WITH award-winning music, a whole host of hit singles and world dominating world tours, singers Taylor Swift, Charli XCX and Billie Eilish are all top of their game right now.
As three of the most powerful women in music, their paths have all crossed on the way up, with Charli XCX, 32, supporting Taylor’s 2019 tour and now collaborating with Billie, 22, on hit track Guess.
However, despite repeated pleas from the stars themselves for fans not to pit the powerful women against each other, it seems followers of all artists can’t stop speculating on whether there’s a secret feud simmering behind the scenes.
The reason behind the rumoured rift is complex, and involves a messy mix of cryptic lyrics, ‘barbed’ comments and claims of chart ‘sabotage’.
Just this week, Charli XCX collaborated with Kim Kardashian for a sexy new shoot to promote the reality star’s underwear brand Skims, raising questions over whether she made a conscious choice to work with Taylor’s long-standing arch nemesis.
Arguably it could just be coincidence, as posing for Skims seems like an obvious and lucrative move following on from Charli’s track with Billie Eilish, which dropped earlier this month.
The track Guess is essentially about underwear which ties in nicely with her Skims advert deal – however some of the lyrics within this track have raised eyebrows amongst sceptics.
Some music fans have been analysing lines in the track including: “You wanna guess what me and Billie have been textin’ about?
“(You’ve been disrespectful) Still tryin’ to guess the password to my Google Drive (Are you obsessed with me?).
“You wanna guess the address of the party we’re at (You really are not invited).”
Many are convinced these lines are a reference to Taylor, 34, though there’s no legitimate indication they are taking aim at the Eras tour singer.
While rumours fly on social media between the Swifites (Taylor’s fans) and the Angels (Charli’s fans), none of the popstars have publicly addressed the claims.
So could it all just be a clever ploy to drum up hype around the new track?
Speaking to Fabulous, PR and brand expert Nick Ede says: “The use of lyrics to create drama and the concept of a feud has been used countless times by musicians.
“Taylor famously has used lyrics to allegedly diss Kim Kardashian and Kanye too, for example.
“The great thing about doing this is people can read into them differently – it’s a great marketing ploy and a really good way of getting people to dissect the songs online.”
It’s also rumoured both Billie and Charli could have ‘bad blood’ with Taylor after she was accused by internet sleuths of working behind the scenes to block them from the top charts spot.
The Shake It Off singer has even been accused of ‘sabotaging’ her rivals by re-releasing new versions of her album The Tortured Poets Department on the same day Billie released her third album Hit Me Hard & Soft.
Charli’s critically acclaimed album Brat also failed to debut at number one on the British charts, with Taylor releasing a new limited edition of her album with some bonus tracks at the same time.
“Feel so bad for Billie. She deserves this #1 and Taylor is just too greedy” one fan wrote on TikTok, while another added: “This is a deliberate attempt to block Brat. Why is Taylor threatened by Charli XCX?”
However, Nick says: “Every singer on the planet could accuse Taylor of blocking their success, but this just proves that she is a global superstar with unlimited power.
“Taylor’s not short of no1 hits so I think it’s purely a popularity contest – and Taylor currently is at the top.”
But rumours of rifts between the trio go back years.
While Charli made clear she was “really grateful” to be asked to join Taylor on her 2019 Reputation tour, some of her previous comments about being the opening act have drawn criticism from Swifties.
Speaking to Pitchfork, she said: “It kind of felt like I was getting up on stage and waving to 5-year-olds”.
This riled some fans, who felt wounded by the comment, with one hitting back: “I was bored as s*** [when Charli performed] counting down the minutes until Taylor came out.”
Addressing the comments later however, Charli clarified: “There is absolutely no shade and only love here.
“…Leading up to that tour I’d been playing a tonne of 18+ club shows and so to be on stage in front of all ages was new to me.”
Nick says: “I think Charli has always seen her fanbase as being more mature as her songs are a little bit more trend led and fashionable than Taylor’s.
“She would have meant she was grateful for the experience but it wasn’t her usual crowd she was playing for.”
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A scathing comment Billie Eilish made recently about three-hour shows was also interpreted by some as a subtle criticism of Swift’s Eras Tour gigs, which are around three hours long.
While answering fan questions live on music app Stationhead she said: “I’m not doing a three-hour show, that’s literally psychotic.
“Nobody wants that. You guys don’t want that. I don’t want that.
“I don’t even want that as a fan… That’s far too long”
I’m not doing a three-hour show, that’s literally psychotic.”
Billie Eilish
Unfortunately things took a sinister turn earlier this year, with Charli even recently forced to step in and urge fans to stop chanting “Taylor Swift is dead” at her gigs.
Back in June the BBC reported anti-Taylor chanting occurred at a concert in São Paulo, Brazil.
A clearly upset Charli took to her Instagram story, writing: “Can the people who do this please stop.
“Online or at my shows. It is the opposite of what I want and it disturbs me that anyone would think there is room for this in this community. I will not tolerate it.”
The reason behind the tense atmosphere is there had been speculation that one of Charli’s songs – Sympathy is a Knife – referenced Taylor.
English singer Charli is engaged to The 1975 drummer George Daniel, and Swift reportedly dated singer Matty Healy last year.
The lyrics in Charli XCX’s song describes a woman who “taps into [her] insecurities.”
“Don’t know if it’s real or if I’m spiraling… George says I’m just paranoid.
“Don’t wanna see her backstage at my boyfriend’s show. Fingers crossed behind my back. I hope they break up quick.”
Nick adds: “Fans always want to take sides and create drama, like football supporters being loyal to their teams.
“Pop fandom can take a dark turn with fans defending their idols at all costs, and the stars have a responsibility to quash anything that feels negative and too over the top.
“Both Billie and Charli have been vocal in making sure their fans are respectful of other fans and other pop stars.”
Charli herself has recognised the difficult position women in the spotlight are often put in, and it seems the more successful they are, the more speculation and rumour surrounds them.
Speaking to The Guardian, she said: “We’ve got past the point of the media always pitting women against one another.
“Relationships between women are super-complex and multi-layered.
“You can like someone and dislike them at the same time; you can feel jealous of somebody but they can still be your friend.”
And plenty of fans have been quick to stick up for their music idols.
“Why are people pitting these wonderful, talented women against each other? They are both successful and killing it!” one fan wrote online.
Another added: “Can we please just stop comparing women and putting them against each other?
“Like they both are stars and have their fan bases, let them be for god’s sake.”
Nick adds: “They are all highly successful and ultimately their fan bases will move on from this and focus instead on how inspiring and influential they are.
“All three women have commented on the complex relationships that women have and rightly say you can like someone and dislike them at the same time.
“It’s much better to have ‘Brat’ summer than a cruel summer fighting each other.”
