The Brat era is behind us, and it’s time for new Charli XCX music (and film projects)! On Thursday, the pop diva shared a short, eerie teaser of a new song called “House” featuring The Velvet Underground’s John Cale, set to be featured in Wuthering Heights. The song’s out Monday.
On Instagram, Charli called it “the first offering from my album for Emerald Fennell’s adaptation of Wuthering Heights.” She also shared a longer statement on social media, saying she felt “immediately” inspired to start making music for the film.
“After being so in the depths of my previous album, I was excited to escape into something entirely new, entirely opposite,” she wrote. “When I think of Wuthering Heights, I think of many things. I think of passion and pain. I think of England. I think of the Moors, I think of the mud and the cold. I think of determination and grit.”
The video teaser Chrli shared features eerie, horror film–like sound effects and the haunting sound of violins as Charli is pinned down by an elderly hand while staring directly into the camera. “Can I speak to you privately for a moment?” an ominous voice asks, as a raven-like bird flashes on screen.
In her post about the song, she called herself a “huge fan” of the Velvet Underground and recalled a quote from Cale in the band’s documentary, when he said, “any song had to be both ‘elegant and brutal.’”
Charli wrote: “I got really stuck on that phrase. I wrote it down in my notes app and would pull it up from time to time and think about what he meant.” The phrase came up as she made the music for this film, and so she decided to reach out to him for his opinion and they ended up collaborating.
“That voice, so elegant, so brutal. I sent him some songs, and we started talking specifically about House. We spoke about the idea of a poem. He recorded something and sent it to me. Something that only John could do. And it was… well, it made me cry,” she wrote. “I feel so lucky to have been able to work with John onn this song. I’ve been so exited to share it with you all, sitting quietly in anticipation.”
Fennell (who directed Saltburn) is directing the new Wuthering Heights, adapted from Emily Brontë’s 1847 love story. Charli is writing songs for the film and will release an accompanying album for it. The film will star Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi and is set to premiere on Valentine’s Day.
The film’s trailer was shared in early September with Robbie as Catherine and Elordi as Heathcliff; the pair are captured amid brooding stares and heaving chests while Charli XCX‘s Brat track “Everything Is Romantic” plays.
2026 is set to be filled with new film projects for the popstar, who, along with starring and creating The Moment, she’ll also be in The Gallerist with Natalie Portman and Jenna Ortega.
