Hyper-pop trailblazer CHARLI XCX covers ROLLING STONE UK with a special digital cover, published online at rollingstone.co.uk and shared across Rolling Stone UK socials (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook: @RollingStoneUK) on 2 March 2022 from 9am. In the exclusive interview ahead of the release of her highly anticipated forthcoming album, Crash, she opens-up about her mental health struggles, why she has taken a break from social media, and pulling out of Afterparty festival following fan pressure.

The full feature will be featured in print in the pages of the April/May issue of Rolling Stone UK issue 4, out 17 March 2022.

Charli XCX on why she’s having a break from social media: feeling down and upset over criticism of her new music:
“I’ve been feeling quite low throughout 2022 to be honest. I feel like my mental health has really taken a toll, and for some reason I just couldn’t really handle the negative comments that I was reading, particularly about music and my latest song ‘Beg For You’, which was actually beginning to do quite well commercially. I suppose I felt a little bit hurt when I heard that people didn’t really like the song. I think at a time when I was already feeling quite low, that kind of rhetoric honestly just really hurt my feelings.”

“There is this misconception that people in the public eye are able to take any shit that you throw at them. Yes, we do have to learn how to handle negativity and criticism because it comes with the territory but at the same time, everyone’s a fucking human being. I guess on that day that I messaged that [her tweet about feeling low on 10th Feb] I felt more human than ever.”

Charli XCX on pulling out of Afterparty, an NFT art and music festival, over fan pressure:
“[Fans] were angry about that and giving me a lot of flack for that, which, yes, that’s sad but whatever. I pulled out of the festival, that was my decision that I made, and I didn’t feel the need to announce it or let them know but I did pull out.”

Charli XCX on feeling self-destructive
“I feel very explosive right now. I feel very on the edge, sometimes in a good way, sometimes in a very bad way, I feel really good when I’m rehearsing for tour, I feel like that’s where I’m supposed to be, when I’m moving my body, when I’m bringing this music to life via movement and dance and singing and I feel really safe and really at home there. And basically anytime I’m not doing that…I feel like a time bomb.”

Charli XCX on next single ‘Baby’ being a “sex anthem”:
“‘Baby’ was a sex anthem, basically. I was really feeling myself that day in the studio and that song just makes me feel so sexy and confident and that was a really important song for the foundation of this album.”

NB:
All online quotes and images must credit and link ‘read the full feature at www.rollingstone.co.uk’ or @RollingStoneUK on social media platforms.
Charli XCX is photographed by Jack Bridgland for Rolling Stone UK.