FEATURE: Beg for You: Charli XCX and Rina Sawayama’s Minor Disagreement Highlights How Fans React to Artists’ Personal Matters

FEATURE:

 

 

Beg for You

IN THIS PHOTO: Rina Sawayama and Charli XCX in March 2022/PHOTO CREDIT: David M Benett/Getty Images 

 

Charli XCX and Rina Sawayama’s Minor Disagreement Highlights How Fans React to Artists’ Personal Matters

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IT has sort of gone out the music news now…

 PHOTO CREDIT: pvproductions via Freepik

but recently there was a bit of a set-to or non-event between terrific music queens, Rina Sawayama and Charli XCX. They collaborated on the track, Beg for You, and are good friends. The reason I wanted to expand on something that relates to Charli XCX being rumoured to be romantically linked to The 1975’s drummer, George Daniel, and how fans interpret things, impose in artists’ lives. It is also about female friendship and swift, friendly and non-dramatic resolution. Sites including CLASH asked what was happening between Charli XCX and Rina Sawayama online. Sawayama seemingly disapproving of her friend being linked to a man in a band fronted by Matty Healy. They (The 1975 and Rina Sawayama) are on the Dirty Hit label, and Healy has been accused of racism, misogyny, sexism and is seen very much as an unsavoury character. The fact that Charli XCX could be linked to George Daniel – and, by association, maybe aligning with Matty Healy -, is something that caused them to disconnect on Instagram and have this brief moment of tension. Billboard fill in the details:

“Charli XCX and Rina Sawayama are not fighting. On Wednesday (Aug. 30), Charli took to X, formerly known as Twitter after she was criticized for unfollowing her “Beg for You” collaborator on Instagram.

On social media, fans noticed that Charli — who has openly supported and Sawayama throughout the years — unfollowed the “STFU!” singer on Instagram. On Tuesday, Charli tweeted “messy era,” which then caused feud rumors to circulate online.

Fans suspected that a possible feud between Charli and Sawayama dates back to when Sawayama used her set at the Glastonbury Festival on June 24 to seemingly call out The 1975‘s frontman Matty Healy, who came under fire at the time for making comments that mocked Asians and other marginalized groups on a February episode of The Adam Friedland Show. (Charli’s current boyfriend, George Daniel, is Healy’s longtime friend and is the drummer for The 1975.)

“I wrote this next song because I was sick and tired of these microaggressions. So tonight, this goes out to a white man that watches ‘Ghetto Gaggers’ and mocks Asian people on a podcast. He also owns my masters,” she said during her Glastonbury set. “I’ve had enough!”

After the alleged feud began trending on X, Charli, Sawayama and Healy all became trending topics on the platform Wednesday, which Charli used as an opportunity to clear the air.

“Look – this all got a bit crazy – me and Rina spoke about things on the phone just now. My unfollowing (which happened a couple of weeks ago) was over a personal disagreement between friends which we’ve now spoken about <3,” Charli tweeted, adding, “anyways stream beg for you!”

Neither Sawayama or Healy have commented on the matter”.

The whole event has been resolved. Rina Sawayama and Charli XCX have spoken on the phone and cleared the air. Whether rumours of Charli XCX and George Daniel are true are not – one hopes not, as I think trouble follows The 1975 -, the ‘drama’ unfolded through fan speculation and intuition. Maybe making too much out of something, the fact there was this Instagram uncoupling and little bit of shade between the two was blown out of all proportion. I can see where Sawayama was coming from regarding Charli XCX. Not making it about herself, I feel she was concerned that she was making a bad decision and was getting into bed (not literally) with a musician who is friends with Matty Healy.

 PHOTO CREDIT: Terrence O'Connor

Nothing has developed when it comes to Charli XCX-George Daniel. Let’s hope that things are kept private and, if anything does happen, it does not cause friction between two friends. Too, the fact Rina Sawayama and Charli XCX got on the phone and had a chat and have worked things out is a mature and really impressive. Not to say men wouldn’t do this - though you feel there would be more fighting, heightened social media prodding and insults. Instead, as Charli XCX posted in a tweet, things got crazy and out of hand. Aside from Charli XCX or Rina Sawayama’s personal and love lives being something that is personal to them, it does seem to highlight a few questions. There has been a lot of talk about fans being too involved in artists’ lives and that intrusiveness. In this case, there was a lot of good humour. There was also a lot of negative comments and things that could have upset or insulted Rina Sawayama and Charli XCX. I am not sure how this all started, though the fact that the two artists’ disagreement exploded into something a lot more speaks for how fans have this real attachment and interest in artists. Whether unhealthy or not, I guess there was concern and genuine love. I do wonder whether fans need to back down a bit and maybe not stoke flames or create this artificial rivalry and fall-out!

It is also encouraging and inspiring seeing how a good friendship is maintained and something that could have turned ugly and very personal was averted. Instead of escalating things on Instagram and the two warring for weeks, they were able to take a step back, chat in private, and then announce things are okay. Rina Sawayama has not spoken about things since the news broke, but her issues with Matty Healy and him being on the same label as her remains. I don’t think she will ever be okay with him. That is not to say that Charli XCX is going to pal with Healy. As far as I know, the two are not great friends. Maybe Healy and Charli XCX have been quite close before, though the association between her and George Daniel seems quite vague and unsubstantiated. It also makes me wonder about artists who are associated with and get involved with controversial or divisive artists and how fans react. When Taylor Swift briefly dated Healy earlier this year, many of her fans judged her and asked what she was doing. That seemingly unwise decision to associate with Matty Healy was met with a lot of social media criticism. Let’s hope there is no further disagreement or possible differences between Rina Sawayama and Charli XCX. I think that the whole situation and its notable aspects – the civil and quick resolution; the fans’ division and opinion about the matter and their role; the way potentially controversial relationships impact artists – that interested me. Let’s also hope that the amazing Rina Sawayama and Charli XCX get back in the studio and…

COLLABORATE again.

Sam Liddicott