Song of the Week breaks down and talks about the song we just can’t get out of our head each week. Find these songs and more on our Spotify Top Songs playlist. For our favorite new songs from emerging artists, check out our Spotify New Sounds playlist. This week, Charli XCX and Rina Sawayama put their pop powers together in their first collaboration after years of friendship.
There’s a strong chance Charli XCX and Rina Sawayama have dropped the first big bop of 2022. Maybe they were also feeling the void in explosive dance hall tracks — how long it’s been since we had the cathartic joy of “Rain On Me” — and came to the rescue. “Beg For You” is fine-tuned, almost to a fault (the song is barely over two and a half minutes) but it’s a worthy collaboration between two artists who know what pop music needs to go from good to great.
Here, one of the secret weapons is the song’s use of a sample from “Cry For You,” an iconic club track from Swedish pop singer September. It’s a highly accessible offering from two artists who often veer into hyperpop and the avant-garde, especially when it comes to visuals. “Beg For You” arrives ahead of Charli XCX’s fourth album, CRASH, set to arrive March 18th — Rina Sawyama, meanwhile, will be making us wait a bit longer. While the latter is expected to release an album this year as well, no details have been revealed.
In the meantime, we have “Beg For You” to tide us over. In a world still full of new variants and big question marks, “Beg For You” paints the picture of a 2022 where dance-floor joy will be possible.
— Mary Siroky
Contributing Editor
