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Daily Mirror
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Charli XCX feud with Taylor Swift and savage song swipe ahead of Glasto set
Charli XCX's journey to pop-stardom has come with its fair share of headline-grabbing moments, including a much speculated feud with another mega pop icon with an unprecedented fanbase Pop star Charli XCX is all set to headline the Other Stage on Saturday, June 28, at this year's Glastonbury Festival. Emily Eavis, co-organiser of the annual music festival, recently revealed that in 2025, her team has created more room for audiences at the Other Stage, — which happens to be the iconic music extravaganza's second-biggest arena, and also where Charli XCX is performing her headlining set. Charli XCX's journey to pop-stardom has come with its fair share of headline-grabbing moments, including a much speculated feud with another mega pop icon with an unprecedented fanbase — Taylor Swift. For several years now, the world of music has been abuzz with whispers of an impassioned feud between Charli and Taylor — and the former's soft jabs and subtle hints over the years have only fanned the flames of the seemingly inextinguishable fire. Once close friends, the pair's friendship reportedly turned sour and it seems there may be no love lost between the two chart-toppers. So why does the world think the two musicians are at loggerheads? Let's take a closer look at their alleged feud. Charli XCX's comments after touring with Taylor Swift in 2018 After touring with Taylor in 2018, Charli seemingly threw shade at Swifties — Taylor's ultra-dedicated fanbase — adding fuel to the fire of their speculated clash. Charli XCX had joined Taylor Swift on her Reputation tour as an opening act. Despite the opportunity to perform in front of thousands, she expressed dissatisfaction with the fanbase. Speaking to Pitchfork after the tour, Charli said: "As an artist, it kind of felt like I was getting up onstage and waving to five-year-olds." She did however say she was "really grateful" for the opportunity and later clarified that her comments had been blown out of proportion. Following backlash online, Charli took to Twitter /X to explain herself. She wrote: "I say in the article and have said many times before, I am extremely grateful to Taylor for inviting me to open for her. She's one of the biggest artists of my generation and the Reputation tour was one of the biggest tours in history." She further clarified that her comment referred to the timing of her performance, as she was used to performing at a later slot. "Leading up to that tour I'd been playing a (ton) of 18+ club shows, and so to be onstage in front of all ages was new to me and made me approach my performances with a whole new kind of energy," she added. Charli's statement before the release of her album Brat Before the eagerly anticipated release of Charli's chart-topping album BRAT on June 7, 2024, the singer took to TikTok and shared a 'brat PSA' in which she warned her fans not to read too deeply into any of the lyrics and take out hidden meanings. Apart from her single Von Dutch which was released in February that same year, Charli clarified in her TikTok video PSA: 'The other tracks in question aren't diss tracks. They're really just about how it's so complicated being an artist, especially a female artist, where you are pitted against your peers and also expected to be best friends with every single person constantly, when if you're not, you're deemed a bad feminist.' But even with the warning, Charli's sixth studio album seemed to fan the flames of the dispute, with one song in particular, titled Sympathy Is A Knife, sparking speculation among fans with its lyrics: 'Don't wanna see her backstage at my boyfriend's show, Fingers crossed behind my back, I hope they break up quick.' Many believed the third track on her album to be a dig at Taylor's past relationship with Matty Healy — the frontman of The 1975 — who happens to be bandmates with Charli's fiancé George Daniel. In an interview with Vulture, Charli explained: 'People are gonna think what they want to think. That song is about me and my feelings and my anxiety 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 physically when I feel self-doubt.' Charli retweets Taylor After Taylor Swift tweeted a positive review of her latest album The Tortured Poets Department, Charli quote-tweeted the pop star on her X (previously Twitter) profile and wrote: 'everyone's hype for the sweat tour!', seemingly in an effort to put the feud rumours to rest. Matty Healy in the middle After Taylor Swift and Matty Healy's publicised breakup, The 1975 singer went on to date model and musician Gabbriette Bechtel, who also happens to be the former bandmate and close friend of Charli XCX. Just days after Charli's Brat album release, the pop star shared a picture on social media of what looked like Matty's black diamond engagement ring for Gabbriette with the caption 'MARRYING THE 1975 IS VERY BRAT'. Matty and Gabbriette went on to confirm their engagement and the public post was taken as a sign of Charli choosing sides, especially after those lyrics. Charli asks fans to stop the anti-Taylor chants at her shows In June 2024, Charli came out with a strong statement in support of Taylor, after videos of some of her Brazilian fans chanting 'Death to Taylor' in