Charli XCX dropped the third single, “Beg For You,” off her forthcoming album Crash, and it’s filled with enough dance-pop greatness to drive diehard fans wild. Of course, it already has—“Beg For You” shot to the Top 5 on Genius’ Top Songs chart within the first 24 hours of its release.
The song features experimental pop trailblazer Rina Sawayama and flips the 2007 dance-pop hit “Cry For You” by Swedish singer-songwriter September. A euphoric pop melody paired over a pulsing garage beat, “Beg For You” doesn’t lose any of the original’s club energy, though. “It feels to me like one of those songs that comes on at the height of a party where you are a little bit fucked up, you maybe want to cry, but you also want to dance,” She explained to Entertainment Weekly. “Because it’s a garage beat, it reminded me of being at home in the U.K., at a house party with my friends who I’ve known since I was 12 years old.”
“Beg For You” sees Charli XCX at her most desperate. On the opening verse, she can’t even stand the thought of parting from her lover.
You know I go insane every time you have to catch a flight (Ah, ah-ah-ah)
Well, can I take you to the airport? Make out under the bathroom lights (Ah, ah-ah-ah)
Her request doesn’t garner the response she was looking for, though. And on the hook, Charli threatens to take her pleading to new levels.
Oh, don’t you leave me this way
Won’t you wait another hour or two?
You know I need you to stay
Don’t make me beg for you ‘cause I’ll beg for you
Charli is joined by Sawayama on the post-chorus, where the two interpolate the hook to September’s “Cry For You.”
Beg for you, beg for you (Yeah)
Beg for you, beg for you, mmm (Yeah)
“Beg For You” marks the first time the pair have ever appeared on an official song together, and the collaboration has been a long time in the making. In 2019, the duo cut a ballad for XCX’s self-titled album, Charli, that never saw the light of day after Sawayama requested they shelve it and wait for a pop banger to come along. Enter: “Beg For You.”
Charli knew they’d made the right choice when she heard Sawayama’s second verse, which features her favorite line in the whole song:
Separated by a degree
Hesitate, gonna lose you, so far out of reach
(Ah, ah-ah-ah)
“I just love the switch of the rhythm in that line,” XCX said of the lyric. “And it’s more a tonal, phonetic thing than the actual lyric. I find that that rhythm is really catchy.”
“Beg For You” was produced by British DJ Digital Farm Animals. The demo was written by songwriters Sorana, Rollo Spreckley, and Alex Soifer. After hearing their original cut, Charli only changed a few things before stepping into the recording studio. “I just heard the rough demo, fell in love with it, changed a few lyrics here and there, and sang it,” she said.
You can check out all the lyrics to “Beg For You” on Genius now.
