"party 4 u" by Charli xcx // Song Review

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"party 4 u" by Charli xcx is a euphoric anthem of unrequited love, a song full of glittering synths and raw emotion. She sings about throwing an entire party with the hopes that just the one person she wants to see the most will be there - a very Gatsby theme that she translated so well into this song.

It is featured on her 2020 album how i'm feeling now, which was largely created in isolation and released in the thick of the pandemic in May of that year. She worked with her frequent collaborator, A.G. Cook, on this song and the rest of the album. By the time the pandemic started, they only had about half of the album finished, so they decided to go with a DIY approach while finishing the rest of how i'm feeling now. 

"party 4 u" had a much longer history by that point though, as Charli said in an interview with Apple Music. "This is the oldest song on the album. For myself and A. G., this song has so much life and story," Charli said. "We had played it live in Tokyo and somehow it got out and became this fan favorite. Every time we get together to make an album or a mixtape, it's always considered, but it had never felt right before now." The entire album is so raw and so romantic, but "party 4 u" is among the most representative of those feelings.  

I love the specificity and depth of which she wrote this song, especially the first verse, "1000 pink balloons, DJ with your favorite tunes, birthday cake in August, but you were born 19th of June," she sings.

It is also a very existential song, which really reflected the time of which it was officially released in 2020. During a period of time when everyone had to be socially distanced, the idea of parties, concerts, and big gatherings in general never felt possible again, this song really captured our collective yearning for normalcy and togetherness. "party 4 u" even features audio from the crowd of her 2019 Brixton Academy show, to further represent those feelings. 

"As small and silly as it sounds, it's the time to give something back. Lyrically, it also makes some sense now as it's about throwing a party for someone who doesn't come—the yearning to see someone but they're not there," Charli continued in her interview with Apple Music. "The song has literally grown—we recorded the first part in maybe 2017, there are crowd samples now in the song from the end of my Brixton Academy show in 2019 and now there are recordings of me at home during this period. It's gone on a journey. It kept on being requested and requested, which made me hesitant to put it out because I like the mythology around certain songs. It's fun. It gives these songs more life—maybe even more than if I'd actually released them officially. It continues to build this non-existent hype, which is quite funny and also definitely part of my narrative as an artist. I've suffered a lot of leaks and hacks, so I like playing with that narrative a little bit."

Charli also wrote a brand-new second verse in 2020 - which ended up being one of the most iconic moments of the song. "You could watch me pull up on your body like it's summer, take my clothes off in the water, splash around and get you blessed like holy water," Charli sings in a very rapid-fire style. The distinct production and vocal performance makes "party 4 u" among the most memorable in Charli's discography. The fast-paced way she sings that part of the song is very reminiscent of "Sweet Escape" by Gwen Stefani, which is another one of the best songs ever. "I don't know what you were waiting for, you know that I've been waiting for you, I only threw this party for you", Charli sings. 

Nearly a decade since Charli and A.G. Cook first wrote the song together and five years since it was officially released, "party 4 u" is experiencing a massive resurgence on social media. After the second verse went viral on TikTok in early 2025, "party 4 u" debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 and the US Spotify Viral 100 charts. As of February 2025, it is gaining hundreds of thousands of new streams every single day for the first time ever. "it's p crazy that this song is suddenly getting love in this kinda way. i know this song means so much to so many angels. she's a cutie <3", Charli wrote on Twitter in February 2025. It was the soundtrack for a very specific and isolating point in time, which Charli and A.G. were both able to capture so well in this song. how i'm feeling now is among the best work she has ever released and I love that it's finally getting the recognition it deserves.

In the context of everything in her career that came after "party 4 u", some of the elements of this song tie into a major portion of BRAT too. The opening instrumental of the "So I" remix immediately reminded me of "party 4 u", as well as the entire narrative surrounding "Talk talk" is very reminiscent of this song too. 

The sudden and organic growth of this song is a testament to how ahead of her time Charli has always been. She has been a pop music innovator from the very start, who has consistently been releasing great work over the past decade. It's just taken a lot of people a lot longer to catch up to that, but I'm glad that she's finally been getting the long-overdue recognition she deserves in the past year. Not only with BRAT, but with a lot of her older catalog too. 

 If you're interested in reading more about Charli xcx's music, be sure to check out my review of BRAT, with many more linked below and coming soon always!

Thanks for reading! Check out more from my song of the week series here.

-Melissa ♡


Photo Credit: Charli xcx, Atlantic Records


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