Party 4 U

Charli XCX recorded her fourth studio album, How I'm Feeling Now, within five weeks during the COVID-19 lockdowns in a "do it yourself" collaborative process with her fans.^[1][2] She started recording the song "Party 4 U" in May 2017,^[3][4] and completed recording its first part in the same year.^[5] It was intended to appear on her fourth mixtape, Pop 2 (2017), but it was excluded from the track listing.^[6][7] "Party 4 U" became a fan favourite track after Charli XCX performed it at a concert in Tokyo in May 2017,^[5][4] with snippets from the song appearing in her subsequent live shows and online videos.^[6][8] "Party 4 U" was completed during How I'm Feeling Now's recording sessions in 2020.^[5] Charli XCX wrote the song with its producer, A. G. Cook, who additionally played synthesisers and provided drum programming. It was mastered by Stuart Hawkes, and mixed by Geoff Swan with assistance from Niko Battistini.^[9]

In April 2020, Charli XCX announced that she would release How I'm Feeling Now on 15 May of that year, and that "Party 4 U" would be included on the album.^[10][4] She described the final version of the song as "euphoric and sad at the same time".^[3] According to Angus Truskett from ABC Australia, the early versions contained EDM trap-style beat drops and a more uptempo production.^[4] Atlantic Records released How I'm Feeling Now to critical acclaim;^[1][11] "Party 4 U" is the album's ninth track.^[12]

"Party 4 U"

A sample of "Party 4 U", featuring crescendoing beats, rapidly pulsing synths, and minimalistic production

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"Party 4 U" is four minutes and fifty-six seconds long.^[5] It is a pop,^[2][13] hyperpop,^[14][15] and electropop song,^[16] featuring echoing synths,^[2] crescendoing beats,^[14] Auto-Tuned vocals,^[17] and a "dreamy" atmosphere.^[18] The second verse showcases a fast-paced rhythm.^[7] Near the end of "Party 4 U", the song starts glitching as Charli XCX sings "party on-party on you, party on you" repeatedly over minimalistic beats^[18] and rapidly pulsing synths.^[19] The song's outro features crowd noises that were recorded at the end of Charli XCX's 2019 Brixton Academy concert in London. She revealed that "Party 4 U" was supposed to appear as How I'm Feeling Now's closing track, but thought that it was "too traditional" due to the outro's crowd noises sounding "like an emotional goodbye".^[5]

Charli XCX described "Party 4 U" as being about "throwing a party for someone who doesn't come—the yearning to see someone but they're not there".^[5] The lyrics discuss the "up-and-down trajectory" of the narrator's on-and-off relationships,^[2] and how she feels lonely even when she is surrounded by crowds.^[20] The song's party-inspired lyrical imagery includes pink balloons, purple pills, a pool, and a "DJ with your favorite tunes".^[20] In the second verse, Charli XCX expresses her sadness over the absence of her lover at the party and senses a disconnection in their relationship, and in the bridge, she conveys the anxiety of realising that the relationship has come to a conclusion.^[21] She sings in the final verse, "I wish you'd get here, kiss my face/ Instead you're somewhere far away/ My nervous energy will stay/ I hope you realize one day".^[20]

"Party 4 U" began to resurge in popularity and streaming in February 2025 after going viral on the online video platform TikTok, where users posted videos of themselves singing the song's second verse.^[7][18] On 19 February, the track entered the US Spotify Viral 100 chart at number 80, marking the highest new entry.^[6] In response, Charli XCX tweeted, "It's p[retty] crazy that this song is suddenly getting love in this kinda way. I know this song means so much to so many [fans]".^[7] As a result of the resurgence, US on-demand streams for "Party 4 U" more than doubled from January to February 2025, according to Luminate Data.^[22] A new TikTok trend began in April 2025, where users shared their feelings and interpretations on the repeated "party on you" part of the track.^[18][23] Atlantic Records released "Party 4 U" as a single to contemporary hit radio in the United States on 13 May 2025.^[24] A 7-inch vinyl of the song, featuring an etched B-side, is scheduled for release on 18 April 2026, as part of Record Store Day.^[25]

"Party 4 U" peaked at number 42 on the Billboard Global 200 chart dated 31 May 2025.^[26] It reached the national charts of Ireland (8),^[27] Singapore (12),^[28] the United Kingdom (19),^[29] Australia (25),^[30] Canada (46),^[31] and the United States (55).^[32] The track also peaked at number 7 on the Sweden Heatseeker chart,^[33] number 13 on Billboard's Philippines Hot 100 chart,^[34] number 14 on IFPI's Official Philippines Chart,^[35] number 17 on the Malaysia International chart,^[36] number 88 on the Greece International chart,^[37] and number 121 on the Portuguese Singles Chart.^[38] "Party 4 U" received platinum certifications in Canada and New Zealand,^[39][40] and a gold certification in the United Kingdom.^[41]

