Charli XCX Turns Taylor Swift Punk With Raucous ‘Shake It Off’ Cover

While Charli XCX looks likely to break out as the pop world’s edgier, gloomier Katy Perry, the British singer melded her Top 40 sensibilities with a flash of fiery punk for a unique take on Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off.”

The wiry, blistering cover was recorded during Charli XCX’s recent appearance on the BBC’s Live Lounge. With her band substituting the original’s bubblegum horns for a driving bass line and sinewy guitar riff, Charli delivered Swift’s charming kiss-off with sharp, punchy vocals bolstered by her cohorts’ proper pub punk shouts.

Charli XCX has already found stardom on tracks featuring other artists — including Icona Pop’s 2012 earworm “I Love It” and Iggy Azalea’s ubiquitous “Fancy” — but the singer is shooting for solo domination with her recently released second LP, Sucker. That record has already notched one Top Ten single, “Boom Clap,” which was followed by “Break the Rules” and her recent Rita Ora-featuring cut, “Doing It.”

Though she came away empty-handed at last week’s Grammys (she garnered two nominations for “Fancy”), Charli XCX’s 2015 is off to an auspicious start. She’s set to open for Perry during the European leg of her Prism tour, starting February 16th in Barcelona, before embarking on her own slate of international solo dates; she has a handful of U.S. shows scheduled for this summer, including a set at Governors Ball in New York City.

Charli XCX also contributed to disco legend Giorgio Moroder’s upcoming new album, providing an a cappella vocal, which Moroder then crafted the instrumentation around. “I was surprised he reached out to me to be honest,” Charli told Rolling Stone. “He’s such a legend and I was truly honored.”