power that music can have: “Songs can be arrows through time if they come from the right place,” he said.

“They can fly higher and farther, last longer, hit harder. They can pierce the hardest armour of the human heart.

“I don’t know if they can change the world, but they changed us.”

As the band played an acoustic version of their political anthem, ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’, Bono asked for peace in the on-going Israel-Gaza conflict. The singer said: “Hamas release the hostages. Stop the war. Israel be released from Benjamin Netanyahu.

“All of you protect our aid workers, they are the best of us.”

Robbie Williams was also given the ‘PRS For Music Icon’ award. The British pop legend has recently released a single called ‘Rocket’ from his upcoming record, ‘Britpop‘. Honouring a career going back to his beginnings with boyband Take That in the 90’s, to his high-selling solo hits like ‘Angels’, ‘Rock DJ’ and ‘Feel’, he tried to describe the feeling of taking the ‘icon’ title with him.

“When momentous things like this happen, it’s just a hodge-podge of things coming at you from the universe,” he said backstage.

“It’s self-doubt and self-hatred mixed with ego and delusion and audacity.

“So it’s very difficult to put your finger on what it feels like in the moment, other than you’re supposed to say, ‘I’m very grateful’. And I am.”

You can find the full Ivor Novello awards winners list below.

Songwriter of the year

Charli XCX

Academy Fellowship

U2

Music icon award

Robbie Williams

Best album

Berwyn – Who Am I

Best contemporary song

Sans Soucis – Circumnavigating Georgia

Best song musically and lyrically

Orla Gartland – Mine

Most performed work

Myles Smith – Stargazing

Rising star

Lola Young

Best original film score

The Substance – Raffertie

Best original video game score

Farewell North – John Konsolakis

Best television soundtrack

True Detective: Night Country – Vince Pope

Outstanding song collection

Bloc Party

Special international

Brandon Flowers

Visionary award

Self Esteem

The singer dominated the charts during 2024 and has admitted on multiple occasions that she would love to extend the hype of her acclaimed album although stating she knows everything has a “lifespan”.

Charli xcx ponders the lifespan of the ‘BRAT’ music era in new video:

“When you get to a level of success you can become oversaturated and people want you to disappear…but I’m also interested in the tension of staying too long.” pic.twitter.com/YLRb6Q1Ads

— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) April 27, 2025

The British artist made crowds go crazy during her two weekends Coachella sets and left fans pondering “maybe it’s time for a different kind of summer?” whilst the screens flashed different artists names set to release music over the upcoming summer.

Taking to her TikTok account, after a week of reflection, she said: “Yesterday I made this TikTok about, ‘Summer again?’ And I was kind of joking but also maybe serious… it got me thinking about it is really hard to let go of ‘Brat,’ and let go of this thing that is so inherently me, and become my entire life”.

Reflecting on the different cultural shifts in music, the singer has been questioning whether it’s best to disappear on the highs of her album or to keep it going for as long as possible.

“You know? I started thinking about culture and the ebbs and flows of the lifespan of things. Then, how when you get a level of success, you can become oversaturated and then people want you to disappear – which I understand, and I am sort of a believer in that,” she explained. “I think it allows artists to retain their cool when they are so in everyone’s faces, then they vanish. But I am also interested in the tension of staying too long. I find that quite fascinating in what that does.”

The singer delivered one of the most talked about set/performance during Coachella, bringing to the stage friends and collaborators such as Lorde, Billie Eilish, Troye Sivan and Addison Rae, leaving the crowd going wild and asking for more.