That froot looks familiar. Camila Cabello has been teasing her new era for a while now, and from the start it’s felt remarkably … XCXian. And now Charli has responded. Following the release of a lo-fi video on March 6 in which Cabello sticks her head out of a car while her upcoming track “I Luv It†plays, Charli XCX put out a response video, set to her song “I Got It.†In Charli’s video, posted March 7, the pop star is also in a car, in a similar outfit, lip-syncing to “I Got It.†Then, Charli tweeted, “comee onnn mess is fun! nothing matters!†“I Luv It,†which samples Gucci Mane’s “Lemonade,†resembles Charli’s song during its intentionally monotonous chorus, with both songs repeating “I ____ it†ad nauseam. Plus, unsafe behavior in cars is an XCX staple — she has a song called “Vroom Vroom,†an album titled Crash, a song on the Barbie soundtrack called “Speed Drive,†etc. This girl likes doing bad things in motor vehicles.
The comparisons began on February 21, when Cabello released the first teaser for her upcoming music. The post was filmed with a handheld video camera and reminiscent of Charli’s How I’m Feeling Now era with a combination of lo-fi aesthetics, white T-shirt, camcorder, auto-tuned vocals, and hyperpop production. Cabello managed to hit all of them in the course of a ten-second video. At the time, fans made immediate comparisons. They did work together on Cabello’s “Señorita,†which Charli is a credited writer on. Maybe Ms. Cabello was writing notes.
