Hear Charli XCX’s Sleek New Song ‘5 in the Morning’
Charli XCX teased via Twitter on Wednesday that she’d be unveiling some new material in 2018 and she started by delivering a surprise song at midnight called “5 in the Morning.”
On the new track, Charli XCX calls out posers and praises the merits of late-night jams. “I’m going all in/ It’s 5 in the morning, I’m busy balling,” she sings over sleek beats. “I ain’t even stopping, no/ It’s 5 in the morning, I’m so devoted.”
“I am going to release a lot [of] music this year and a lot of videos,” she wrote just hours before she dropped the track. “You’re gonna be so fucking sick of me.”
The song follows the release of her last two mixtapes, Number 1 Angel and Pop 2. She also recently appeared on Rita Ora’s “Girls” alongside Cardi B and Bebe Rexha. The song sparked criticism over how the primarily male writing team evoked exploitative, harmful stereotypes of sexual relationships between two women.
“I’ve known Rita for a very long time in this particular journey and in this particular story in her life,” Charli XCX told Rolling Stone. “I would never want to take anyone’s space in pop music, but Rita is somebody I’ve known for a very long time who has had queer experiences and [I felt] that perhaps this is a safe space for me to be on this record. I apologize to any people I’ve offended by that.”
Charli XCX is currently on the road serving as an opener for Taylor Swift’s Reputation tour alongside Camila Cabello.