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Just when you thought Brat summer couldn’t get any bigger, Charli XCX released the remix for “Guess” featuring Billie Eilish on Thursday (August 1).
In an accompanying music video directed by Aidan Zamiri, the two pop stars climb a mountain of lingerie, playing off Charli’s lyrics: “You wanna guess the colour of my underwear.”
Eilish enters the video driving a forklift, smashing through the wall of a room where Charli is hosting a wild party with revelers in – you guessed it – their underwear.
During her verse, Eilish sings: “Charli likes boys, but she knows I’d hit it. Charli, call me if you’re with it.”
On the outro, the pair tease: “You wanna guess what me and Billie have been texting about... You wanna guess if I’m serious about this song.”
In the comments section, fans reacted to Eilish’s flirtatious lyrics with one writing: “THE SMILE CHARLI DOES WHEN BILLIE SAYS THE CHARLI LIKES BOYS BUT SHE KNOW I'D HIT IT LINE I'M SCREAMING.”
““Charli likes boys but she knows id hit it’ LIKE BILLIE AHHHH,” said another.
The new video arrives less than a week after the “Ocean Eyes” singer left fans blushing with her appearance on Amelia Dimoldenberg’s Chicken Shop Date web series.
Since its release on June 7, Charli’s latest album Brat has generated one of the defining moods of 2024, capturing an attitude that rejects other TikTok-friendly trends such as “clean girl living” and instead embracing a messier, more hedonistic outlook.
“You’re just like that girl who is a little messy and likes to party and maybe says some dumb things sometimes,” Charli explained in a clip on TikTok.
“Who feels like herself but maybe also has a breakdown. But kind of like parties through it, is very honest, very blunt. A little bit volatile. Like, does dumb things. But it’s brat. You’re brat. That’s brat.”
The trend has been co-opted by new Democrat nominee Kamala Harris, as she looks to woo the cynical Gen Z vote with memes and TikToks ahead of the US election in November.
Charli endorsed the presidential candidate last week, writing on X/Twitter: “Kamala IS Brat.”
Reviewing for The Independent, critic Helen Brown praised Charli XCX for untangling the contradictions of her “cult classic” status.
“BRAT is a hedonistic, ultraviolet collection of songs whose thumping – slightly disorienting – club beats more than succeed in their aim of ‘capturing a feeling of chaos’,” she wrote.
