Pop 2 (mixtape)
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''Pop 2'' is the fourth mixtape by English singer
Charli XCX Charlotte Emma Aitchison (born 2 August 1992), known professionally as Charli XCX, is a British singer and songwriter. She began posting songs on Myspace in 2008 before entering the London rave scene. Signing a recording contract with Asylum Re ...
, released on 15 December 2017 by Asylum Records. Executively produced by A. G. Cook of PC Music, sessions for the album began several months before its release and featured a wide variety of guest contributions. The album was backed by its only single " Out of My Head" featuring
Alma Alma or ALMA may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Alma'' (film), a 2009 Spanish short animated film * ''Alma'', an upcoming film by Sally Potter * ''Alma'' (Oswald de Andrade novel), 1922 * ''Alma'' (Le Clézio novel), 2017 * ''Alma'' ( ...
and
Tove Lo Ebba Tove Elsa Nilsson (born 29 October 1987), known professionally as Tove Lo (), is a Swedish singer and songwriter. She is known for her raw, grunge-influenced take on pop music. Referring to her autobiographical lyrics, ''Out (magazine), O ...
, released exactly one week before its release. ''Pop 2'' was acclaimed by critics upon its release; some reviewers went on to call it her best body of work yet. Its innovative blend of electronic music influences was generally praised by reviewers. In 2019, ''
Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...
'' ranked the album 40th in its list of "The 200 Best Albums of the
2010s File:2010s collage v22.png, From top left, clockwise: Anti-government protests called the Arab Spring arose in 2010–2011, and as a result, many governments were overthrown, including when Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi was Death of Muammar Gad ...
".


Background

In December 2014, before the release of her sophomore album ''Sucker'', Charli XCX revealed she was already planning her third studio album. She stated that it would be inspired by Japanese pop music and sound like "another planet up in the clouds" and "intensely weird and childlike". In July 2015, she shared in an interview that she had begun working on her third album with English producer
Sophie Sophie is a feminine given name, another version of Sophia, from the Greek word for "wisdom". People with the name Born in the Middle Ages * Sophie, Countess of Bar (c. 1004 or 1018–1093), sovereign Countess of Bar and lady of Mousson * Soph ...
in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
and described it as "the most pop thing, and the most electronic thing" she had ever done.
BloodPop Michael Tucker (born August 15, 1990), known professionally as BloodPop (stylized as BloodPop®), is an American musician, record producer, songwriter, and gaming executive. Life and early career Tucker was born in Kansas City, Missouri, Uni ...
and
Stargate ''Stargate'' is a military science fiction media franchise owned by Amazon MGM Studios. It is based on Stargate (film), the film directed by Roland Emmerich, which he co-wrote with producer Dean Devlin; production company StudioCanal owns the ...
were also confirmed to be involved in the album's production. In July and August 2015, Charli XCX co-headlined a US tour with
Jack Antonoff Jack Michael Antonoff (born March 31, 1984) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is the lead vocalist of the rock band Bleachers, and previously the guitarist and drummer for the pop band Fun and the lead vocalist of t ...
, but on 21 August she announced that, for "personal reasons", a planned second leg of the tour would not go ahead. In October 2015, Charli XCX released the song " Vroom Vroom" on the
Beats 1 Apple Music 1, previously branded as Beats 1, is a 24/7 music radio station owned and operated by Apple Inc. It is accessible through iTunes or the Apple Music app on a computer, smartphone or tablet, smart speaker (such as the Apple HomePod), ...
Radio Show, then claiming it would be the first song released from her third studio album. On 26 February 2016, the ''Vroom Vroom'' EP was released, under Charli XCX's own imprint record label, Vroom Vroom Recordings. All songs on the EP were produced by Sophie. That July, it was announced that British producer A. G. Cook, founder of record label PC Music, had signed on as Charli's creative director, and the following month, she announced in an interview with ''
The Fader ''The Fader'' is a magazine established in 1999 as an outlet for Cornerstone Agency, a marketing and public relations firm established by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture. History and work It is owned by T ...
'' that her album was finished and would be released in 2017. When describing the project, Charli stated the album would be split into two sides, half being "straight-up pop" and the other half being " club-orientated". In October 2016, the album was confirmed for a May 2017 release, and the lead single " After the Afterparty" was released. Several new tracks were premiered live over the following months, including "Roll with Me", " No Angel", and "Bounce", however in February 2017, it was announced that the album was delayed and expected to be released that September instead. In lieu of the delayed album, she announced a new
mixtape In the modern music industry, a mixtape is a musical project, typically with looser constraints than that of an album or extended play. Unlike the traditional album or extended play, mixtapes are labeled as laid-back projects that allow artists mo ...
titled '' Number 1 Angel'' would be released in February, recorded within two weeks with Cook without permission from her
record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...
,
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; meanwhile, unreleased Charli XCX tracks began to
leak A leak is a way (usually an opening) for fluid to escape a container or fluid-containing system, such as a Water tank, tank or a Ship, ship's Hull (watercraft), hull, through which the contents of the container can escape or outside matter can e ...
on the internet. The mixtape was delayed until March due to label conflicts. In May 2017, the album was delayed again with an expected release date for spring 2018, and a second single, " Boys", was released along with a music video directed by Charli XCX herself, with additional direction from Sarah McColgan. The video, which featured cameos from a wide variety of male celebrities, including
Joe Jonas Joseph Adam Jonas (born August 15, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He rose to fame as a member of the pop rock band the Jonas Brothers, alongside his brothers Kevin Jonas, Kevin and Nick Jonas, Nick. The group released their ...
and
Wiz Khalifa Cameron Jibril Thomaz (born September 8, 1987), better known by his stage name Wiz Khalifa, is an American rapper, singer-songwriter and actor. Raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he signed with the local independent label Rostrum Records to re ...
, went viral, racking up almost 3 million views within a day. During August, more leaks from the album sessions appeared online, and the project was scrapped.