Portuguese began circulating after her São Paulo show. Taking to Instagram stories, the singer wrote: 'Can the people who do this please stop. Online or at my shows. It is the opposite of what I want and it disturbs me that anyone would think there is room for this in this community.' Taylor Swift praises Charli XCX In an August 2024 New York Magazine profile of the Brat pop star, Taylor showered high praise on her ex touring mate and said: 'I've been blown away by Charli's melodic sensibilities since I first heard 'Stay Away' in 2011. Her writing is surreal and inventive, always. She just takes a song to places you wouldn't expect it to go, and she's been doing it consistently for over a decade. I love to see hard work like that pay off.' Remix of Sympathy Is a Knife In the same Vulture profile, Charli XCX shared that she's toying with the idea of releasing a remix of the popular track from her album, sharing: 'I wrote this three or four weeks ago, about this idea of, like, you have to fall–if you're deemed to be even in the slightest way on top, you have to fall. I'm not a f—ing idiot. I know how shit works.' Even though both stars have continuously denied the rumours of a feud in their own ways over the years, some fans remain sceptical.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Benson Boone reviews are in: Critics flip off ‘American Heart'
Benson Boone scored one of 2024's most undeniable hits with "Beautiful Things," but 2025 brings the backflipping belter's sophomore album, American Heart. And to say that critics are not head over heels for the record would be putting it lightly. Currently sitting at a 43 on Metacritic, American Heart is being knocked as lacking specificity or the kind of edge present in Boone's many apparent influences. More from GoldDerby Why Simone Ashley is walking the 'F1' carpet - even though she was cut from the Brad Pitt movie The Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt 'Interview With the Vampire' feud rumors, explained Mel Brooks loves 'Hidden Figures'?! Julianne Moore's a 'Superbad' fan?! Stars reveal their most surprising NYT movie picks "So I don't fault the wholesome pop star son of Mormon parents for not writing songs about the rot at the heart of America, or for not biting the heads off bats on stage," Pitchfork's Jeremy D. Larson writes. "But it's really hard to consider a teetotaling showman with a voice straight out of The Voice and not think: What makes any of this actually special? Sure, he can sing, but there's very little flair, camp, sass, or insouciance to his voice to give it dimension and character. Boone's words come out in one impressively earnest register, like his forefather Ed Sheeran, and the long line of buskers before him. There's nothing here that says Boone is ready to enter the pantheon of the real showmen, no more than the thousands of other guys singing, dancing, and backflipping for you on Instagram Reels." "But Boone's musical and visual allusions to the songs and stage demeanor of Neon Trees' Tyler Glenn, [Shawn] Mendes, [Sam] Smith, and [Harry] Styles, and older inspirations like Freddie Mercury, David Bowie, and Elton John never gets as combative, as up against sociopolitical odds, as the assumed or implicit queerness in their music and fashion," write Vulture's Craig Jenkins. "His art is currently most arresting as a feat of athleticism; there's little consternation in its vision of Americana, though the flag-draped cover art and synth-y heartland rock bits seek unsubtle Springsteen-ness." And even by the standard of his own output, namely "Beautiful Things," Boone's second album after 2024's Fireworks & Rollerblades apparently comes as a letdown. "Despite the Freddie Mercury-referencing deep-V jumpsuits he's wearing these days, his latest deflates under the weight of all its glam-pop and '70s and '80s pastiche," Rolling Stone's Brittany Spanos writes. "At times swaggerless and too pristine in his attempts to corner the market of retro-pop stardom, Boone loses the youthful edge of his debut and the rawness that made his biggest hit soar so high. On American Heart, songs like 'Man in Me' and 'Mystical Magical' are the worst offenders of his retromania, the latter too cloying and unconvincing in its whimsy." Boone has been outspoken about his detractors, who he sees as disliking him without a valid reason. But even if his brand of pop was never meant to land with critics, some take issue with American Heart when considered alongside its contemporaries. "So it's no fun to report that American Heart, his second album, is mostly not very much fun," writes Variety's Chris Willman. "There are scattered attempts to bring in some of the cheekiness and cockiness that is a part of his performing image. But mostly it seems that, as a recording artist, anyway, Boone really does want to remain in the realm of the Teddy Swims-es or even Alex Warrens of the world, with material that is mawkish before it's at all rock-ish, or raucous. His chops are unassailable, and that goes more than a little way toward elevating earthbound material. He's got what it takes to be ready, Freddie, but for the most part here, we're talking about a bohemian naps-ody." By the same token, every critique lobbed by critics could be exactly what Boone was going for. In which case, American Heart undoubtedly succeeds. "It would be easy to say he's landed on his face, but it's not even that: the boy wonder's stuck the landing he was aiming for," NME's Jordan Bassett writes. "This is bombastic, overproduced pop-rock with an attention-seeking, theatrical bent and broad brushstroke lyrics everyone can relate to. Boone summer 2025 looms on the horizon. Take cover." Best of GoldDerby Billboard 200: Chart-topping albums of 2025 Billboard Hot 100: Every No. 1 song of 2025 The B-52s' Kate Pierson talks Rock Hall snub, influencing John Lennon, and fears a solo album would be a 'betrayal' to her band Click here to read the full article.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The Beths Announce New Album, Share Video for New Song: Watch
