Charli XCX clarifies ‘dance floor is dead’ lyric after Madonna’s viral response
"That lyric is very much about my relationship with Brat, and my personal experience with that album," she told Rolling Stone UK
By Callum Wells
Charli XCX has insisted she doesn’t believe dance music is dying, despite sparking debate with the opening line of ‘Rock Music’.
The singer raised eyebrows when she declared, “I think the dance floor is dead / So now we’re making rock music”, prompting some fans – and seemingly Madonna – to react.
The Queen of Pop appeared to offer a cheeky rebuttal last month, posting on Instagram: “If your dance floor feels dead, maybe you’re playing the wrong music.”
“Dance music is in an incredible place” – Charli XCX explaining the lyric was never intended as a criticism of the genre itself
It comes as she gears up to release her dance-driven album, Confessions II, on 3 July – a sequel to 2005’s Confessions on a Dance Floor.
Now, in her new Rolling Stone UK cover story, Charli has explained that the lyric was never intended as a criticism of dance music itself.
“That lyric is very much about my relationship with Brat, and my personal experience with that album,” she said.
Far from suggesting club culture is on its last legs, the singer argued that electronic music is thriving.
“My husband runs a dance-music label. There’s been such a wealth of incredible dance/electronic-adjacent records that have been coming out recently, whether it’s Slayyyter or underscores or PinkPantheress.”
“Dance music is in an incredible place,” she added.
“I’ve never thought about genre in a binary way” – Charli
The comments come after ‘Rock Music’, the lead single from Charli’s forthcoming album Music, Fashion, Film, caused a stir online thanks to its guitar-heavy sound and provocative opening line. Some fans even questioned whether the singer was abandoning the dance-pop style that made Brat a cultural phenomenon.
But Charli also used the interview to shut down claims that she is making a conventional rock album.
“Obviously, I know that there’s been a lot of conversation around me making a rock album, which is something that I never said,” she explained. “I’ve never thought about genre in a binary way.”