One thing Charli XCX has demonstrated throughout the Brat era is self-awareness. She did so once again yesterday (May 22) while being named Songwriter Of The Year at the 2025 Ivor Novello Awards, when she discussed her lyrics.

Charli said (as NME reports), “As I’m sure you all agree, I am hardly Bob Dylan, but one thing I certainly do is commit to the bit.” Tongue surely in cheek, she went on to provide examples of her “lyrical genius,” including “I want to dance to me, me, me, me, me, when I go to the club, club” from “Club Classics.”

She added, “[While] some people might describe [the lyrics] as vapid and nonsensical, [I] would unpretentiously describe it as Warholian and reflective of the cultural brain rot of our time.” Charli then continued:

“To me as a songwriter, but above all, as an artist: conviction is everything. It separates the frauds from the greats, the good singers from the trendsetters. It’s Duchamp’s fountain. It’s Denniz pop, it’s David f*cking Lynch. It’s an undeniable sense of style and personality, and of course, it’s embracing the idea of daring to suck, in my opinion, from writing songs with no fear and no agenda other than making something totally reflective of who you are, come the best songs. Songs that can soundtrack a night out, a summer, or possibly even define a moment in time.”

Read more from her speech here.