Charli XCX has shared another new single, ‘SS26’. Check out the official video below.
The song follows on from recent track ‘Rock Music’, and arrives after the pop artist revealed the full lyrics on her Substack this week.
READ MORE: Charli XCX – ‘Wuthering Heights’ review: delicious gothic pop for a winter of yearning
“Spring Summer ’26/ When the world is gonna end no hope for any of it/ Yeah, we’re walking on a runway that goes straight to hell/ Nothing’s gonna save us, not music, fashion or film,” Charli sings, paying homage to high fashion.
“Spring Summer ’26/ When the world is gonna end no hope for any of it/ Yeah, we’re walking on a runway that goes straight to hell/ I know.”
The breezy single opens with a simple guitar line and subtle electronic drums before introducing a grittier, distorted tone. ‘SS26’ flicks between these two sounds, bringing in some subtle, bouncing synths.
“I was hacked/ It was taken out of context, obviously/ But I didn’t do it/ Even if I did/ Wrote a really good notes app apology,” Chari later adds.
“Think my politics could work as a press strategy/ And my heritage could give me quite the USP/ Can’t hide the fact I’d rather take the easy road/ Yeah, I think I’ll be alright if I look good in the clothes.”
The glamorous music video for ‘SS26’, directed by Torso, finds Charli walking a runway at a fashion show in Paris. Torso previously helmed the visuals for ‘Von Dutch’ from the cultural phenomenon that was her 2024 album, ‘Brat’.
After showing off various outfits in the new clip, Charli follows a group of models off the end of the runway and into a dark, bottomless pit. In one dramatic scene, her dressing room begins to explode in sparks and flames.
Charli posted a black-and-white video of herself “in the studio writing ‘SS26′” in Paris on social media. The song was co-produced and co-written by A. G. Cook and Finn Keane.
Charli XCX live at Glastonbury 2025. Credit: Derek Bremner for NME
Earlier this month, the artist shared a pensive B-side called ‘I Keep On Thinking Bout You Every Single Day And Night’.
Charli’s latest material sees her stray from the club vibe of ‘Brat’, which was named NME‘s Number One album of the year in 2024. This year, she released the gothic pop ‘Wuthering Heights’ soundtrack record.
Her team recently confirmed that she was finishing work on her new album. Later, Charli teased the lyric “I think the dance floor is dead, so now we’re making rock music“ before clarifying: “I never said I was making a rock album.”
She told Vogue: “If I’d made another album that felt more dance-leaning, it would have felt really hard, really sad. What’s interesting for me is to bend the possibilities of what my perspective on that could be.”
Last week, Charli responded to the reactions to her stylistic shift. “It’s all kind of fascinating,” she explained. “I love talking about music and art with my friends, so I’m happy people are throwing out thoughts.
“I’m not gonna explain where I was coming from with ‘Rock Music’, but all I know is that things can be funny, earnest, sincere, and joyful all at the same time and that’s what I feel about a lot of the things I make.”
This summer will see Charli headline Reading & Leeds 2026 alongside Fontaines D.C., Florence + The Machine, Dave and more.
In other news, Madonna has seemingly taken a swipe at Charli’s “dancefloor is dead” lyric, saying: “If your dance floor feels dead, maybe you’re playing the wrong music.”
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