After Taylor Swift praised Charli XCX in an interview, fans are speculating about a possible collaboration between the two.
But no “bad blood” between Taylor Swift (34) and Charli XCX (32)? Fans have been speculating for some time about a dispute between the two pop singers, further sparked by Charli XCX’s song “Sympathy Is a Knife”. Swift now apparently wants to put these rumors to rest – and in doing so has sparked new fan theories about a possible upcoming collaboration between the two pop stars.
In a profile of Charli XCX, Swift said she has been “blown away by Charli’s melodic sensibility” since she first heard her music in 2011. “Her lyrics are surreal and inventive, always. She takes a song to places you wouldn’t expect it to go, and she’s been doing that for over a decade. I love seeing hard work like this pay off.” A statement that fans of both singers see as a clear sign – or “Easter egg” – of a possible collaboration between Swift and Charli XCX.
The alleged dispute between Taylor Swift and Charli XCX
It wouldn’t be the first time that the two have worked together: In 2018, Charli XCX accompanied Taylor Swift as a pre-act on her “Reputation” world tour. However, the Brit subsequently angered the Swiftie community when she said in an interview that she felt like she was “performing for five-year-olds” on stage.
The rumors of a falling out between the two were further fueled in June 2024 with the release of Charli XCX’s album “Brat.” Fans quickly suspected that the Brit wrote the song “Sympathy Is a Knife” about her relationship with Swift. In it, she sings about the insecurity she feels in the presence of another artist: “I couldn’t even be her if I tried.”
Fans also suspect that Charli XCX could be alluding to Swift’s relationship with The 1975 frontman Matty Healy (35) with the line “I don’t want to see her backstage at my boyfriend’s show. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that they break up soon.” Swift was in a relationship with the singer in spring 2023, while Charli accompanied her fiancé, The 1975 drummer George Daniel (34), and the band on tour.
However, Charli XCX released a statement in advance of “Brat” in which she said that there were “no diss tracks” on the album. “It’s so complicated being a female artist. You’re pitted against your peers, but at the same time you’re expected to be friends with every single person all the time. If you’re not, you’re seen as a bad feminist.”
Speaking to “Vulture,” the Briton says: “People think what they want to think. The song is about me and my feelings and my fear and the way my brain creates narratives and stories in my head when I feel insecure and how I don’t want to be in those situations when I feel self-doubt.”
The alleged dispute continued in the charts. When Charli XCX’s album “Brat” was close to becoming number one in the UK charts in June, Taylor Swift released a surprising new version of her album “The Tortured Poets Department” and climbed to the top instead. A clear affront to fans of Charli XCX.
Fans speculate about collaboration between Taylor Swift and Charli XCX
Taylor Swift’s new statements and the portrait of Charli XCX are now sparking a stir. Swifties and Angels (Charli XCX’s nickname for her fans) suspect that the two singers could release a joint remix of “Sympathy Is a Knife”. Charli had already hinted in the past that after “Girl, so confusing” with Lorde (27) and “Guess” with Billie Eilish (22), another remix for the album is pending.
In the “Vulture” profile, Charli XCX now reveals that she started writing a remix for the song a few weeks ago. It is about “the fact that you have to fall. If you want to be at the top in any way, you have to fall.”
Fans also see the photo shoot with photographer David LaChapelle that goes with the portrait as a hint of a future collaboration with Swift. In the photos that Charli XCX takes, among other things, or of her being taken away by an ambulance, “friendship bracelets” can be seen again and again, which have become a symbol for Swift and her “Eras Tour” in recent months.
Since the original release of “Brat” in June, Charli XCX has already released several remixes of the songs. In “Girl, so confusing” with Lorde, the two singers also processed an alleged long-standing feud.
Source: Stern
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
