''Pop 2'' is the fourth mixtape by English singer and songwriter
Charli XCX
Charlotte Emma Aitchison (born 2 August 1992), known professionally as Charli XCX, is an English singer and songwriter. Born in Cambridge and raised in Start Hill, Essex, she began posting songs on Myspace in 2008, which led to her discovery ...
, released on 15 December 2017 by
Asylum Records
Asylum Records is an American record label, founded in 1971 by David Geffen and partner Elliot Roberts. It was taken over by Warner Communications (now the Warner Music Group) in 1972, and later merged with Elektra Records to become Elektra/As ...
.
Executive produced by
A.G. Cook of
PC Music
PC Music is a record label and art collective based in London and run by producer A. G. Cook. It was founded in 2013, making its music available on SoundCloud that year. Artists on its roster have included Hannah Diamond, GFOTY, Danny L Harle, ...
, sessions for the mixtape began just several months before its release and featured a wide variety of guest contributions.
The project received acclaim from music critics, and was backed by the single "
Out of My Head" featuring
Alma
Alma or ALMA may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Alma'' (film), a 2009 Spanish short animated film
* ''Alma'' (Oswald de Andrade novel), 1922
* ''Alma'' (Le Clézio novel), 2017
* ''Alma'' (play), a 1996 drama by Joshua Sobol about Alma ...
and
Tove Lo
Ebba Tove Elsa Nilsson (born 29 October 1987), known professionally as Tove Lo (), is a Swedish singer and songwriter. She has been called "Sweden's darkest pop export" by ''Rolling Stone.'' She is known for her raw, grunge-influenced take o ...
.
Background
In December 2014, before the release of her sophomore album
''Sucker'', Charli XCX revealed she was already planning her third studio album. She stated that it would be inspired by
Japanese pop music
J-pop ( ja, ジェイポップ, ''jeipoppu''; often stylized as J-POP; an abbreviated form of "Japanese popular music"), natively also known simply as , is the name for a form of popular music that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1 ...
and sound like "another planet up in the clouds" and "intensely weird and childlike". In July 2015, she shared in an interview that she had begun working on her third album with Scottish producer
Sophie in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
and described it as "the most
pop thing, and the most
electronic
Electronic may refer to:
*Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor
* ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal
*Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device
*Electronic co ...
thing" she had ever done.
BloodPop
Michael Tucker (born August 15, 1990), known professionally as BloodPop (stylized as BloodPop®), is an American musician, record producer, and songwriter. He has previously used the monikers Blood Diamonds, Blood, and Michael Diamond. He is kn ...
and
Stargate were also confirmed to be involved in the album's production. In July and August 2015, Charli XCX co-headlined a US tour with
Jack Antonoff
Jack Michael Antonoff (born March 31, 1984) is an American singer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. Antonoff is the lead singer of rock band Bleachers, and is the guitarist and drummer in the pop rock band Fun. He was pr ...
, but on August 21st she announced that, for "personal reasons", a planned second leg of the tour would not go ahead.
In October 2015, Charli XCX released the song "Vroom Vroom", on the
Beats 1 Radio Show, then claiming it would be the first song released from her third studio album. On 26 February 2016, the
''Vroom Vroom'' EP was released, under Charli XCX's own imprint record label, Vroom Vroom Recordings. All songs on the EP were produced by Sophie. That July, it was announced that British producer
A. G. Cook
Alexander Guy Cook (born 23 August 1990) is an English music producer, singer, songwriter and the head of the UK record label PC Music.
Cook released his first solo singles in 2014. He has also collaborated with PC Music artists such as Hannah ...
, founder of record label
PC Music
PC Music is a record label and art collective based in London and run by producer A. G. Cook. It was founded in 2013, making its music available on SoundCloud that year. Artists on its roster have included Hannah Diamond, GFOTY, Danny L Harle, ...
, had signed on as Charli's creative director, and the following month, she announced in an interview with ''
The Fader
''The Fader'' (stylized as ''FADER'') is a magazine based in New York City that was launched in 1999 by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture. It was the first print publication to be released on iTunes.
It is o ...
'' that her album was finished and would be released in 2017.
When describing the project, Charli stated the album would be split into two sides, half being "straight-up pop" and the other half being "
club
Club may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Club'' (magazine)
* Club, a '' Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character
* Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards
* Club music
* "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea''
Brands and enterprises ...
orientated". In October 2016, the album was confirmed for a May 2017 release, and the lead single "
After the Afterparty
"After the Afterparty" is a single by British singer Charli XCX featuring American rapper Lil Yachty. It was released on 28 October 2016 by Asylum Records and Atlantic Records UK intended as the lead single from XCX's scrapped third studio album, ...