Recording

Recording for ''Pop 2'' began in September 2017, just two months before the mixtape was to be completed, with Charli reaching out to producer and PC Music founder A. G. Cook to suggest they work on a new project following their previous mixtape ''Number 1 Angel'' (2017) appointing him as executive producer. Cook stated that "we wanted it to feel like a complete restart in terms of the image and style of it" in comparison to their previous project. The majority of recording took place in
Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer and songwriter. A classically trained pianist, Keys began composing songs at the age of 12 and was signed by Columbia Records at 15. After d ...
' old
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
studio, with other sessions occurring in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
. Charli extensively utilized
Auto-Tune Auto-Tune is audio processor software released on September 19, 1997, by the American company Antares Audio Technologies. It uses a proprietary device to measure and Pitch correction, correct pitch in music. It operates on different principles ...
, which Cook experimented with and manipulated on particular tracks. She stated that "the mixtape is in this very free, fast, and experimental world. But it's also still intended to be ''pop''. It's what I naturally gravitate towards." Collaborations which appear on the record include Canadian singer
Carly Rae Jepsen Carly Rae Jepsen (born November 21, 1985) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. After studying musical theatre for most of her school life and while in university, Jepsen garnered mainstream attention after placing third on the fifth season of ...
, Brazilian singer and
drag queen A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses Drag (entertainment), drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate Femininity, female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have ...
Pabllo Vittar,
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n rapper
Tommy Cash Tommy Cash (April 5, 1940 – September 13, 2024) was an American Country music, country musician. His elder brother was Johnny Cash. Background and career Cash was born in Dyess, Arkansas, on April 5, 1940, the youngest of four sons and thre ...
, German pop singer
Kim Petras Kim Petras (, ; born 27 August 1992) is a German singer and songwriter based in Los Angeles. Between 2016 and 2020, she released music as an independent artist under her own imprint, BunHead Records, before signing with Amigo and Republic Reco ...
and
Korean-American Korean Americans () are Americans of full or partial Korean ethnic descent. While the broader term Overseas Korean in America () may refer to all ethnic Koreans residing in the United States, the specific designation of Korean American impli ...
hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...
artist
Jay Park Jay Park (born April 25, 1987), Korean name Park Jae-beom (), is an American rapper, singer-songwriter and dancer based in South Korea. He is a member of the Seattle-based breakdancing, b-boy crew Art of Movement (AOM), and founder and former ...
among others. Charli stated that "this mixtape isn't necessarily about me – it's really about giving everybody their moment to own the song." The mixtape was to feature a contribution from rapper
Lil Peep Gustav Elijah Åhr (; November 1, 1996 – November 15, 2017), known professionally as Lil Peep, was an American rapper and singer-songwriter. He was a member of the hip-hop collective GothBoiClique, and is credited as being a leading figure of ...
, which was shelved following his death in November. Charli cited being signed to a major label and potential pressure from the public as reasons for ''Pop 2'' being a mixtape. A reworked version of "Track 10", titled " Blame It on Your Love" and featuring American singer and rapper
Lizzo Melissa Viviane Jefferson (born April 27, 1988), known professionally as Lizzo (), is an American singer and rapper. Born in Detroit, Michigan, she moved to Houston, Texas, with her family at the age of ten. After college, she moved to Minn ...
, was later released in May 2019 as the second single from her third studio album '' Charli''.


