Christine and the Queens and more share their ultimate playlists on ‘Charli XCX’s Best Song Ever’

BBC Radio 1 presents “Charli XCX’s Best Song Ever.” In this series, pop star and songwriter Charli XCX speaks with her favorite people and puts together the ultimate playlist. This show might even inspire you to compile your own favorite songs to suit life’s moments. Charli XCX’s podcast style is interesting because she uses song-based questions as launch-off points for deeper conversations with her guests.

In each episode, Charli is looking for the perfect bangers, songs to make you cry, ones to pull you through a break-up, and tunes that encapsulate the most joyous of occasions.

On the first episode, Charli XCX was so excited to speak with her dear friend and collaborator, Christine and the Queens. Charli XCX and Christine are both in LA. Christine is taking a hiatus from social media and is happy to focus on music, nature, and friends.

Charli XCX and Christine and the Queens collaborated on “Gone”

Charli XCX dishes how the song “Gone” came to fruition. While in Sweden, she was working on a track and couldn’t come up with a chorus, so she sent the draft to Christine. Christine replied with a chorus that Charli fell in love with.

The songwriters analyze Christine’s first rhythmic lyric of the chorus: “Why do we keep when the water runs.” Charli still wants to know more about what it means. Christine says she loves to express complex feelings through metaphors. The chorus manifested as a rant when facing inexplicable, timeless questions. Why do we love who we love? Why do we want to grasp things, and the intangible, that cannot be held? Like water running over your hand. Charli finds profundity in the lyrics’ emotional impact. Charli asks if another artist’s song captures this same emotional content for Christine.

Christine’s go-to songs

This Mortal Coil’s “Song to the Siren” fits Christine’s criteria for how the song can make her deeply feel. Christine says this song could probably heal. It’s also featured in David Lynch’s film, Lost Highway.

Christine’s playlist wouldn’t be complete without a hot dance track. She infuses choreography and movement art in her performances. When she was using social media, especially during quarantine, Christine would upload freestyle, solo dance party sessions. Christine shares she started ballet at 4 years old, and was introduced to Michael Jackson’s dancing shortly thereafter. She incorporates dance in all her work as a form of emotional expression. Christine’s ideal solo dance party track is Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.”

Since Christine has been in LA, she hasn’t missed Paris at all. Although she feels deeply connected to her hometown, she needed a break and likens her relationship to the city as a “pure Gemini conflict,” similar to Kanye West’s song “Bound 2” which is also her song choice for a night out in Paris.

They speak about the power of a good cry. What’s her go-to song for crying in the shower? “Un Bei di’ Vedremo” from Giacomo Puccini’s opera Madama Butterfly.

A stong choice for Christine’s funeral song would be “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” from Monty Python. Christine said it lightens the vibe and gives hope to funeral-goers.

At the peak of a party, Christine loves to break out Usher’s “Yeah!” What a feel-good song! From its poppin’ bassline to its percussive elements through Lil Jon’s outro, they’re both obsessed.

Best song to fall in love to? For Christine, it’s “Spring 1” by Max Richter, a reimagining of Vivaldi’s composition. Christine explains it embodies the notion of “water running,” like the lyrics of “Gone.”

This show is a must-listen for music-lovers. You might even hear songs you’ve never heard about before.

Tune in weekly for new episodes.