After Brat, Charli XCX Decided to Burn the Rulebook

Brat became one of the defining pop albums of the decade, spawning a viral aesthetic, political memes and three Grammy Awards. Most artists would have tried to make Brat 2. Charli XCX decided to make almost the opposite album.

That direction became even clearer Thursday with the release of "Wink Wink," the latest preview of Music, Fashion, Film. Announced by Charli herself and Atlantic Records, the track continues a rollout that has emphasized experimentation rather than recreating the formula behind Brat. Charli described "Wink Wink" as a late addition to the rollout, reflecting the instinctive approach that has shaped this era.

The rollout has mirrored that philosophy. "Rock Music" announced a break from the dancefloor, "SS26" questioned the value of music, fashion and film themselves, and now "Wink Wink" arrives as another unexpected turn. Rather than repeating a formula, Charli has treated each release as a different entry point into the album.

"Rock Music" opened with the most direct statement of intent: "I think the dancefloor is dead, so now we're making rock music." Then, characteristically, Charli immediately complicated it on Instagram: "I'm not gonna explain where I was coming from with 'Rock Music,' but all I know is that things can be funny, earnest, sincere, and joyful at the same time." The phrase also appears in "SS26," where she sings: "Nothing's gonna save us, not music, fashion, or film." She named the record after the very things the song questions. Whether that lyric is ironic, sincere or both is left deliberately unresolved.

Rather than extending Brat, Charli spent the next two years expanding into film and fashion before returning with a record that treats all three worlds as part of the same artistic conversation. She starred in The Moment, a mockumentary. She contributed to the soundtrack for Emerald Fennell's Wuthering Heights adaptation. She became a YSL Beauty ambassador.

"If I'd made another album that felt more dance-leaning, it would have felt really sad," she told British Vogue in April. "But what's interesting for me is to bend the possibilities of what my perspective on that could be." Her producer A.G. Cook added: "She's really responding to a feeling that a lot of people have in 2026 of there being so much, almost too much."