Last night, Charli XCX debuted a new track titled “So I”, a tribute to her late friend and collaborator, the influential DJ and producer SOPHIE.
Charli was awarded with the Powerhouse Award at the Billboard Women In Music Awards yesterday, and went on to debut the song during a performance later in the evening.
“So I” references SOPHIE’s 2017 track “It’s Okay To Cry” and will feature on Charli’s upcoming album Brat, which is out this summer.
In a recent interview with The Face, Charli said that the song was born out of her grief. “There was a lot of distance between us because I was in awe of her and wanted to impress her. She believed in me in ways that I didn’t believe [in] myself,” she said. “But I felt like I would never be interesting enough to operate in her world outside of the studio, which was the safe space where we could connect and bond over music.”
“I didn’t feel like I was magical enough for this unbelievably magic person. And that makes me ashamed now I don’t have the opportunity to experience that anymore, because she’s gone,” she continued. “I feel ashamed for being a coward. It’s hard to write about. I’m sad for myself that I didn’t experience all this person had to offer.”
Charli XCX and SOPHIE began working together in 2015 on Charli’s ‘Vroom Vroom’ EP. They went on to collaborate on Charli’s singles ‘After the Afterparty’, ‘No Angel’, and ‘Girls Night Out’, as well as the ‘Number 1 Angel’ tracks ‘Roll With Me’ and ‘Lipgloss’, and ‘Pop 2’ track ‘Out of My Head’.
In January 2021, SOPHIE died at the age of 34 in a tragic accident in Athens. Charli wrote a moving tribute on social media following her death, writing: “She taught me so much about myself without even realising. I wish I had told her more how special she was, not just her music, but her as a person. I love you and I will never forget you Sophie.”