By Josh Schonfeld

While both Charli XCX and Troye Sivan deserve more success than they currently receive (thanks a lot, American public), it looks like “1999” could be their ticket out of the underground and into the forefront of mainstream pop. The track describes their longing to return the year 1999, when times were simpler. Picture it: a Clinton was President, teen pop was ruling the charts, and Britney Spears just released the iconic “…Baby One More Time,” a centerpiece of this nostalgia-bomb pop song.

Charli XCX doesn’t attempt to re-create the atmosphere of 1999’s musical landscape. It would be easy to simply make a Max Martin retread and slap on some vocaloid vocals a la Cher’s “Believe,” but instead, she creates a sense of nostalgia through her lyrics. And no, not just because she mentions Shady, Britney, and JTT. It’s her sense of longing for child-like innocence in her vocals as well as her description of friends that people can relate to. Charli is every 90s kid when she sings, “I just wanna go back, back to 1999, take a ride to my old neighborhood.” The song works because it’s now been nearly 20 years since 1999, which means the kids of then are moving away, starting their lives, and having kids of their own. They still wanna party though (they’re only 30 after all!), which is where the beat comes in.

Let’s not forget about Troye Sivan’s part. He basically jerks off to JTT (Jonathan Taylor Thomas) and calls it a bridge, which hits a little too close to home for most of us, let’s be real. Their voices both complement each other’s in the best way, with their late riffs providing a strong vocal performance without getting the runs like Xtina. My one gripe? Troye is 23 years old, which means he was born in 1995. Would a 4-year-old really know anything about 1999? I certainly don’t remember much about 1994, except the fall-out from the Winter Olympics with Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan (what a time to be alive!). I know it’s not essential for him to be “of the time” but it does make me pause for a bit and think if he’s just reading from the prompter or if he realty believes what he’s singing.

The track is already making waves in the UK and Australia where it’s at #76 and 60, respectively. If anything is going to give these two artists a hit, it’s this. And why not! Everyone should be experiencing the 20gayteen revolution in the pop genre.