Charli XCX
Emily Lipson*Hold tight, Charli XCX fans! The pop star’s new single with SEVENTEEN‘s Vernon is on the way.
“So, @charli_xcx and @pledis_17 when’s the collab coming?” NME tweeted on Monday, leading the pop star to retweet the question with a rather coy answer. “Actually kinda soon…,” she responded, sending her more than 3.6 million followers into a frenzy of anticipation.
Charli has made it no secret she’s a fan of the K-pop idol, first tweeting earlier this month, “how do i get in touch with Vernon??” before asking point blank if the singer wanted to work together. Clearly, the appreciation was mutual, as Vernon tweeted back from SEVENTEEN’s official account, “YES…still can’t believe this is real wow” with a pair of mind-blown emojis.
While the How I’m Feeling Now singer has yet to hint at what the K-pop-infused track could sound like, it will follow her recent all-star team-ups with Rina Sawayama and Caroline Polachek and Christine and the Queens on “Beg for You” and “New Shapes,” respectively — both of which will appear alongside lead single “Good Ones” on her upcoming fifth studio album Crash.
In other good news, Charli is about to get a second chance to perform as musical guest on this season of Saturday Night Live, after she was forced to back out of the late-night sketch series’ Christmas episode amid the height of COVID-19’s omicron variant surge in New York City. Now, she’s set to take the stage at Studio 8H on March 5 opposite host Oscar Isaac.
Check out Charli’s response about the Vernon collab below.
Fontaines D.C. have teamed up with Rosalía for their new collaboration, Where Is Gone?.
The song features on the Irish rock band's forthcoming album, Dopamine Chamber, which arrives on Friday (16.10.26). For guitarist Carlos O’Connell, working with the Spanish superstar is particularly special because of his own Spanish roots.
He explained: “I’ve admired Rosalía ever since her debut album, which I thought was absolutely beautiful.
“What excited me most was the way she continued to preserve Spain's musical traditions, something that felt spiritually connected to what we've been trying to achieve with Irish music. Having roots in both countries, it's been really special to witness. "She's an artist who has continued to amaze me at every point in her career.”
Frontman Grian Chatten has also described the collaboration with Rosalía as one of the most memorable achievements of his career.
He revealed that he felt "humbled" when she agreed to lend her voice to the band's album.
Speaking to NPR, Grian said: “I've always felt there's something almost like a single big idea that I'm personally trying to communicate to the world before I get old and die, if that makes sense. There's one thing I think I'll spend my life trying to express. I have a feeling she has a similar outlook. … I mean, she's an amazing arranger, composer and lyricist. It means so much that she wanted to sing on something we'd put together. It's definitely one of the highlights of my career.”
Rosalía's links to Irish rock music extend beyond Fontaines D.C. She also offered inspiration and helped develop the Spanish lyrics for U2's The Mirror Maker (Rosalía), a track from their forthcoming album, Carnaval de Luz.
During an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon last week, she spoke about frontman Bono, saying: “I don't know him personally, but he sent me a text explaining that he was working on a new project and had written a song called The Mirror Maker."
Rosalía joked that Bono had invented a few words of his own.
She recalled telling him: “I wasn't sure what to make of it, but I told him he could create his own language if he wanted to.”
She described the opportunity to collaborate with the 66 year old music veteran as a real privilege.
She added: “Bono is a legend.
“It's amazing.”
Bono recently revealed that he was worried about seeming like a stalker when he reached out to Rosalía to ask whether he could name the song after her.
