Party 4 U

Charli XCX started recording "Party 4 U" in May 2017, It was intended to appear on her fourth mixtape, Pop 2 (2017), but it was excluded from the track listing. "Party 4 U" became a fan favourite track after she performed it at a concert in Tokyo in May2017, Charli XCX completed "Party 4 U" during the recording sessions of her fourth studio album, ''How I'm Feeling Now'', in 2020, She wrote the song with its producer, A. G. Cook, who additionally played synthesisers and provided drum programming. It was mastered by Stuart Hawkes, and mixed by Geoff Swan with assistance from Niko Battistini. "Party 4 U" is the ninth track. It was originally intended to serve as the closing track. ==Music and lyrics==

"Party 4 U" is four minutes and fifty-six seconds long. hyperpop, and electronic pop song, Auto-Tuned vocals, and a "dreamy" atmosphere. The song's outro features crowd noises that were recorded at the end of Charli XCX's 2019 Brixton Academy concert in London. She revealed that "Party 4 U" was not selected as the album's closing track because she thought that it was "too traditional" due to the outro's crowd noises sounding "like an emotional goodbye". Charli XCX sings in the final verse, "I wish you'd get here, kiss my face/ Instead you're somewhere far away/ My nervous energy will stay/ I hope you realize one day". ==Critical reception==

Critics generally praised "Party 4 U" for its composition and Charli XCX's vocal performance. Truskett described the song as a "shimmering, slow-burn anthem drenched in yearning and euphoria". Atwood Magazine Danielle Holian praised the production and lyrics, adding that the song features Charli XCX "at her most restrained, and somehow, her most cutting, sonically." Courtney Larocca from the same publication commended Charli XCX's vocals and the song's "warm and fuzzy" atmosphere. Both Ahlgrim and Larocca considered "Party 4 U" one of ''How I'm Feeling Now best tracks. Consequence'' editorial staff similarly regarded it as one of the album's essential tracks. Steiner wrote that "Party 4 U" contained some of Charli XCX's most intricate songwriting, considering it the fourth-best track in her discography in 2023. ==Resurgence and commercial performance==

"Party 4 U" began to resurge in popularity and streaming in February2025 after going viral on the online video platform TikTok, where users posted videos of themselves singing the song's second verse. As a result of the resurgence, US on-demand streams for "Party 4 U" more than doubled from January to February 2025, according to Luminate Data. On 19February, the track entered the US Spotify Viral 100 chart at number 80, marking the highest new entry. In response, Charli XCX tweeted, "It's p[retty] crazy that this song is suddenly getting love in this kinda way. I know this song means so much to so many [fans]". Atlantic Records released "Party 4 U" as a single to contemporary hit radio in the United States on 13May2025. A 7-inch vinyl of the song, featuring an etched B-side, was released on 18April2026, as part of Record Store Day. "Party 4 U" peaked at number 42 on the Billboard Global 200 chart dated 31 May 2025. It reached the national charts of Ireland (8), Singapore (12), the United Kingdom (19), Australia (25), Canada (46), and the United States (55). The track also peaked at number 7 on the Sweden Heatseeker chart, number 13 on Billboard Philippines Hot 100 chart, number 14 on IFPI's Official Philippines Chart, number 17 on the Malaysia International chart, number 71 on the Lithuania Airplay chart, number 88 on the Greece International chart, and number 121 on the Portuguese Singles Chart. "Party 4 U" received platinum certifications in Canada from Music Canada and in New Zealand from Recorded Music NZ, as well as a gold certification in the United Kingdom from the British Phonographic Industry. ==Music video==

On 14 May 2025, Charli XCX shared a clip of herself running down an empty street while holding pink balloons and announced that the music video for "Party 4 U" would be released the next day, coinciding with the fifth anniversary of ''How I'm Feeling Now'' release. The video was directed by Mitch Ryan, based on an original concept by Charli XCX. The video begins with Charli XCX in a polka dot dress inside a house on the morning after a party, where balloons and an abandoned birthday cake are shown. Charli XCX picks up her bag and walks barefoot along a rural road, before emptying the bag and smoking a cigarette. She removes her dress and continues walking in a white bra and underwear. Upon encountering a billboard of herself, she tears it apart, throws black paint over it, and sets it on fire. The video is intercut with close-up shots of Charli XCX's face. Vulture Jason P. Frank described the video as "evocative", Holian praised the video's novelty and compared it to a "time capsule cracked open at just the right moment." Slant Magazine listed it as the second-best music video of 2025, with Sal Cinquemani adding that it demonstrated both the song's "timelessness" and changing strategies for releasing and marketing songs and music videos. Dazed listed the video as the eighth-best music video of 2025, while Spin picked it as the twentieth-best. The music video was nominated for Best Pop Video – UK at the 2025 UK Music Video Awards. ==Live performances and other usage==

In 2021, Charli XCX performed "Party 4 U" at three live shows in support of ''How I'm Feeling Now'', located in Los Angeles, New York City, and London. She later included the track in the set list of her third solo concert tour, Crash: The Live Tour (2022–2023). Charli XCX performed "Party 4 U" at Boiler Room in New York City in February 2024. The official footage of the performance was released the following month. She played the song at BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend festival in Luton in May 2024. The following month, she also performed it at the Primavera Sound 2024 festival in Barcelona. Charli XCX added "Party 4 U" to the set list of her fourth solo concert tour, the Brat Tour (2024–2025). "Party 4 U" was featured in the final scene of the film Bottoms (2023). Atwood Magazine Julia Dzurillay deemed it a "seamless inclusion to a film for and about the LGBTQ community". The track was also featured at the end of the fourth episode of the television series Overcompensating (2025). Benito Skinner, the series creator, described "Party 4 U" as the "song that sums up Overcompensating". ==Personnel==

Credits are adapted from the liner notes of ''How I'm Feeling Now''. • Charli XCX – songwriter, recording engineer, engineer, vocals, background vocals • A. G. Cook – songwriter, producer, engineer, drum programmer, synthesisers, background vocals • Stuart Hawkes – mastering engineer • Geoff Swan – mixing engineer • Niko Battistini – assistant mixing engineer ==Charts==

Weekly charts Year-end charts ==Certifications==