" was released.
Several new tracks were premiered live over the following months, including "
Roll With Me
"Roll with Me" is a song written by Clint Daniels and Tommy Karlas, and recorded by American country music duo Montgomery Gentry. It was released in August 2008 as the second single from their album ''Back When I Knew It All''. It became their ...
", "
No Angel
''No Angel'' is the debut studio album by English singer-songwriter Dido. Originally released on 1 June 1999 in the United States, the album found a mass audience when it was released worldwide in February 2001. By 2003, the album had sold mo ...
", and "Bounce", however in February 2017, it was announced that the album was delayed and expected to be released that September instead. In lieu of the delayed album, she announced a new mixtape titled ''
Number 1 Angel
''Number 1 Angel'' is the third mixtape by English singer and songwriter Charli XCX, released on 10 March 2017 by Asylum Records. The mixtape contains ten tracks and was created in Los Angeles as a collaboration with producer A. G. Cook, the fou ...
'' would be released in February, recorded within two weeks with Cook without permission from her
record label
A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...
,
Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
, meanwhile unreleased Charli XCX tracks began to
leak
A leak is a way (usually an opening) for fluid to escape a container or fluid-containing system, such as a tank or a ship's hull, through which the contents of the container can escape or outside matter can enter the container. Leaks are usually ...
on the internet. The mixtape was delayed until March due to label conflicts.
In May 2017, the album was delayed again with an expected release date for spring 2018, and a second single, "
Boys
A boy is a young male human. The term is commonly used for a child or an adolescent. When a male human reaches adulthood, he is described as a man.
Definition, etymology, and use
According to the ''Merriam-Webster Dictionary'', a boy is "a ...
", was released along with a music video directed by Charli XCX herself, with additional direction from Sarah McColgan.
The video, which featured cameos from a wide variety of male celebrities including
Joe Jonas and
Wiz Khalifa
Cameron Jibril Thomaz (born September 8, 1987), better known by his stage name Wiz Khalifa, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. He released his debut album, ''Show and Prove'', in 2006 and signed to Warner Bros. Records in 200 ...
, went
viral, racking up almost 3 million views within a day. During August, more leaks from the album sessions appeared online, and the project was scrapped.
Recording
Recording for ''Pop 2'' began in September 2017, just two months before the
mixtape
A mixtape (alternatively mix-tape, mix tape or mixed tape) is a compilation of music, typically from multiple sources, recorded onto a medium. With origins in the 1980s, the term normally describes a homemade compilation of music onto a cassette ...
was to be completed, with Charli reaching out to producer and
PC Music
PC Music is a record label and art collective based in London and run by producer A. G. Cook. It was founded in 2013, making its music available on SoundCloud that year. Artists on its roster have included Hannah Diamond, GFOTY, Danny L Harle, ...
founder
A. G. Cook
Alexander Guy Cook (born 23 August 1990) is an English music producer, singer, songwriter and the head of the UK record label PC Music.
Cook released his first solo singles in 2014. He has also collaborated with PC Music artists such as Hannah ...
to suggest they work on a new project following their previous mixtape ''
Number 1 Angel
''Number 1 Angel'' is the third mixtape by English singer and songwriter Charli XCX, released on 10 March 2017 by Asylum Records. The mixtape contains ten tracks and was created in Los Angeles as a collaboration with producer A. G. Cook, the fou ...
'' (2017) appointing him as executive producer.
[ Cook stated that "we wanted it to feel like a complete restart in terms of the image and style of it" in comparison to their previous project.][ The majority of recording took place in ]Alicia Keys
Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...
' old New York studio, with other sessions occurring in London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
.[ Charli extensively utilized ]Auto-Tune
Auto-Tune (or autotune) is an audio processor introduced in 1996 by American company Antares Audio Technologies. Auto-Tune uses a proprietary device to measure and alter pitch in vocal and instrumental music recording and performances.
Auto-Tu ...
, which Cook experimented with and manipulated on particular tracks. She stated that "the mixtape is in this very free, fast, and experimental world. But it's also still intended to be '' pop''. It's what I naturally gravitate towards."[
Charli XCX explained the decision to put out ''Number 1 Angel'' and ''Pop 2'' as mixtapes instead of studio albums in a 2019 interview with '']The Fader
''The Fader'' (stylized as ''FADER'') is a magazine based in New York City that was launched in 1999 by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture. It was the first print publication to be released on iTunes.
