Charli XCX’s Music, Fashion, Film: Decoding the Album, Easter Eggs

Next up is “SS26″—a fitting name considering Charli recorded the album during Paris Fashion Week. And while she sings, “Spring, Summer ’26 / When the world is gonna end, no hope for any of it / Yeah, we’re walkin’ on a runway that goes straight to hell,” the British artist said the song is about persona rather than the state of the world.

“If you’re on the internet, there is this sort of level of persona,” Charli continued, “this level of feeling like you need to be on the right side of every single conversation and not get things wrong and apologize for things, how big or small, that you’ve done to ultimately lead you towards some kind of moral sanctuary that will still actually not ever be enough.”

After that, comes “Card Declined.” Calling the track’s perspective “flamboyant and braggy,” Charli told British Vogue in a May cover story, “It crosses over into how you can dress up who you are and become the ideal fantasy that you want to be in that moment. Everybody is performing, in a way.”

Then, it’s on to “Camera,” which explores Charli’s feelings about starting acting.

“It’s a very impulsive state to be in,” she added. “That can be terrifying but it can also unlock this instinct in you, and it’s scary but it’s kind of nice, like, f–k it. And maybe I’ll fall on my face and humiliate myself but maybe I’ll do something really powerful, and if you don’t try, you never know.”