“Something horny is coming,” Charli XCX posted, accompanied by a wink emoticon, on her social media channels earlier this week. She was, we now know, teasing the latest single from her forthcoming album Music, Fashion, Film, which is set to be released on July 24.
The track, “Wink Wink,” follows on the heels of “Rock Music” and “SS26,” and similarly tees up the album’s shift from the dance-oriented hyperpop of 2024’s Brat to a more guitar-driven incarnation of the singer’s ever-evolving sound. Co-written and produced by Charli, A.G. Cook, and Finn Keane, “Wink Wink” is a bustling pop-rock song bolstered by a midtempo beat, clangy guitar riff, and searing synth line.
The track opens with a spoken verse in which Charli lists a litany of bad behavior, musing about how “maybe I fucked your dad.” Then, during the chorus, she vows, “It’s the truth and I gotta be honest/I’m not a bad girl anymore, I promise,” followed by a knowing “wink, wink.”
Directed by Aidan Zamiri, the music video for “Wink Wink” sees Charli feeling herself in various locales: on a couch, in a greenhouse, on a playground. She’s even filmed cavorting in a field with a plate of strawberries, a nod to the song’s opening line about “lick[ing] cream off strawberries in the summer.”
Watch the music video below:
Since 2001, we've brought you uncompromising, candid takes on the world of film, music, television, video games, theater, and more. Independently owned and operated publications like Slant have been hit hard in recent years, but we’re committed to keeping our content free and accessible—meaning no paywalls or fees.
If you like what we do, please consider subscribing to our Patreon or making a donation.
