Charli XCX sat down at Hollywood Forever cemetery, where roughly 95,000 graves rest among weeping willows and towering mausoleums, to discuss her new era. The 33-year-old British pop star chose the setting deliberately—nothing predictable about her.
Draped in a custom all-denim Levi's set and her signature black wraparound sunglasses, she was direct and unguarded. "We're probably possessed now," she joked, surveying the Garden of Legends with casual ease. The atmosphere was moody, overcast, unmistakably Charli.
Four days before the interview, she released "Rock Music," the lead single from her July 24 album Music, Fashion, Film. The internet reacted sharply. After her 2024 dance-pop album Brat made her a cultural phenomenon, fans encountered Auto-Tuned vocals over distorted guitars and a declaration that "the dance floor is dead."
Some fans embraced the shift; others accused her of trolling. "Very funny prank, Charli," one fan posted. "Now where is the actual lead single?" Courtney Love called her a troll admiringly. Madonna offered criticism about playing the "wrong" music for a dead dance floor.
Charli has no interest in repeating herself. The interview reveals her grappling with the mental toll of being a cultural phenomenon—her refusal to rest on Brat's success, her mental health struggles, and her determination to stay unpredictable.
She also spent time watching the ducks that wander the cemetery grounds. "I love the sound they make. So cute!" she said. Even discussing artistic reinvention in a graveyard, she notices small things.
