Charli xcx has turned to X to vent about the negative criticism of ‘Rock Music’, the first preview of her next album. In a series of tweets that many describe as a “crash out,” the British artist explains her reasons for making music and how she deals with the reception of her work: “If you understand me, you understand me and if you don’t, then no,” she wrote in X.
Even inspiring a viral trend on social media, Charli must have noticed that the general reception to ‘Rock Music’ has been negative. A few days ago he spoke on his secondary Instagram account that this reminds him “of the initial conversation around PC Music”, of how the label was seen as “a criticism or disparagement of pop music.” He ended by saying he was “happy that people are releasing their thoughts.”
However, in her latest string of tweets, Charli seems to be justifying herself more than anything else: “I can only do what feels right to me. I’m not thinking about anything else while I’m doing it. Not at the reception or in the public or anything like that. “Just in my connection to it and whether it feels honest.”
In a subsequent message, personally approved by Jack Harlow, the artist assures that her goal is not to “repel people or convince them to like her,” before changing the subject and saying that “existing as a human being in 2026 is very difficult for several different reasons.” Surely inspired by the criticism of her single, Charli says that her “comfort” is art, but that “sometimes even that doesn’t feel like something safe in this day and age.”
In the last tweet, Charli responds to a user who criticizes her for saying that the only thing she cares about is art, even though she then tries to justify herself in X by interacting with negative comments (“If you really don’t care, why say anything?”). She clarifies that her work is about “my constantly fluctuating feelings” and that she interacts with her critics because “it is a key part of my work.”
excited for you all to hear this new music. I can only ever make what feels true to me. I’m not thinking about anything else while I’m doing it. not reception or audience or anything else. just my connection with it and whether it feels honest to me.
— Charli (@charli_xcx) May 19, 2026
if you get me, you get me and if you don’t, you don’t. and that’s ok <3
— Charli (@charli_xcx) May 19, 2026
I’m not trying to repel people away or convince people into liking me. I’m doing what I feel is truthful to me. I think existing as a human being in 2026 is really hard for a multitude of different reasons. my solace is art but sometimes that doesn’t even really feel safe in this…
— Charli (@charli_xcx) May 19, 2026
my work is about my constantly fluctuating feelings. it always has been. and I engage with that because that’s a key part of what my work is about xx https://t.co/ddoffiLrCU
— Charli (@charli_xcx) May 20, 2026
