Charli XCX's 2020 project how i'm feeling now, recorded and released during pandemic-era lockdown, had the typical reception for most full-length Charli projects up until that point: rapturously received by tapped-in popheads with minimal commercial impact. Four years later, Charli took over the world with brat, and the how i'm feeling now track "party 4 u" captured the attention of her masses of new fans via endless TikTok videos. Exactly five years after the release of how i'm feeling now, "party 4 u" has its first-ever set of official visuals.
The song is compelling for a number of reasons, namely its narrative, a melancholy and horny opus where the titular party is just a desperate ploy for romantic attention. Director Mitch Ryan visualizes that vibe with Charli doing a wretched walk of shame, vamping in strobe lights, and eventually burning down a billboard with her face on it. It's Paris, Texas meets Last Night's Party.
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Yesterday, Charli shared a note on Instagram announcing the video and reflecting on the half-decade since how i'm feeling now was released. “I made the album in just five weeks, from conception to release, entirely publicly in collaboration with all of you," she wrote. "It was so special. I felt like I rediscovered myself, my sanity + my sense of connection with the world, at a time where we were all so alone.” Read our review of the album here.
