After wrapping up a stellar year releasing, and consequently touring for, her album Sucker, Charli XCX has become one of the most recognisable, fierce and in many cases, inspirational names not just in the pop world but the music industry as a whole. She blatantly refuses to be anyone but herself, she lifts other women up constantly, she never lets fame “get to her head” and she is a really fucking good artist.
Choosing to remain consistently vocal about her own personal experiences in the industry and calling things like she sees them, it seems perfectly fitting then that she would team up with BBC to create a documentary about being a feminist in the music industry, specifically in the pop world. Following her on the end of her Sucker tour, a film crew followed her around her time at Glastonbury, T In The Park, Lollapalooza and some of her co-headline tour with The Bleachers, as well as catching snapshots of her interactions with fans and media alike. Titled The F Word and Me, the documentary is some essential viewing for anyone who is seeking more of an understanding of what it’s like to be a popstar, and for anyone who has the audacity to pass judgement on another person.
Providing personal insight as well as sharing experiences with her band (who just happen to be all girls), Charli also sits down for chats with Ryn Weaver to talk about armpit hair, Marina & The Diamonds to chat about image and creative control, MS MR‘s Lizzy Plapinger about running a label, The Bleacher’s Jack Antonoff about the inequality of perceptions in the music world (Taylor Swift vs Kanye West) and other fantastic artists who share their stories. It also shows the downside to life in the spotlight, and shows the media’s reaction to a short skirt she decided to wear during her set at Glastonbury, as well as her decision to cancel the rest of her US tour with The Bleachers.
From her drummer being asked if she was someone’s girlfriend whilst she was practising her rudiments, to a reporter literally asking Charli if she forgot her bra “again”, The F Word and Me is a powerful glimpse into the life of a woman in the music industry, and is a testimony to the fact that no matter how high up you get, you still have to deal with dumb shit. Take a look for yourself below.