It is o ...
'':
Maybe I just wasn't sure people wanted it from me, honestly. Also, I'm signed to a major label, so the second you call something an album, there's all this stress and fear and pressure and scheduling. They're like, "Oh, she's putting an album out. When's Ed Sheeran
Edward Christopher Sheeran (; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently r ...
releasing his album? We got to make sure it doesn't go anywhere near that," and all that. It's like a schedule. The second you just change the language to mixtape, nobody cares. So, I was just like, "Cool, I'm doing mixtapes then." Then it was just like there was no kind of logistical stress, even though it's the same thing. I mean, it's 10 original songs, it's artwork, it's features, it's whatever, it's the same.
Collaborations which appear on the record include Canadian singer Carly Rae Jepsen, Brazilian singer and drag queen Pabllo Vittar
Phabullo Rodrigues da Silva (born 1 November 1993), known professionally as Pabllo Vittar (), is a Brazilian drag queen and singer.
Life and career 1993–2016: Early life
Born in São Luís, Phabullo is a dizygotic twin and has an older sis ...
, Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
n rapper Tommy Cash
Tommy Cash (born April 5, 1940) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter. His elder brother was Johnny Cash.
Biography
Cash was born in Dyess, Arkansas, United States, the youngest of four sons and three daughters of Ray and Carrie (R ...
, German pop singer Kim Petras
Kim Petras (born 27 August 1992) is a German singer and songwriter based in Los Angeles, California. Between 2016 and 2020, she released music as an independent artist under her own imprint, BunHead Records, before signing with Amigo and Repub ...
and Korean-American hip hop artist Jay Park
Jay Park ( Korean name: Park Jae-beom (Hangul: 박재범; Hanja: 朴載範); born April 25, 1987) is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, record producer, dancer and entrepreneur of based in South Korea. He is a member of the Seattle-based ...
among others. Charli stated that "this mixtape isn't necessarily about me – it's really about giving everybody their moment to own the song." The mixtape was to feature a contribution from rapper Lil Peep
Gustav Elijah Åhr (November 1, 1996 – November 15, 2017), known professionally as Lil Peep, was an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He was a member of the emo rap collective GothBoiClique. Helping pioneer an emo revival-style of ...
, which was shelved following his death in November.
A reworked version of "Track 10", titled "Blame It on Your Love
"Blame It on Your Love" is a song by English singer and songwriter Charli XCX featuring American singer and rapper Lizzo. It was released on 15 May 2019 as the second single from Charli XCX's third studio album, '' Charli'', and soon after debut ...
", was later released in May 2019 as the second single from her third studio album '' Charli''.
Singles
The first single from ''Pop 2'', " Out of My Head" featuring Tove Lo
Ebba Tove Elsa Nilsson (born 29 October 1987), known professionally as Tove Lo (), is a Swedish singer and songwriter. She has been called "Sweden's darkest pop export" by ''Rolling Stone.'' She is known for her raw, grunge-influenced take o ...
and Alma
Alma or ALMA may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Alma'' (film), a 2009 Spanish short animated film
* ''Alma'' (Oswald de Andrade novel), 1922
* ''Alma'' (Le Clézio novel), 2017
* ''Alma'' (play), a 1996 drama by Joshua Sobol about Alma ...
was released on 8 December 2017 along the pre-order of the mixtape on digital platforms. The song "Unlock It" featuring Kim Petras and Jay Park was premiered on 11 December 2017 on radio program Beats 1, being named its release day's World Record. Another track called "I Got It" featuring Brooke Candy, Cupcakke and Pabllo Vittar was released on 13 December 2017 as the final promotional single before the mixtape's official release.
Critical reception
At review aggregate site Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, ''Pop 2'' has an average
In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7, ...
score of 84 out of 100, based on eight reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Meaghan Garvey of ''Pitchfork
A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves.
The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...
,'' who gave the album an 8.4/10, called it "the best full-length work of both Charli and PC Music's respective careers," opining that "though ''Pop 2'' sounds like the future, even more delightful is the way it hybridizes sounds from the past two decades of weirdo electronics
The field of electronics is a branch of physics and electrical engineering that deals with the emission, behaviour and effects of electrons using electronic devices. Electronics uses active devices to control electron flow by amplification ...
