“She’s so desperate”- Netizens react as Charli XCX announces “party 4 u” music video 5 years after its release

British pop sensation Charli XCX is set to release the official music video for her track Party 4 U on Thursday, May 15, 2025. This release will also coincide with the fifth anniversary of her album How I'm Feeling Now.

The news comes after the song’s renewed popularity, which is based mostly on a viral TikTok trend that brought the song to the attention of a new generation of listeners.

Ahead of the release, snippets of the upcoming music video have been teased on social media by Charli XCX, including images with “1000 pink balloons” that the fans assume will be a hot theme in the video.

Fans have taken to X to share their opinion regarding the music video launch. Some of the critics have tagged the delayed launch as a strategic decision to cash in on the revived popularity of the song.

An X user @0Speaknow, commented:

"Girl this old ass song she’s so desperate"

"This is kind of washed behavior", a netizen commented.

"why is she grasping to this so hard", another netizen added.

"shes always milking whatever that's trending", an individual stated.

On the contrary, fans are eagerly waiting for the video depiction of a track that has been a long-time favorite among Charli XCX’s discography.

"Exactly! This is what u should do when an old song goes viral, CAPITALISE ON IT", a fan commented.

"deserves its flowers, the best in her discog", another fan added.

"Yesss we are ready for a music video", an individual stated.

The production of the song had been experimental with intense involvement by fans. Charli would share demos, artwork ideas, and ideas with her followers throughout the process.

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The TikTok effect: Charli XCX's Party 4 U and other viral hits

Party 4 U was first presented to fans during Charli XCX’s live shows and online sessions in 2017. It was written during the sessions for her mixtape Pop 2 in 2017, but was released to the public commercially in 2020 on her quarantine album, How I’m Feeling Now.

In early 2025, the song came back to life on TikTok, where people started to lip-sync to its rapid-fire second verse. The trend was inspired by a memorable lip-sync by Coco Montrese on RuPaul’s Drag Race, where she performed a perfect lip-sync to Paula Abdul’s Cold Hearted. This moment was recreated by TikTokers with Party 4 U, and this resulted in millions of views and an increase in the popularity of the song.

Charli XCX expressed her surprise and gratitude for the renewed attention to her song Party 4 U by tweeting:

"it’s p crazy that this song is suddenly getting love in this kinda way. i know this song means so much to so many angels. she’s a cutie"<3

Charli XCX's songs have been revived on TikTok countless times, with many of her songs becoming viral on the platform. Released back in 2017 on her mixtape Pop 2, Unlock It with Kim Petras and Jay Park was re-boosted in 2021.

To keep up with the renewed popularity of the song, Charli XCX modified the name of the song within streaming services to Unlock It (Lock it) in May 2021. This step gave rise to debates on the nature of artist-fan relations and their impact in the social media sphere for music.

Apple became a TikTok sensation after being dropped on August 2, 2024, as a single off of her sixth studio album Brat. The popularity of the song experienced a spike after New York-based actor and content creator Kelley Heyer, uploaded a dance to the platform that went viral and created a trend. Fans and celebrities alike, began to participate in the challenge, including Troye Sivan and Charli herself.