Charli XCX didn't feel "confident enough" to release another album after 'Sucker'.
Charli XCX
The '1999' hitmaker has admitted that it wasn't until she released her party mixtapes 'Pop 2' and 'Angel' in 2017, which felt like her "ultimate music", that she felt like she was able to put out her third studio effort, which became 'Charli'.
She admitted to Rolling Stone: "Prior to 'Pop 2' and 'Angel', I don't think I felt confident enough to release another album.
"Even though I'm very proud of 'Sucker', I knew I was making the ultimate music I wanted to hear when I was partying. Through [the mixtapes], I found that."
The 27-year-old star also opened up about the pressures placed on artists today to be the "funniest" and "provocative" whilst also trying to "not upset anyone".
On her insecurities, she added: "Sometimes I think I'm better than every single one of you and other times I feel like I'm literally nothing.
"There's so much pressure in 2019 to be the funniest and know your brand and be the works and not upset anyone but also be provocative."
'Charli' turned out to be her "most honest" record to date because she started saying exactly what is on her mind.
The 'Gone' hitmaker explained recently: "[The record is] my most personal album yet. It's [a record] where I talk a lot more about my insecurities and my thoughts that go on in my head every day about the position I'm in as a person and as an artist."
And whilst Charli originally planned to put out a third mixtape, she felt as though 'Charli' was more like a full-length project.
She added: "With 'Pop 2', I felt the solidifying of my fan base and was more connected to my fans than ever before. I thought that they might want an album from me. So I didn't want to deprive them of it. I just felt confident enough to put one out."
But the 'Flash Pose' singer admits there isn't much difference between an album and a mixtape, except for the "pressure" that comes with releasing a full album.
She said: "When you're signed to a major label and you want to release an album, there's a lot of pressure that's attached with the word 'album' including sales, streams, expectations, and goals. I just wanted to put stuff out without this expectation attached to it."
The 'Boom Clap' hitmaker no longer "cares" about commercial success, and would rather just have the "creative freedom" to do her own thing.
She said: "I used to think of [commercial success] all the time once I had the taste of what a big successful hit could feel like, but I feel like there's a lot of creative freedom in not caring."
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