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Charli XCX Publishes Candid Essay on the Realities of Pop Stardom

She challenges the idea that fame requires moral leadership.

Overview

  • In a new Substack post, Charli XCX outlines the pleasures of success, citing parties, travel, gifts, and even hearing unreleased tracks from peers.
  • She writes that pop stardom can feel embarrassing around longtime friends and family as lifestyle gaps widen with success.
  • Charli recounts asking Yung Lean if she has changed, sharing his view that she hasn't, though she is surrounded by some yes‑people.
  • She rejects role‑model expectations for artists, embracing hedonism and fantasy in art, and links some backlash against women to patriarchal attitudes.
  • Coverage situates the essay in her current momentum after BRAT’s 2024 breakthrough and notes she is composing Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights soundtrack, slated for February 13, 2026.