Charli XCX Says Fame After 'Fancy' Didn't Bring Her Happiness & Creative Fulfillment

Charli XCX is on the cover of Spin‘s September 2019 digital issue, out now.

Here’s what the 27-year-old “Flash Pose” singer had to say…

On exploring her mental health through music: “[I go into] my thoughts and feelings about my mental state and what life is supposed to be as an artist, my depression, and my insecurities. I’m being more honest than ever before. It’s been very therapeutic.”

On her conflicting feelings about fame and commercial success: “["Fancy" was] real pop star whirlwind s–t. That allowed me to see the world and travel and go on crazy TV shows. That was amazing. It’s shaped who I am as an artist. But did it bring me happiness and creative fulfillment? No.”

On the difficulties of being a creative: “People don’t often talk about the kind of difficulty that surrounds being a creative person…I’m not happy all the time. I’m not stable all the time, and I don’t want to pretend that I am. I want people who follow me and care about my music to know that I don’t feel 100 percent on my game all the time, and it’s OK.”

On defining success in her career, on her own terms: “Do I want fame? Do I want commercial success? Or do I want to do my thing, no games, and make music that I care about? And more and more, I’m making decisions for the latter.”

For more from Charli, head to SPIN.com.