Charli XCX thinks of Matty Healy as a brother, and as anyone with siblings can tell you, that means their relationship is filled with love and, at times, frustration.
Healy’s band, The 1975, is set to appear on the Brat remix album, a star-studded take on Charli XCX’s 2024 album whose moniker and aesthetic have made it a viral sensation. In an interview with Apple Music, Charli, 32, discussed her relationship with Healy, 35, and his band’s “really moving” and “eye-opening” rendition of her song, “I Might Say Something Stupid.”
“I really wanted [Healy] to do the song. He’s like my brother now, you know?” she said. “And I hope he wouldn’t mind me saying this but I have an endless amount of respect for him as a songwriter and him as a person. But I sometimes want to strangle him.”
Charli is seemingly referring to Healy’s knack for attracting controversy. Whether it’s making out with fans on stage or mocking Ice Spice (which he has since apologized for), the “Chocolate” singer has a way of making headlines. As the fiancée of The 1975 drummer George Daniel, Charli has seen her share of The 1975’s shows — which have also included Healy chowing down on raw meat on stage and appearing to touch himself in front of the crowd.
“All I’ll say from my perspective in terms of [The 1975’s] show is like, I just really enjoy people who take a risk in terms of what they’re putting out there artistically,” she said. “And I think that show is a little divisive, but I think great art is divisive.”
And Charli wants to make it clear that her opinion is not colored by her relationship with the band’s drummer. She and Daniel went public with their relationship in 2022 and became engaged in late 2023, but she has followed The 1975 since well before then.
“Even before being with George – years and years ago – I’ve always been such a fan of their work,” she added. “His thinking of the way everything is digested in terms of their work, their artwork, their font, their videos, their everything… it’s very, very holistic.”
She has also drawn from the band’s live performances, pointing to The 1975’s viral “Selling Petrol” moment, where the crowd screams the line back to the group while they play their 2018 single, “It’s Not Living (If It’s Not With You).”
“That moment in the show always really fascinated me because it’s like the audience really responds to these super-specific personal references,” she explained. “Because it kind of is like a window into the artist’s life.”
“Brat and It’s Completely Different but Also Still Brat” will release on October 11 and, in addition to The 1975, includes appearances from Ariana Grande, Bon Iver, Lorde, Billie Eilish and more.