Singles

The first single from ''Pop 2'', " Out of My Head" featuring
Tove Lo Ebba Tove Elsa Nilsson (born 29 October 1987), known professionally as Tove Lo (), is a Swedish singer and songwriter. She is known for her raw, grunge-influenced take on pop music. Referring to her autobiographical lyrics, ''Out (magazine), O ...
and
Alma Alma or ALMA may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Alma'' (film), a 2009 Spanish short animated film * ''Alma'', an upcoming film by Sally Potter * ''Alma'' (Oswald de Andrade novel), 1922 * ''Alma'' (Le Clézio novel), 2017 * ''Alma'' ( ...
was released on 8 December 2017 along the pre-order of the mixtape on digital platforms.


Promotional singles

The song " Unlock It" featuring Kim Petras and Jay Park was premiered on 11 December 2017 on radio program
Beats 1 Apple Music 1, previously branded as Beats 1, is a 24/7 music radio station owned and operated by Apple Inc. It is accessible through iTunes or the Apple Music app on a computer, smartphone or tablet, smart speaker (such as the Apple HomePod), ...
, being named its release day's World Record. Another track, "I Got It" featuring
Brooke Candy Brooke Dyan Candy (born July 20, 1989) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and tattoo artist. Raised in the suburbs of Los Angeles, she rose to prominence after starring in Grimes' music video for " Genesis" (2012). Following its success ...
,
Cupcakke Elizabeth Eden Harris (born May 31, 1997), known professionally as Cupcakke (often stylized as cupcakKe; pronounced "cupcake"), is an American rapper and singer-songwriter known for her Sexualization, hypersexualized, brazen, and often comical ...
and Pabllo Vittar, was released on 13 December 2017 as the final promotional single before the mixtape's official release. On 31 October 2019, "Porsche" featuring was released as a promotional single.


Critical reception

At review aggregate site
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, ''Pop 2'' has an
average In colloquial, ordinary language, an average is a single number or value that best represents a set of data. The type of average taken as most typically representative of a list of numbers is the arithmetic mean the sum of the numbers divided by ...
score of 84 out of 100, based on eight reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Meaghan Garvey of ''
Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...
,'' who gave the album an 8.4/10, called it "the best full-length work of both Charli and PC Music's respective careers," opining that "though ''Pop 2'' sounds like the future, even more delightful is the way it hybridizes sounds from the past two decades of weirdo electronics." Ludovic Hunter-Tilney of the ''
Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...
'' wrote that Charli XCX "stands out as a paragon of progressiveness," adding that "on the majority of the tracks Charli and her producer Cook deploy their meta-pop tactics with a skilful sense of dramatic engagement." ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
''s Alexis Petridis remarked that the mixtape did "an impressive job of convincing you that Charli XCX is infinitely better when freed from record company interference" and found Cook's production to be "adventurous" and infused with "wilful modernity". In 2019, ''Pitchfork'' ranked the album 40th in its list of "The 200 Best Albums of the
2010s File:2010s collage v22.png, From top left, clockwise: Anti-government protests called the Arab Spring arose in 2010–2011, and as a result, many governments were overthrown, including when Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi was Death of Muammar Gad ...
". In the album's entry, Hazel Cills considered it Charli XCX's "best full-length to date" and felt that throughout it, she "solidifies her mastery of the strange, wonderful new pop world she continues to build."


