Charli XCX released her new single “Rock Music” on 8 May 2026, and it’s already got everyone talking. Written and produced alongside her longtime collaborators A.G. Cook and Finn Keane, the track blends distorted guitars with Charli’s signature pop sound. Not quite rock, but not quite not rock either.
Charli first teased the new direction in an April interview with British Vogue, previewing the lyric: “I think the dance floor is dead, so now we’re making rock music.” The song was then debuted live by her friend the Dare at his opening set for PinkPantheress in Brooklyn, hours before Charli dropped it herself.
The black-and-white music video, directed by Aidan Zamiri, leans fully into the rock aesthetic. Think smashed guitars, chain smoking, and a mosh pit bursting onto the streets. Classic Charli.
