Charli XCX unveiled her new single “Baby” on Tuesday (March 1) along with its accompanying music video.
In the visual, the avant-garde pop star runs effortlessly through sensual choreography while flanked by a pair of look-alike backup dancers. “I can see it in your eyes/ You’re nervous, but you know just what you want/ If you’re feeling scared, that’s fine/ I’ve got no problem taking full control/ Baby,” she coos on the come-hither pre-chorus as she shakes the leather tassels of her ab-baring ensemble.
“This song, it was kind of the foundation of the vibe of the album,” Charli revealed in an interview with Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1. “It’s probably the most sexy song I’ve ever made. It’s about sex and sexuality and having good sex and just feeling yourself essentially. I know that that’s the tone. I knew that that was the tone I wanted to carry across for the entire record. This kind of hyper-sexualized, feminine power zone was where I was feeling myself going, and ‘Baby’ was the genesis of this.”
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The pop star also spoke about pushing the limits of her dance background with the visual’s sensual choreography, saying, “I think that’s probably why I wanted to challenge myself on the choreo for this song, which was really, really tough and I have so much respect for dancers, professional dancers, anyone who communicates emotion through dance. It is so hard and challenging, but so rewarding.”
The track serves as the fourth sneak peek off the singer’s upcoming album Crash, following lead single “Good Ones,” the star-studded “New Shapes” with Caroline Polachek and Christine and the Queens, and the Rina Sawayama-assisted club banger “Beg for You.” In addition, just last week she also dropped a remix of the latter featuring the addition of K-pop idol VERNON of SEVENTEEN.
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Later this week, Charli will also head back to Studio 8H to perform as the musical guest on the March 5 episode of Saturday Night Live with host Oscar Isaac, making up for her having to cancel her previously scheduled stint on the late-night sketch show due to concerns as the omicron variant of the coronavirus swept through New York City.
Crash is due March 18 via Atlantic Records/Warner UK. Watch the high-energy, choreography-filled music video for “Baby” below.