Charli XCX’ has shared how her mental health has declined over the years and how social media has fueled her anxiety.
The British pop vocalist, who releases her seventh album, Music, Fashion, Film, on July 24, spoke to Rolling Stone about being “more offline” instead of engaging with fans about the direction of her upcoming LP as the release date approaches.
Charli intentionally doesn’t want the album to sound like its predecessor, Brat, although it peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and crossed 6 million equivalent units globally, becoming her most successful album to date. Brat also earned Charli 3 Grammys, including Best Dance/Electronic Album. Following Brat, Charli led the soundtrack to 2025 romantic period drama Wuthering Heights.
“I don’t really look [at social media] as much anymore. It’s just better for my brain,” Charli told RS. “I know people probably won’t believe me, because I am inherently, at least in the past, a very online artist. But I recently have been really struggling with my mental health to the point where, if I’m being real, I’m in the worst place mentally that I’ve been in my life.”
The 33-year-old added that she’s a “big believer” in therapy, although she’s struggled with going on a consistent basis.
In the video interview above, Charli denied wanting to recreate the sound of Brat on Music, Fashion, Film, which will feature singles “Rock Music” and “SS26.”
“I think for me as an artist it would be extremely uninspiring to attempt to recreate what Brat was,” she said around the 35-minute mark above. “Because you sort of adapt and change and you react to the way your previous work is interpreted.”
