No bad blood here: Taylor Swift seems to be in her ‘brat summer’ as she praises Charli XCX for her “hard work.”
The 32-year-old singer has had an exceptional summer, with her latest album being played everywhere and even sparking a viral dance trend. The album, titled Brat, consists of 15 tracks, including the hit singles “Apple” and “360.” This record has garnered widespread acclaim, with many applauding her extraordinary work—from the beats to the lyrics. Even 34-year-old Swift felt compelled to weigh in.
In an interview with Vulture, the “Cruel Summer” singer said, “I’ve been blown away by Charli’s melodic sensibilities since I first heard ‘Stay Away’ in 2011. Her writing is surreal and inventive, always. She just takes a song to places you wouldn’t expect it to go, and she’s been doing it consistently for over a decade. I love to see hard work like that pay off.”
Swift’s comments come amid rumors of a rift between the two artists after Charli released “Sympathy Is a Knife,” a song many speculated was about Swift. The lyrics—“Don’t wanna see her backstage at my boyfriend’s show / Fingers crossed behind my back, I hope they break up quick / ‘Cause I couldn’t even be her if I tried / I’m opposite, I’m on the other side / I feel all these feelings I can’t control”—were thought to reference Swift’s past relationship with Matt Healy of The 1975. Charli is currently dating the band’s drummer, George Daniel.
However, Charli, who opened for Taylor during her 2018 Reputation tour, took to TikTok to clarify that there was no diss track on the album, explaining to Vulture, “As a female artist, you’re pitted against your peers but also expected to be best friends with every single one of them. If you’re not, you’re deemed a bad feminist.”
She added, “People are gonna think what they want to think…that song is about me, my feelings, my anxiety, and the way my brain creates narratives and stories when I feel insecure. It’s about not wanting to be in situations where I feel self-doubt.”
The two artists’ new albums recently went head-to-head on the charts, with Charli’s upbeat and rebellious album facing off against Swift’s reigning The Tortured Poets Department.
