Charli XCX releases new track ‘Baby’ ahead of album Crash

Charli XCX has dropped her latest track “Baby” ahead of the release of her new album Crash.

“Baby”, which the singer has said is one of her personal favourites from the album, was one of the first songs she wrote for Crash.

Charli’s forthcoming record debuts on 18 March ahead of her 21-date North American and 17-date European tour.

The North American tour begins in Los Angeles on 25 March and will be followed by her UK and European tour that begins in Dublin on 13 May.

In the official press release, “Baby” is described as “a tale of possession and self assuredness, perfectly summarising the thought and attitude behind the record”.

Charli has said that the new track is “about great sex”.

Alongside the song, the singer has included an accompanying music video directed by Imogene Strauss and Luke Orlando. The video is said to illustrate Charli’s desires and incorporates a dance routine choreographed by Nathan Kim.

The new music follows the singer’s recent decision to step away from Twitter for mental health reasons, after facing “negativity and criticism” on the popular social media platform.

In a statement released on 10 December, Charli wrote: “I’ve noticed lately that a few people seem quite angry at me – for the choices of songs I’ve chosen to release, for the way I’ve decided to roll out my campaign, for the things I need to do to fund what will be the greatest tour I’ve ever done, for things I say, things I do, etc.”

She continued: “I’ve been grappling quite a lot with my mental health the past few months and obviously it makes negativity and criticism harder to handle when I come across it – and of course, I know this is a common struggle for most people in this day and age.”

She added that she would be posting messages through an intermediary as she “can’t really handle it here right now”.

“Baby” will be released on Zane Lowe’s Apple Music show New Music Daily, and will be performed on Saturday Night Live.

If you are experiencing feelings of distress and isolation, or are struggling to cope, the Samaritans offers support; you can speak to someone for free over the phone, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch.