No mean feat

Charli XCX: “Number one songs aren’t the top of my to-do list”

Used to topping charts with Icona Pop and Iggy Azalea, with ‘Boom Clap’ she’s gone it alone and looks set to score her first solo UK Top 10 in tomorrow’s (27th July) charts.

26th July 2014

This week Charli XCX finally released ‘Boom Clap’ in the UK. It had a head start of just over a month in the US, where she’s enjoyed impressive chart success, and her first solo single to break the Hot Billboard’s Top 40 doesn’t seem to be going anywhere, still sitting at Number 14. Right now, in the UK, she’s at Number 4, and looks set to score her first UK Top 10 when charts officially release tomorrow. Charli initially released it as a contribution to the soundtrack for John Green film adaptation The Fault in Our Stars, and it’s the first preview of things to come on her quickly approaching new studio album.

Speaking to DIY, Charli agrees that after featuring on two huge pop hits with Iggy Azalea and Icona Pop, this moment has been a long time in the making. “Oh my god, dude, it’s so exciting, it feels like it’s such a long time coming. Being a featured artist is great, especially ‘Fancy’ – it was so much fun shooting that video and doing all this stuff with Iggy – but it is nice to finally have a song of my own that people really care about. I’m an artist as well as a writer, so it’s good to be appreciated.”

Talking over the phone while busy promoting ‘Boom Clap’ in New York, Charli has recently taken the song to Late Night With Seth Meyers and The Today Show. Most people would be bricking it at the prospect of being watched by upwards of 4 million people, but not Charli. “I’ve done a couple of shows with Iggy [Azalea], so I felt a little less nervous,” she tells DIY. ” I think if I’d never done a TV show in my life before I probably would’ve really had a freak-out. With Seth Meyers I was pretty nervous, but with Today, I kind of didn’t really realise how much of a big deal it was. I feel like I was more relaxed. I think that’s the first time anyone’s not worn a bra on The Today Show!”

Since ‘Fancy’, along with her unmistakable chorus, is still sitting at number 2 in the US, doesn’t Charli think it’s high time she got herself a number one hit single? She’s happy to just see what happens. “Number one songs aren’t the top of my to-do list,” she explains. “I wanna put my record out and have as many people hear it as possible. If that leads to number one singles or whatever, then that’s awesome.”

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Tags: News, Charli XCX