Track listing

Notes * "Delicious" features a brief sample of Charli XCX's 2014 single "
Boom Clap "Boom Clap" is a song by English singer Charli XCX, released as the first single from the The Fault in Our Stars (soundtrack), soundtrack album of ''The Fault in Our Stars (film), The Fault in Our Stars'' (2014) and is also featured on her seco ...
", with the song being depicted as a phone ringtone. *"Unlock It" samples A. G. Cook's 2014 single "Beautiful". Following the resurgence of the song's popularity on
TikTok TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...
, it was retitled "Unlock it (Lock It)" on streaming platforms in May 2021. * A later vinyl release included all ten tracks of ''Pop 2'' combined with the ten tracks of '' Number 1 Angel''.


Pop 2 Tour

In addition to the Pop 2 performances, Charli additionally hosted and performed at numerous afterparties during Taylor Swift's Reputation Stadium Tour during this period, further promoting the mixtape and singles.


Personnel

Musicians *
Charli XCX Charlotte Emma Aitchison (born 2 August 1992), known professionally as Charli XCX, is a British singer and songwriter. She began posting songs on Myspace in 2008 before entering the London rave scene. Signing a recording contract with Asylum Re ...
– lead vocals * A. G. Cookprogramming (all tracks), synthesizer (6) * EasyFun – programming (1, 6, 9), synthesizer (6) *
Sophie Sophie is a feminine given name, another version of Sophia, from the Greek word for "wisdom". People with the name Born in the Middle Ages * Sophie, Countess of Bar (c. 1004 or 1018–1093), sovereign Countess of Bar and lady of Mousson * Soph ...
– programming (2) * Ö – backing vocals and programming (3) *
David Gamson David Gamson is an American keyboardist/musician (also a producer, songwriter, arranger, engineer). Originally hailing from New York, he has worked with, among others, Kesha, Kelly Clarkson, Jessie J, Adam Lambert, Chaka Khan, Charli XCX, Meshel ...
– synthesizer and programming (6) * Umru – programming (5) *
Caroline Polachek Caroline Elizabeth Polachek (born June 20, 1985) is an American singer, producer, and songwriter. Raised in Connecticut, Polachek cofounded the indie pop band Chairlift while studying at the University of Colorado. The duo emerged from the late- ...
– backing vocals (7) * Life Sim – synthesizer (8, 10) * King Henry – programming (9) * Lil Data – synthesizer (10) * Noonie Bao – backing vocals (10) Production * A. G. Cook – executive producer,
engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...
(3, 5–8) * Stuart Hawkes –
mastering engineer Mastering is a form of audio post production which is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the Audio mixing (recorded music), final mix to a data storage device called a master recording, the source ...
* Geoff Swan – mixer * Noah Passovoy – engineer (2) * Brendan Morawski – engineer (3, 4, 6–8) *
Stargate ''Stargate'' is a military science fiction media franchise owned by Amazon MGM Studios. It is based on Stargate (film), the film directed by Roland Emmerich, which he co-wrote with producer Dean Devlin; production company StudioCanal owns the ...
– vocal producers (10)


Charts


References

{{Authority control 2017 mixtape albums Asylum Records mixtape albums Charli XCX albums Albums produced by Stargate Albums produced by David Gamson Experimental pop albums Avant-pop albums Albums produced by Sophie (musician) Albums produced by A. G. Cook