"Her writing is surreal"— Taylor Swift praises Charli XCX's songwriting amid rumored beef over Sympathy Is a Knife track

Taylor Swift, the American singer-songwriter, has joined in on the excitement surrounding Charli XCX’s latest album, Brat. In a recent interview with Vulture where the pop-icon was all praise for her former tourmate, Charli XCX, lauding her songwriting and applauding her achievements with the release of her sixth album.

Boom clap singer Charli XCX in her song Sympathy Is a Knife, released on June 7, 2024, sparked controversy, hinting at the conflict between her and Taylor Swift.

Taylor stated in her Interview,

“I’ve been blown away by Charli’s melodic sensibilities since I first heard ‘Stay Away’ in 2011.”

Swift continued,

“Her writing is surreal and inventive, always. She just takes a song to places you wouldn’t expect it to go, and she’s been doing it consistently for over a decade. I love to see hard work like that pay off.”

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Taylor Swift supports Charli XCX's new album Brat

Taylor Swift Reputation Stadium Tour - Source: Getty

These compliments come at a time when rumors of a rift between Taylor Swift and Charli XCX have been circulating, primarily due to the release of Charli’s new track Sympathy Is a Knife. The song has sparked fan theories that it’s about Swift, particularly due to its lyrics, which some interpret as referencing Swift’s past relationship with Matty Healy member of The 1975.

In the track, Charli sings,

“This one girl taps my insecurities” and “Don’t wanna see her backstage at my boyfriend’s show.”

Charli XCX, engaged to The 1975’s George Daniel, addressed these rumors in her Vulture interview but did not confirm whether the song is about Taylor. She said,

“People are gonna think what they want to think.”

“That song is about me and my feelings and my anxiety and the way my brain creates narratives and stories in my head when I feel insecure and how I don’t want to be in those situations physically when I feel self-doubt.”

When asked if she had considered omitting the line about being backstage at Daniel’s show to avoid making the song’s subject too “obvious,” Charli simply replied,

“No. You do the silence game.”

“But I know that well — where you go silent and want me to talk more. But I don’t care about it being awkward. We’ll sit in silence.”

Roskilde Festival 2024 - Day 6 - Source: Getty

The rumored tension between the two artists has been worsened by their efforts to dominate the Billboard 200 with their respective albums — Charli’s Brat and Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department, which has spent 15 weeks at No. 1 so far.

According to Billboard, In June, Charli addressed concertgoers who began chanting “Taylor is dead” at her shows, posting on Instagram Stories,

“can the people who do this please stop … it is the opposite of what i want and it disturbs me that anyone would think there is room for this in this community.”

Taylor Swift Reputation Stadium Tour - Source: Getty

Despite the speculation, Swift’s support for Charli XCX has been evident throughout the years. In 2015, Swift invited Charli to perform as a special guest on her 1989 Tour. Three years later, Swift asked the British singer to open for her on the Reputation Stadium Tour alongside Camila Cabello, the Cuban artist.

Though Charli’s comment about performing on the Reputation tour was like,

“Getting up on stage and waving to 5-year-olds.”

Shortly after this statement, she quickly clarified that she meant no disrespect.

“I am extremely grateful to Taylor Swift for inviting me to open for her,” at the time she wrote. “She’s one of the biggest artists of my generation and the reputation tour was one of the biggest tours in history.”

Taylor Swift has already released Speak Now (Taylor's Version) and is rumored to be working on 1989 (Taylor's Version), which could feature additional unreleased tracks.

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