Charli XCX Announces ‘Rock Music’ Release Date With Explosive Video Teaser

Charli xcx is teasing a bold new era and this time she’s bringing rock energy into the spotlight. In a fresh preview for her upcoming single “Rock Music,” the pop innovator is seen crushing an electric guitar under her heel, snapping it in half in one dramatic move.

The black and white teaser landed on Instagram Thursday, May 7, after weeks of hints surrounding Charli’s next musical chapter. The short clip only shows her feet in towering black stilettos before she steps directly onto the guitar, triggering a burst of distorted guitars and pounding drums.

“rock music. song and video out tonight. 9pm pst,” she captioned the post.

The artist first hinted at a heavier sound during an April interview with British Vogue, where lyrics from the upcoming track were revealed: “I think the dance floor is dead, so now we’re making rock music.”

“If I made another project that leaned too heavily into dance music again, it would’ve felt emotionally difficult and honestly kind of sad,” she explained in the interview. “What excites me is pushing myself creatively and seeing how far I can take that perspective.”

Since then, Charli has made it clear she is not fully abandoning pop or dance music. In a recent Instagram studio clip, she joked: “a video of me making a song called ‘rock music’ that is not actually rock music which is funny because i never said i was making a rock album.”

“Rock Music” becomes her first release since companion album Wuthering Heights dropped in February and reached No. 8 on the Billboard 200. Before that, her breakout cultural phenomenon Brat climbed to No. 3 on the chart and pushed Charli further into mainstream global success.

Watch Charli’s “Rock Music” teaser below.