When Lorde first heard Charli xcx's song Girl, so confusing, she felt an influx of emotions.

The track — from the British popstar's smash-hit 2024 album Brat — was about her, and the ups and downs of the pair's relationship. Loading Instagram content

Charli sings: "I don't know if you like me/ Sometimes I think you might hate me/ Sometimes I think I might hate you/ Maybe you just wanna be me."

It hit the 28-year-old New Zealand/Aotearoa singer-songwriter hard.

"I felt this unmistakable mix of the love of someone putting you into a piece of art and this sort of sick feeling of hurting someone, and of being misunderstood," Lorde recalls.

"It still destroys me, I find it so heartbreaking and beautiful."

Lorde instantly recognised that the lyrics described her relationship with the

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