If you’re anything like me, Charli XCX and Chappell Roan have had your Spotify “On Repeat” playlist in a chokehold since the beginning of the summer. But what if I told you that the two pop heavyweights might just be working on a collab?
Admittedly, we don’t have official confirmation that this is the case just yet. But some fans are convinced that Charli and Chappell are dropping hints about working together on social media, and the evidence is convincing. After Charli shared a recent photo of herself in a recording booth, Chappell posted a selfie in which she posed with a brat CD in a Target check-out aisle (relatable).
X content
This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.
Then there’s Charli’s recent TikTok presence. On July 22, the “von dutch” singer shared a video set to a fan-made mash-up of her song “365” and Chappell’s “Feminonomenon.” Yesterday, she teased new music by sharing a slideshow of images parroting outlets like Pitchfork and Dazed’s proclamations that “brat summer is over.”
“Oh? See you next week :),” she captioned the TikTok.
TikTok content
This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.
Granted, “brat summer” has consumed the queer internet for months, and past “it’s so over” projections have all been proved wrong. But the timing of this new release has led to plenty of giddy fan speculation.
“It’s Chappell roan x charli xcx collab 💚,” one TikToker commented on Charli’s July 25 video. “Mark my words.”
“Charli-Chappell collab when,” another fan wrote.
Of course, this isn’t the first time that Charli has collaborated with another beloved pop artist on a brat track — who could forget where they were when she and Lorde worked it out on the “girl, so confusing” remix?
And if this track comes to pass, it would mark the first time that Chappell has collaborated with another artist since shooting into the mainstream pop stratosphere earlier this year. And personally, I think it’s high time that we see Charli and Chappell’s talents combined somewhere that’s not Kamala Harris’ TikTok page.
I could foresee a Chappell “everything is romantic,” remix — because, really, who’s better-equipped to see the beauty in everyday things than a musician who waxes poetic about Papa John’s? Alternatively, Chappell’s famous Coachella declaration that she’s “your dream girl’s dream girl” makes her feel like a natural fit for “von dutch,” in which Charli proclaims, “I’m your number one.”
Whatever ends up happening, the potential is undeniable. Blending Charli’s brash, yet vulnerable hyperpop stylings with Chappell’s campy maximalism? That’s a possible gay club classic in the making.
Get the best of what’s queer. Sign up for Them’s weekly newsletter here.
