“Cross You Out” [ft. Sky Ferreira]

Charli XCX is explosive, exuberant, out-of-control. She cruises in bubblegum-pink Ferraris and rages so hard she discovers glitter in her underwear at the after-afterparty. But on “Cross You Out,” a moody collaboration with Sky Ferreira, her cocky, can’t-be-bothered attitude is nowhere to be found. Instead, she’s wounded, reeling from relationships that should have been cut off long ago. “When you’re not around,” she repeats over and over, like a promise to herself, “I’ll finally cross you out.”

Produced by Lotus IV and A.G. Cook, “Cross You Out” launches with thudding electronics and bright keys. But it simmers down as Charli begins singing, her voice Auto-Tuned and vulnerable. “Century of tears, sadness was my only smile,” she reminisces. Glitchy metallics preserve the (un)conventional Charli sound; crystalline coos add a dreamy tenderness. Sky mirrors her desolation, echoing and extending Charli’s words like they’re two halves of the same person. “I’ve become someone better,” they murmur in unison at the bridge, nearly out of breath: “Feels so good to forget ya.”