Critics generally praised the composition of "Party 4 U", considering it one of the best tracks in her discography. Truskett described it as a "shimmering, slow-burn anthem drenched in yearning and euphoria",^[4] and New Statesman's Elliot Hoste deemed it "the emotional heart" of How I'm Feeling Now.^[2] Atwood Magazine's Danielle Holian praised the production and lyrics, adding that the song features Charli XCX "at her most restrained, and somehow, her most cutting, sonically."^[42] Business Insider's Callie Ahlgrim believed that Charli XCX showcased her "impressive understanding of her vocal control and tone" in the track by letting "her voice melt into the larger soundscape without getting lost in it", considering it one of her best songs in 2020.^[43][44] Courtney Larocca from the same publication commended Charli XCX's "soft" vocals and the song's "warm and fuzzy" atmosphere. They both considered it one of the album's best tracks.^[43] Consequence's editorial staff similarly regarded it as one of How I'm Feeling Now's essential tracks,^[45] while The Daily Beast's Fletcher Peters deemed it one of Charli XCX's best songs in 2023.^[14] Paste's Andy Steiner wrote that "Party 4 U" contained some of Charli XCX's "most specific and detailed writing", considering it the fourth-best track in her discography in 2023.^[20]

On 14 May 2025, Charli XCX shared a clip of herself running down an empty street while holding pink balloons and announced that the music video for "Party 4 U" would be released the next day, coinciding with the fifth anniversary of How I'm Feeling Now's release.^[46] The video was directed by Mitch Ryan, based on an original concept by Charli XCX.^[47] The video begins with Charli XCX in a polka dot dress inside a house on the morning after a party, where balloons and an abandoned birthday cake are shown. Charli XCX picks up her bag and walks barefoot along a rural road, before emptying the bag and smoking a cigarette. She removes her dress and continues walking in a white bra and underwear. Upon encountering a billboard of herself, she tears it apart, throws black paint over it, and sets it on fire.^[16][48] The video is intercut with close-up shots of Charli XCX's face.^[49]

Vulture's Jason P. Frank described the video as "evocative",^[49] while Cosmopolitan's Samantha Olson deemed it "stunningly vulnerable".^[50] Holian wrote: "The video lands like a time capsule cracked open at just the right moment. And in typical Charli fashion, it's not a rehash, it's a reawakening."^[42] Slant Magazine listed the video as the second-best music video of 2025, with Sal Cinquemani considering it one of the year's "new visual interpretations [that] not only speak to the timelessness of the songs themselves, but ... to the way in which the democratization of music consumption has changed the way songs (and videos) are released and marketed."^[51] Dazed listed it as the eighth-best music video of 2025,^[52] while Spin picked it as the twentieth-best.^[53] The music video was nominated for Best Pop Video – UK at the 2025 UK Music Video Awards.^[54]

In 2021, Charli XCX performed "Party 4 U" at three live shows in support of How I'm Feeling Now, located in Los Angeles, New York City, and London.^[55][56] She later included the track in the set list of her third solo concert tour, Crash: The Live Tour (2022–2023).^[57][58] Charli XCX performed "Party 4 U" at Boiler Room in New York City in February 2024. The official footage of the performance was released the following month.^[59][60] She played the song at BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend festival in Luton in May 2024.^[61] The following month, she also performed it at the Primavera Sound 2024 festival in Barcelona.^[62] Charli XCX added "Party 4 U" to the set list of her fourth solo concert tour, the Brat Tour (2024–2025).^[63]

"Party 4 U" was featured in the final scene of the film Bottoms (2023). Peters deemed it "the perfect way to wrap up a memorable soundtrack" due to the song's crescendoing production.^[14] The track was also featured at the end of the fourth episode of the television series Overcompensating (2025).^[64] Benito Skinner, the series creator, described "Party 4 U" as the "song that sums up Overcompensating".^[65]

Credits adapted from the liner notes of How I'm Feeling Now^[9]

• Charli XCX – songwriter, recording engineer, engineer, vocals, background vocals
• A. G. Cook – songwriter, producer, engineer, drum programmer, synthesisers, background vocals
• Stuart Hawkes – mastering engineer
• Geoff Swan – mixing engineer
• Niko Battistini – assistant mixing engineer