What Charli XCX Retirement Rumors?

Charli XCX is the queen of never letting anyone know your next move. Earlier this year, the “360” hitmaker dropped her seventh studio album Wuthering Heights with little to no fanfare, before hinting at her retirement from music after a slew of commercially and critically successful acting roles seemingly inspired the singer to pivot to film. Now, nearly two months after the project’s release, Charli has already found her way back into the studio, and may even have some new music for us very soon.

After wiping her Instagram back in February, the British singer-songwriter made her triumphant return to the app on April 15 with a low res black and white photo of her wearing headphones with the caption, “i love making things.” Shortly after, she sent fans a voice text message in which she teased a comeback. “Hi everyone. I missed you all, and I’ve been feeling so inspired,” she says as an exotic bird squawks in the background — not an important detail, though it does underscore her complete inability to take a holiday. “I’ve been making things, and I can’t wait to share them with you. So, I will see you soon, Angels.”

The artist also reiterated the message over on TikTok. Filmed outside, Charli grins from ear to ear as she tells her fans, “I missed you guys.” The caption: “i’ll be back soon.”

But the final pièce de résistance came from her IG finsta @b.sides — formerly known as @360_brat until its handle change as of April 14. If there was ever any doubt that her next project was not music-related, the four-photo carousel (all in black and white, of course) sees Charli and frequent collaborators AG Cook and Finn Keane hard at work in the studio.

“me alex and finn in paris @ rue boyer last year,” she wrote in the caption. “spent 10 days recording here. aidan and alaska came. alex dj’d the mcqueen show. played some songs for some friends at the studio. went to the cinema. had lots of steak frites. felt really inspired.” Key word for this next era: Inspired.

With the Brat era officially in the rearview and a fresh new finsta to match, it’s safe to say Charli XCX’s return to music is all but imminent.