Charli XCX is back with a new song, “SS26.”
Charli may think the dance floor is “dead,” but she didn’t say anything about the runway — that’s where “SS26” comes in. With the title standing for the lyric “Spring summer 2026,” the song reprises the rock-forward direction as her aptly-titled prior single, “Rock Music” and features commentary on the fashion world, image management, politics, and the apocalypse.
“Spring Summer 26 / When the world is gonna end no hope for any of it,” she sings over a subdued, moody bass line, with power chords from gritty guitars flying in during the chorus. “Yeah we’re walking on a runway that goes straight to hell / Nothing’s gonna save us, not music, fashion, or film” The song finds Charli interrogating her own press strategy, alluding to the “Kamala IS Brat” tweet and using her politics and South Asian heritage as a way of absolving responsibility for herself; she also touches on cancel culture, singing in the second verse “It got taken out of context, obviously/ But I didn’t do it/ Even if I did/ Wrote a really good notes app apology.”
The track arrives with a fashion-heavy music video featuring Charli walking on the runway in various chic fits. The final walk she takes has her and the fellow runway models jumping off into the void — hell, presumably — and just before then, her dressing room explodes. The video, directed by Torso, features cameos from former Vogue Paris editor-in-chief Carine Roitfeld as well as the singer Abra. Watch the official video for “SS26” below.
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“SS26” is technically the third offering from Charli’s upcoming album, a project she teased in an interview with British Vogue earlier this year. After “Rock Music” came a vinyl-exclusive B-side release titled “I Keep Thinking Bout You Every Single Day and Night.”
Charli XCX is gearing up for a busy summer, with headlining appearances to come at festivals like Lollapalooza, Outside Lands, and Austin City Limits. Get tickets to see Charli XCX here.