If it weren’t for the fact that she’s a platinum-certified pop star, you’d think Charli XCX was your typical chill, 21-year-old girl who just loves to party. Like, a lot.
But, your typical girl hasn’t had hit after hit on the charts, isn’t one half of the most fancy song of the summer, nor does she just cover magazines like the upcoming issue of Complex.
You may not know her name just yet (because maybe you live under a rock or something), but you know her voice not just from Iggy Azalea’s “Fancy,” but from Icona Pop’s “I Love It” and her own hit, “Boom Clap.” She’s set to drop a new album, Sucker, this fall, which means now’s the time to get familiar.
Keep reading for excerpts from Charli XCX’s interview with Complex (in which she talks about her obsession with, uh, periods: “Periods are really punk”) below, along with some shots from her spread.
On becoming a pop star:
“I fucking hate divas,” she snarls. “That’s the last thing I’d ever want to be. I don’t want to be a fucking asshole.”
On being signed at 16:
“They said, ‘You need to brush [your hair] if you want to sell records.’ I was like, ‘Are you. Fucking. Kidding me? Am I having this conversation with five 30-year-old men who are bald? This is ridiculous!’ I felt like, is this it? Is this what I’ve signed up for? It was mechanical.” But it wasn’t entirely a waste, either. “I’m glad that happened, because that told me exactly what I didn’t want to do,” she says.
On being compared to other female vocalists:
“Just ’cause we all have vaginas doesn’t mean that we all play against each other. We’re all doing our own thing.”
On how she shuts down emotionally:
“There are days where I can go into a room full of people, talk to every single person, and feel completely at ease, and feel like making every single person laugh, and feel like everyone’s having a great time. There are other times where I go into a room of people and I literally want to run and hide. I want to lock myself in the bathroom and cry, which I’ve done. It’s not because anyone’s saying anything horrible to me. It’s just…people are asking me questions—not even asking me questions about Charli XCX.”
On feeling “like a schizophrenic person:”
I’ve felt like a schizophrenic person since the beginning of 2014. Sometimes I just shut down and want to stay in bed and cry. Other times I want to get fucked up in the most fun way possible….I haven’t figured out what triggers the sudden thing. I’m exhausted today. So tired. I woke up at 4 a.m. yesterday and stayed awake until 6 a.m. because I was having loads of sex”—here, she laughs to herself—“and then I woke up at 9 a.m. this morning because I had to go, so I’ve had three hours of sleep in the last two days. But I’m not moody. So, it’s not because I’m tired, because otherwise I would’ve shut down now.”
On her endgame:
“I just want to leave my mark,” she says. “I just want people to write about Charli XCX….Just…that I was an important songwriter who changed the landscape of pop music.” And then, with a smirk: “That’d be pretty cool.”
Be sure to head over to Complex for the complete story.
PHOTO CREDIT & SOURCE: Complex
