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Pop fans have been whipped into a frenzy over the surprise collaboration between British star Charli XCX and US artist Billie Eilish.
Charli, who is currently enjoying a career high following the release of her critically adored sixth album, Brat, shared the new version of her song “Guess” on Thursday evening (2 August), shortly after announcing her team-up with Eilish.
“Guess” is a single that features on the deluxe edition of her album, titled Brat and It’s the Same but There’s Three More Songs So It’s Not.
During her verse, Eilish sings: “Charli likes boys, but she knows I’d hit it. Charli, call me if you’re with it.”
In the accompanying music video, the two stars climb a mountain of lingerie as they riff on Charli’s refrain: “You wanna guess the colour of my underwear.”
A press release for the single stated that all bras and underwear used in the shoot were then donated to the charity I Support The Girls, which collects and distributes essential items such as underwear and menstrual hygiene products to women experiencing homelessness or distress.
“Brat winter is coming!” Chicken Shop Date star Amelia Dimoldenberg wrote on X/Twitter.
“Literally the gift that keeps on giving,” actor and model Julia Fox, who is namechecked in Charli’s single “360”, wrote in the comments section of the singer’s Instagram post.
“SAVAGE,” pop singer Adam Lambert wrote, quoting Eilish’s lyric.
“F***ING SCREAMING,” musician and actor Suki Waterhouse wrote, while TikTok star Addison Rae wrote: “I’m on the floor screamin.”
“Ohhhh wowowowowow,” wrote Normal People star Daisy Edgar Jones, as pop star Rita Ora said: “That’s my bisssshhh go offf girls!”
Since its release on June 7, Charli’s latest album Brat has generated one of the defining moods of 2024 and has even been co-opted by Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign in the 2024 US election.
“You’re just like that girl who is a little messy and likes to party and maybe says some dumb things sometimes,” has said of her meaning behind the term “Brat”.
“Who feels like herself but maybe also has a breakdown. But kind of like parties through it, is very honest, very blunt. A little bit volatile. Like, does dumb things. But it’s brat. You’re brat. That’s brat.”
She endorsed Harris in July, tweeting: “Kamala IS Brat.”
Reviewing for The Independent, critic Helen Brown praised Charli XCX for untangling the contradictions of her “cult classic” status.
“BRAT is a hedonistic, ultraviolet collection of songs whose thumping – slightly disorienting – club beats more than succeed in their aim of ‘capturing a feeling of chaos’,” she wrote.
