Charli XCX - Doing It ft Rita Ora

Are you like Breaking More Waves and thought that when over 400 people complained about Rita Ora’s appearance on BBC’S The One Show it was probably because she’d sung a song rather than because she’d worn a very slightly cleavage revealing tuxedo jacket? It would seem a fair complaint to us if it had been the former.

And are you like us and think that Charli XCX is arguably one of the best pop stars out there at the moment? Her trashy, bubblegum, hair swaying, punk-punch cheerleader inspired aesthetic and tunes could have Ora’s out cold in the first round of a musical boxing match.

If so, the news that Charlotte has teamed up with Rita for a new song called Doing It creates all sorts of questions, but mainly. WHY OH WHY?

The answer (to us at least) is that whilst in the U.S Charli is doing very well thank you, in the UK, she’s lagging a bit. Break The Rules sounded to our ears like a massive pop banger and hit, but maybe because Charli was spending most of her time doing promo in the U.S it didn’t really happen here, stiffing at number 35 in the UK combined sales / streaming charts and dropping off pretty quickly after that. So whilst Charli’s album is out in the U.S, in the UK it’s been put back a bit to have another shot at a hit. So rolling in Rita Ora, who inexplicably seems very popular and is just about to increase her visibility further by being one of the Judges on the new season of BBC1’s The Voice, is the solution. It’s all about exposure (music rather than the cleavage that is).

So what’s the song like? 

Doing It is produced by Ariel Rechtshaid who has produced the likes of Vampire Weekend, Sky Ferreira and Haim and you can hear his touch here – there’s a bit of a Haim does electronic pop vibe to it. It’s less ballsy and fiery than Break The Rules, in fact its positively frothy, but what it shows is that whatever style Charli adopts she has a knack for melody and hooks, and do you know what? By third listen you might have even forgotten that Rita Ora’s present. 

Come on UK, make this one a hit. Let Charli’s journey, which we’ve been chronicling since we wrongly stated, “we still find it difficult to see anything particularly long term with her,” way back in 2009 (here) take another step forwards and upwards. Then she can kick Rita Ora in to touch.

Charli XCX - Doing It ft Rita Ora