Pop icons Charli xcx and Billie Eilish have broken the record for the biggest remix debut for female artists on Spotify with ‘Guess featuring Billie Eilish’.
The song was released on Thursday last week and has since garnered more than 6.8 million streams on Spotify over the weekend, breaking the previous record of 5 million in one weekend, set by Taylor Swift with ‘Karma ft. Ice Spice’.
Charli xcx released ‘Guess’ in an extended version of her album Brat last month, and the remixed version featuring Billie Eilish has hit Number 1 on the US Spotify chart. It is the first time Charli has secured the number 1 spot since ‘Fancy’ in 2014. ‘Guess’ is also the first and only song Billie Eilish has ever featured in.
The music video for ‘Guess’ has been viewed more than 6 million times on YouTube. The hundreds of unworn undergarments featured in the video have been donated to survivors of domestic violence through the organisation I Support The Girls.
Charli’s latest album Brat has become a cultural icon of 2024 since its release in June. It has not only sent the internet in a bright green, 365 party girl frenzy, but has even gone as far as to influence Vice President Kamala Harris’ early campaign strategy for the 2024 US presidential election.
Brat explores the struggles of women in the music industry, who are often pitted against one another but also expected to be friends and allies. No song articulates this better than ‘Girl, so confusing’, especially the version featuring New Zealand singer Lorde.
Meanwhile, Billie Eilish’s latest album, Hit Me Hard and Soft, has been a huge hit for the singer. It is the first time Eilish has been open about exploring her sexuality, with her sapphic single ‘LUNCH’ debuting at No. 1 on three Billboard charts at once. Her featured verse in ‘Guess’ is just as saucy.
Over the weekend, Charli xcx celebrated her 32nd birthday. Videos of the UK pop star singing her remixed songs with both Billie Eilish and Lorde have gone viral on social media.
‘Chart-blocking’
The record-breaking remix is a big moment for both Charli xcx and Eilish. Taylor Swift has undoubtedly dominated charts: her recent record, The Tortured Poets Department (TTPD) became the most streamed album in a single week across all streaming platforms when it was released in April.
But Swift has previously been accused of “chart-blocking” other artists. “Chart-blocking” refers to the strategic release of exclusive and different versions of records to prevent other albums from taking over on the charts.
Fans of both Charli and Eilish have accused Swift of doing so with TTPD. When Hit Me Hard and Soft was released on May 23, Swift released new digital downloads and CD variants that same week. TTPD ultimately outdid Hit Me Hard and Soft on the Billboard album chart.
Similarly, when Brat was released on June 7, Swift released new reissues of her album, including live bonus tracks, first draft phone memos and more. Brat failed to de-throne TTPD, which remained at the top of the UK’s Official Charts.
Eilish has previously spoken about the “industry-wide” phenomenon in an interview with Billboard in March this year.
“It’s some of the biggest artists in the world making f—king 40 different vinyl packages that have a different unique thing just to get you to keep buying more,” Eilish said.
“It’s so wasteful, and it’s irritating to me that we’re still at a point where you care that much about your numbers and you care that much about making money — and it’s all your favourite artists doing that sh-t.”
Eilish confirmed her comments were not targeted at any specific artist.