The pop great's long-anticipated new set is finally here.
Charli xcx at The 2026 Met Gala Celebrating "Costume Art" held at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 4, 2026, in New York.
Gilbert Flores/Variety
Charli xcx has spent the last two years staring down one of the most unenviable tasks a pop star can face: following up a universally acclaimed, commercially successful blockbuster album. Her strategy for moving on from the phenomenon that was 2024’s Brat was to get as much of a moment out of the album and its accompanying tour as she possibly could, then to clear the decks a little with a full-length soundtrack to a hit film (Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights adaptation) earlier this year, and then to make a hard turn for her next proper LP: the now-released Music, Fashion, Film.
So is the new set the pivot to rock music seemingly teased by some of her comments leading up to the album, as well as the sound of its lead single (and opening track), literally titled “Rock Music”? As one probably could have expected with Charli xcx, the answer is both yes and no.
