Charli XCX ‘s new album Music, Fashion, Film took her “by surprise” because she was planning to take a break from music when inspiration struck.
The 33-year-old pop star has revealed she wanted to step away from recording after releasing her record Brat in 2024 and working on the soundtrack to 2026 film Wuthering Heights, but she plunged back into the process once again after an idea “bubbled to the surface” and she couldn’t let it go.
During an appearance on the Pop Pod podcast, she explained: ‘After Brat and Wuthering heights, I really felt like I would not make music for a minute, that I would have some sort of creative pause …
“Especially mid-way through Wuthering Heights I was kind of like: ‘I wonder what I have to say … that’s left within me’.
“The one day inspiration struck and hit me. And I’m a big believer in the idea that once you get that gift of inspiration, you kind of have to go with it because you never know how long it will last, whether you will ever get it again.
“So I really feel like when that happens, it almost like bubbled to the surface and I have to just get it out. So that’s what happened with this. “
She added: “It totally took me by surprise. I really was not thinking I would be making a record. But then one day I just had this thought and this idea that began, these initial seeds of Music, Fashion, Film and I just had to go with it.”
Music, Fashion, Film is due for release on July 24 while Charli is also due to headline the 2026 Reading and Leeds Festivals next month and play a number of dates in the US.
However, in the interview, Charli admitted she’s planning to change her approach to touring in the future because she’s keen to protect her health.
She explained: “When I think about touring this record, I think I should take a different approach. I’m getting older, I’ve got to look after myself.
“But we’ll see – who knows where I’ll end up on that front. Sometimes I just can’t stop myself.”