Charli XCX is officially the new cool girl of pop. She became an artist to watch after being featured on Icona Pop’s 2012 hit single, “I Love It,” and her new album, Sucker, is expected to be released on December 16, 2014. In anticipation for her new album, she has released a music video for the song, “Breaking Up.”
The video opens with Charli listening to her boyfriend prattle on to his parents about how every girl in school wants to be with him. After tossing her drink onto the ground and shattering it, she lowers her cat eye sunglasses and says “we had a good run, Patrick” with an infinitely bored expression on her face. After she breaks up with her football star boyfriend, she hops into limo with her girlfriends and begins her girl power anthem.
The rest of the video takes place at a bowling alley and entails generous hair flipping while Charli belts out the lyrics. Throughout the chorus of the song she proclaims “you say you love me, I say what?” These simple yet sassy lyrics affirm the fact that this song is letting the world that she doesn’t need to be on the arm of a guy to be confident.
When discussing the album Charli states that while the album is still pop “it’s a very shouty, girl power, girl gang, sort of feel.” The video for “Breaking Up” definitely fits that description. In sections of the video her friends double as band members and form a high heeled girl group.
The style of the video is dripping with the 90s revival aesthetic that millennials are begging for these days; which can be seen in everything from the slip dresses and chunky heels that girls are sporting to the ring pops that Charli ceremoniously licks.
The editing of the video is effective and blends in with the general aura of the video. It is very fast paced and constantly moving which works well with the pace of the song. Silly doodle like illustrations are also incorporated into the editing and they give the video an air of youth and lightheartedness.
Overall it is a colorful, fun video that gives off all of the ultra-cool dark pop vibes that the song does. However, while the video pairs well with the song, it’s rather predictable. The too-cool-for-school attitude that Charli has in the video seems to be a common theme within her music videos. It is allowing her to build her brand as an artist, but hopefully, she will bring a little more variety and depth to the table as she progresses and matures as an artist.