All products featured on Pitchfork are independently selected by Pitchfork editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, Condé Nast may earn an affiliate commission. The Beths, photo by Frances Carter New Zealand indie-rockers the Beths have announced their first new album in three years. Straight Line Was a Lie is out August 29 via Anti-, marking their debut on the label. The band has also shared the new song 'No Joy,' which singer Elizabeth Stokes wrote when trying to process the newfound benefits and struggles of taking an SSRI for her health. Watch the 'No Joy' video below. '['No Joy'] is about anhedonia, which, paradoxically, was there both in the worst parts of depression, and then also when I was feeling pretty numb on my SSRI,' Stokes explained. 'It wasn't that I was sad, I was feeling pretty good. It was just that I didn't like the things that I liked. I wasn't getting joy from them. It's very literal.' Straight Line Was a Lie was written in Los Angeles and recorded in the Beths' hometown of Auckland, New Zealand. The follow-up to their 2022 full-length, Expert in a Dying Field, gets its album title from the illusion of linear progression and how, according to Stokes, life is about finding meaning in the maintenance. As previously announced, the Beths are going on a huge headlining tour later this year, with dates scheduled across the United Kingdom, Europe, Canada, and the United States. Joining them as openers on select concerts are Illuminati Hotties, Squirrel Flower, Bret McKenzie, Phoebe Rings, and Dateline. Read about Expert in a Dying Field at No. 47 in 'The 50 Best Albums of 2022.' $27.00, Rough Trade Straight Line Was a Lie: 01 Straight Line Was a Lie 02 Mosquitoes 03 No Joy 04 Metal 05 Mother, Pray for Me 06 Til My Heart Stops 07 Take 08 Roundabout 09 Ark of the Covenant 10 Best Laid Plans Originally Appeared on Pitchfork
Elle
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Elle
Why Lorde's 'Solar Power' Is Severely Underrated
A few summers ago, my dear friend Nia and I were playing frisbee in Brooklyn's Prospect Park. Other friends were under a tree a few feet away, sprawled across some blankets and noshing on a spread of potluck dishes. They played cards, gossiped about some mutual friends, and jammed out to my highly curated playlist called 'Pristine Park Picnic.' When a light sunburn started to appear on my upsettingly pale skin, Nia and I sought refuge in the shade. As we approached the group, Lorde's 'The Path' began playing through the speaker. On that day, at 25 years of age and sun-soaked with my friends, I realized: I had found a sliver of happiness. I was living in the city I loved with people I loved, and found a spot of nature amid the bustle of New York. It was a rare perfect moment. For me, that memory is frozen in time. After the brutal New York winter (full of boy drama), the sunshine made it all worth it. 'Let's hope the sun will show us the path,' a then-23-year-old Lorde sang on the track, hoping for some clarity during the first glimpses of true adulthood. Solar Power, Lorde's third studio album, marked a departure for the singer. Previously known for her synth beats—as seen on her breakout album Pure Heroine and smash record Melodrama—this 2021 record introduced a vibe switch that became incredibly divisive among fans. It felt too acoustic, too hippie-dippy, too marijuana-infused. Even though critics applauded the album, they also likened it to 'a strange little paperbound spiritual text at a hippie bookshop' (Pitchfork) and claimed it 'stops just short of offering a full, varied range of expressions' (The New York Times). Later, in a newsletter she sent in 2022, Lorde said, 'It took people a while to get the album—I still get emails every day from people who are just coming around to it now!—and that response was really confounding and at times painful to sit with at first.' Even today, some die-hard Lorde fans still see the album as a stain on her discography. It earned no Grammy nominations, little praise, and a quiet No. 5 peak spot on the Billboard 200. So when she began to tease her latest album Virgin four years later, fans begged for a return to her synth-heavy style. However, looking back, I personally see Solar Power as a moment of light. On the album, Lorde works through some of the most profound moments of your mid-twenties. Many are just leaving college or home for the first time. They don't know who to trust, what to do with their life and career, or how to find joy and happiness. With Solar Power, you can feel Lorde facing this reality head-on. She's dealing with the existential threat of the environment falling apart and the inaction from leaders in power ('Fallen Fruit'); she's grappling with aging and wondering when she'll be out of touch with mainstream culture ('Stoned at the Nail Salon'); and she's also struggling with a major loss, in this case, her dog, Pearl ('Big Star'). Lorde talks about diet and wellness culture in 'Mood Ring,' and has since admitted she was dealing with an eating disorder while creating and promoting the album, which adds even more depth to the song. She also swims in nostalgia throughout the record, especially on the standout track 'Secrets from a Girl (Who's Seen It All).' Reflecting on a cursed relationship, Lorde essentially revisits her hit track, 'Ribs.' 