Charli XCX Talks About Her Indian Heritage “I Feel Like There is This World Where I Could Really Play That Up a Lot. It Doesn’t Come Natural To Me…”

Charli XCX has opened up about her Indian heritage in recent interview, as shared by NME, adding that she does not speak on the subject often as it can be “difficult” to understand her “identity” as a mixed-race person. Charli XCX, born Charlotte Emma Aitchison, shared this and more on Nicky Reardon’s Nicky At Night podcast while discussing her upcoming album Music, Fashion, Film, which is set for release on July 24.

On a recent single “SS26,” Charli sings: “Think my politics could work as a press strategy/ And my heritage could give me quite the USP.”

When asked about referencing her heritage in the lyric, Charli said: “I feel like there is this world where I could really play that up lot. It doesn’t come natural to me probably because of the way that I engage with being a mixed person.” Charli, 33, was raised in Essex by a Scottish father and an Indian mother, and she explained that she struggled with feeling like she belonged when she was younger. “I didn’t really feel like I belonged in either side of my family,’ she said, adding that she would feel like an “outsider” both when “hanging out every weekend with the Indian side of my family” and “at school with a bunch of white girls.”

“So it’s difficult to place yourself and to understand your identity,” she continued. “And a lot of my friends who are mixed also feel that same way. It’s hard to feel like you can really claim something. But I am really happy to talk about that.” Charli also clarified that “SS26” is not about “the end of the world,” as some fans had speculated, but instead addresses the pressure to present a “morally pure” version of yourself online and the conflicting desires to conform and rebel.

Charli released “SS26” in May, with its video depicting her walking runway ‘straight to hell.’ The song is set to appear on Music, Fashion, Film, Charli’s upcoming follow-up to 2024’s Brat and 2026’s soundtrack album Wuthering Heights. She recently shared flirty, tongue-in-cheek single “Wink Wink” alongside a raunchy video, following the album’s first single, “Rock Music.”