Charli XCX has signed a new record deal - and she's teasing fans guessing her new label

Charli XCX has signed a new record deal! The only question is...who with?

The pop icon is coming off the (very successful) cycle for her fifth album Crash - which became her first Number 1 record on the Official Albums Chart last year and ranked as one of the biggest vinyl albums of 2022 too.

Crash's modus operandi saw Charli sacrifice herself to the machinations of the major label system to become her final Big Pop Girl form, a concept that was promoted widely since Crash was the last album on her contract with Atlantic Records, the label she'd been signed to since she was 16. 

Since the release of Crash - which contained the Top 40 single Beg For You with Rina Sawayama - Charli has been honest with the fact that, yes, she is working slowly on new music and was in conversations about a new recording contract, whether that be with her returning to Atlantic, or signing to another label altogether. 

And now, it seems, that the wait is over. In a video for British Vogue posted yesterday, Charli revealed that she has in fact just signed a brand-new recording contract for two albums...but neglected to reveal exactly with who they will be released.

did it on em https://t.co/YI3m9RYfbK

— Charli (@charli_xcx) February 22, 2023

i’m too expensive for them ;) https://t.co/1ZXWeqERfJ

— Charli (@charli_xcx) February 22, 2023

MORE: Charli's Official Charts history in full here

"This is my brand-new recording contract," Charli says in the clip. "I signed it yesterday. Two albums, baby! We're in business!"

The business of being a big pop girl again, yes. 

And since this is Charli, baby, there was of course some playful trolling involved in the whole thing - with Ms XCX revealing she "did it on em" in a promotion of the clip, as well as her teasing the identity of her new (old?) label. 

When one fan asked if Charli had signed with indie magnates Dirty Hit (who are behind the careers of The 1975, Pale Waves, Beabadoobee and others), Charli revealed that she was "too expensive for them," which is iconic, whichever way you look at it.

Looking at it from a stan point of view, however, Dirty Hit does make sense as a possible contender for XCX 6 and 7. Not only are they adept at managing the roll-out for commercially successful acts like The 1975, but Charli now has a deeper connection to the band, given that she's dating producer and 1975 band member George Daniel, who also produced several tracks on Crash, as well as stand alone single Hot Girl from the slasher film Bodies Bodies Bodies and Charli's recent remix of Caroline Polachek's Welcome To My Island. 

But with Charli playing the pop girl game and playing it well (you always have to keep them guessing), she's now made the identity of her label - and by extension, her new music - a viral topic of discussion. 

As soon as we know who Charli has signed with (whether it is back with Atlantic or Dirty Hit as some fans think, or if she's jumped ship to one of the umbrella labels from Sony or Universal) we'll be sure to let you know.

Because, whatever happens, Charli's musical journey and evolution up to this point has been anything but boring.

Read more about Charli's road to becoming a Big Pop Girl with a Number 1 album here.