Whether you were having a ‘Brat’ summer or a sad-girl season, Charli XCX and Clairo had you covered. In June 2024, Charli gave us Brat, a collection of exhilaratingly anxious club bangers that paid homage to England’s early-aughts rave scene. Meanwhile, Clairo delivered melancholic dream pop in the form of Charm the following month. Polar opposites on the surface, each record managed to refract the cultural moment of last summer back at their listeners. Recently, that dichotomy collided onstage in Australia when the two 2025 GRAMMY nominees teamed up for a performance of Clairo’s “Sofia.”
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Watch This Fan-Captured Footage of Charli XCX and Clairo in Australia
Performing at Melbourne’s Laneway Festival on Friday (Feb. 14,) Clairo (born Claire Cottrill) finished up a 12-song set that included “Bags,” “Sexy to Someone,” and “Juna.” Instead of exiting the stage, however, the “Pretty Girl” singer, 26, welcomed Charli XCX to the stage.
Clad in a black dress and boots, Charli XCX (born Charlotte Aitchison) joined Clairo for a lovely rendition of the latter’s 2019 sleeper hit “Sofia.” The pair danced around the stage, singing to one another: I think we could do it if we tried /If only to say you’re mine/ Sofia, know that you and I/ Shouldn’t feel like a crime.
Another video of Clairo and Charli XCX singing Sofia together in Melbourne #CharmTourMelbourne 💌pic.twitter.com/83MhH4LURB
— Clairo’s HQ 🗝️ (@clairoshq) February 14, 2025
Notably, the duet marked the first public performance of “Sofia” since 2022.Released in 2019, the song enjoyed viral fame on TikTok before making its way to the Billboard Hot 100 a year later.
[RELATED: The Meaning Behind “Sofia” by Clairo and What She Sings About Her Famous Crushes]
While loving the performance, one fan pointed out on X/Twitter, “Charli not knowing how to move mellow music lol.”
Charli not knowing how to move mellow music lol
— Guru Puru (@GuruPuru3) February 14, 2025
Clairo Praises Her Duet Partner As “Genius”
After Clairo finished up her set at Laneway Festival, Charli XCX took the stage later as the headliner. The “Apple” singer-songwriter, 32, performed hits from her GRAMMY-winning sixth studio album, including “Sympathy Is a Knife” and “Girl, So Confusing.”
Lorde guest stars on a remix of the latter—a collaboration that Clairo has praised as “unreal,”
“I mean, they’re both geniuses to me,” the “Bags” singer said in an interview with Matt Wilkinson on Apple Music 1. “Charli has been someone I’ve looked up to forever, and same thing with Lorde.”
Continuing, Clairo called the song’s navigation of “tricky” female friendship dynamics “really cool and extremely necessary.”
“I couldn’t love that song more,” she said. “I think it did exactly what it’s supposed to do.”
Featured image by John Salangsang/Shutterstock
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