'Couldn't wait to turn 15 / Then you blink and it's been 10 years / Growing up a little at a time then all at once / Everybody wants the best for you / But you gotta want it for yourself,' she sings, speaking to a younger version of herself who was worried about getting old and being alone. Growing up is realizing that you have to be your biggest advocate. You have to prioritize yourself. The album represents growth, maturity, and finally reveling in your own light. Lorde and I are roughly the same age, and whenever she releases an album, I think she distills the exact feeling of that time in my life. Pure Heroine examined the heavy burden of feeling like you're running out of time when you're 16; Melodrama examined falling in love and getting heartbroken for the first time, and how, at 19, you often feel untouchable. Solar Power talks about the terrors of true freedom, learning from your past mistakes, and pursuing your dreams. On this record, Lorde dared to let her dreams run wild—most notably on the track 'Oceanic Feeling'—hoping for a time when the world wouldn't be so messed up, praying for a lover who understands her, and wondering what her true self looked like. She wasn't afraid to look back to look forward, and to tackle the big questions. It's the perfect record for your mid-twenties, when you're creating your own island, where everything feels limitless. Thank you, Lorde, for showing us 'The Path.'
Scoop
18-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Scoop
Wednesday Announce New Album 'Bleeds'
Wednesday announce their anticipated new album, Bleeds, due 19th September via Dead Oceans. With Bleeds Wednesday present an intoxicating collection of narrative-heavy Southern rock that—like many of the most arresting passages from the North Carolina band's discography—thoughtfully explores the vivid link between curiosity and confession. Bleeds i s a patchwork-style triumph of literary allusions and outlaw grit, of place-based poetry and hair-raising noise. Karly Hartzman —founder, frontwoman, and primary lyricist—credits Wednesday's tightened grasp on their own identity to time spent collaborating on previous albums, plus a tour schedule that's been both rewarding and relentless. 'Bleeds is the spiritual successor to Rat Saw God, and I think the quintessential 'Wednesday Creek Rock' album,' Hartzman said, articulating satisfaction with the ways her band has sharpened its trademark sound, how they've refined the formula that makes them one of the most interesting rock bands of their generation. 'This is what Wednesday songs are supposed to sound like,' she said. 'We've devoted a lot of our lives to figuring this out—and I feel like we did.' 'Wound Up Here (By Holdin On),' released today alongside a video by Joriel Cura, is a perfect example of this alchemy. "This song is inspired by a story my friend told me, from when he had to pull a body out of a creek in West Virginia. Someone had drowned but they took a few days to resurface because of the current,' Hartzman explains. ''I wound up here by holdin on' is a line from my friend Evan Gray's poetry book: Thickets Swamped in a Fence-Coated Briars. He gave me and Jake a copy of it to read on tour once and that line stuck out to me as pure genius so I stole it and wrote the rest of the song in my own words around it." Last month the band shared 'Elderberry Wine,' a twangy and timeless new single, to wide critical praise that included being named 'Best New Track' by Pitchfork, one of 'The Best Songs of 2025 So Far' by TIME Magazine and praised by The Guardian in their playlist as a 'pedal-steel-sweetened heartwarmer'. The band performed the track and made their television debut on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert upon its release. Just like Rat Saw God, one of the defining rock & roll records of the 2020s so far, Bleeds came together at Drop of Sun in Asheville and was produced by Alex Farrar, who's been recording the band since Twin Plagues. Hartzman again brought demos to the studio, where she and her bandmates— Xandy Chelmis (lap steel, pedal steel), Alan Miller (drums), Ethan Baechtold (bass, piano), and Jake 'MJ' Lenderman (guitar)—worked as a team to bulk-up the compositions with the exact right amounts of country truth-telling, indie-pop hooks, and noisy sludge. More than ever, the precise proportions were steered by the lyricism—not only its tone or subject matter, but also the actual sound of the words, as well as Hartzman's masterfully subjective approach to detail selection. BLEEDS TRACKLISTING: 1. Reality TV Argument Bleeds 2. Townies 3. Wound Up Here (By Holdin On) 4. Elderberry Wine 5. Phish Pepsi 6. Candy Breath 7. The Way Love Goes 8. Pick Up That Knife 9. Wasp 10. Bitter Everyday 11. Carolina Murder Suicide 12. Gary's II