." Ludovic Hunter-Tilney of the ''Financial Times
The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...
'' wrote that Charli XCX "stands out as a paragon of progressiveness," opening that "on the majority of the tracks Charli and her producer Cook deploy their meta-pop tactics with a skilful sense of dramatic engagement."
In 2019, ''Pitchfork'' ranked the album 40th in its list of "The 200 Best Albums of the 2010s". In the album's entry, Hazel Cills considered it Charli XCX's "best full-length to date" and felt that throughout it, she "solidifies her mastery of the strange, wonderful new pop world she continues to build."
Track listing
Notes
* "Delicious" features a brief sample of Charli XCX's 2014 single " Boom Clap", with the song being depicted as a phone ringtone.
*"Unlock It" samples A. G. Cook's 2014 single "Beautiful". Following the resurgence of the song's popularity on TikTok
TikTok, known in China as Douyin (), is a short-form video hosting service owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which can range in duration from 15 seconds to 10 minutes.
TikTok is an international version ...
, it was retitled "Unlock it (Lock It)" on streaming platforms in May 2021.
*"Track 10" acts as a mashup of sorts between the then-unreleased Charli XCX single "Blame It on Your Love
"Blame It on Your Love" is a song by English singer and songwriter Charli XCX featuring American singer and rapper Lizzo. It was released on 15 May 2019 as the second single from Charli XCX's third studio album, '' Charli'', and soon after debut ...
", and Life Sim's 2015 single, "IDL".
Pop 2 Tour
In addition to the Pop 2 performances, Charli additionally hosted and performed at numerous afterparties during the Reputation Stadium Tour
The Reputation Stadium Tour was the fifth concert tour by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, in support of her sixth studio album ''Reputation'' (2017). The all- stadium tour began on May 8, 2018, in Glendale, Arizona, and concluded on ...
during this period, further promoting the mixtape and singles.
Personnel
Credits adapted from Tidal
Tidal is the adjectival form of tide.
Tidal may also refer to:
* ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple
* Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim
* TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music
* Tidal (servic ...
.
Musicians
* Charli XCX
Charlotte Emma Aitchison (born 2 August 1992), known professionally as Charli XCX, is an English singer and songwriter. Born in Cambridge and raised in Start Hill, Essex, she began posting songs on Myspace in 2008, which led to her discovery ...
– lead vocals
* A. G. Cook
Alexander Guy Cook (born 23 August 1990) is an English music producer, singer, songwriter and the head of the UK record label PC Music.
Cook released his first solo singles in 2014. He has also collaborated with PC Music artists such as Hannah ...
– programming , synthesizer
* EasyFun
Finn Keane, known professionally as Easyfun (stylised in all caps and formerly as easyFun), is a British songwriter and record producer. He is known for his work with Charli XCX; he has songwriting and production credits on her mixtapes ''Number ...
– programming , synthesizer
* Sophie – programming
* Ö – backing vocals and programming
* David Gamson
David Gamson is an American keyboardist/musician (also a producer, songwriter, arranger, engineer). Originally hailing from New York, he has worked with, among others, Kesha, Kelly Clarkson, Jessie J, Adam Lambert, Chaka Khan, Charli XCX, Meshel ...
– synthesizer and programming
* Umru – programming
* Caroline Polachek
Caroline Elizabeth Polachek (born June 20, 1985) is an American singer, producer and songwriter. Raised in Connecticut, Polachek co-founded the indie pop band Chairlift while studying at the University of Colorado. The duo emerged from the late- ...
– backing vocals
* Life Sim – synthesizer
* King Henry – programming
* Lil Data – synthesizer
* Noonie Bao
Jonnali Mikaela Parmenius (born 9 August 1987), better known by the stage name Noonie Bao, is a Swedish singer, songwriter and record producer. She has written songs for artists such as Don Diablo, Ava Max, Katy Perry, Zara Larsson, Charli X ...
– backing vocals
Production
* A. G. Cook – executive producer, engineer
* Stuart Hawkes – mastering engineer
* Geoff Swan – mixer
* Noah Passovoy – engineer
* Brendan Morawski – engineer
* Stargate – vocal producers
References
{{Authority control
2017 mixtape albums
Asylum Records albums
Charli XCX albums
Albums produced by Stargate
Albums produced by David Gamson
Experimental pop albums
Avant-pop albums
Albums produced by Sophie (musician)
Albums produced by A. G. Cook