Navigating massive success brought new choices, but Charli chose not to replicate past successes. “When BRAT kind of became what it became, I knew I had this sort of crossroads situation,” Charli xcx stated. “I could have doubled down and done it again. Or I could have used the sort of platform that I had… to go on and work in a slightly different way and collaborate with different people in different spheres. Musically, I’m OK with that because this is my life and I have to do what makes me happy and inspired.”
Looking back at her career trajectory, she noted that achieving mainstream visibility without altering her artistic vision came as a revelation. “I had a hard time sort of imagining a world where I could get all of the things I wanted with little compromise,” Charli xcx revealed. “I didn’t compromise the music at all to kind of try and make it more appealing. I didn’t compromise anything… I haven’t really sacrificed any of my personality or myself to be in this position.”
That refusal to compromise extends to her approach to writing hit records. “I’m not like a sort of pop off on the charts, like hit artist,” Charli xcx admitted during the broadcast. “That’s just, that’s not my sort of direction when I make music… If it happens, awesome. I’m never gonna say no to that but that’s not sort of what I’m like aiming for.”
