‘Charli XCX: Alone Together’ Finds Pop Star Battling Insecurity And Isolation And Finding Fellowship With Her Fans 

Do you even remember what it was like? You know, before, all this? When you theoretically could do anything and go anywhere at any time and didn’t have to worry about bringing your vaccination card or whether your friend had tested positive or if you were putting yourself at risk of hospitalization and death just by going out for a beer? The millions of people who simply don’t give a crap notwithstanding, the COVID pandemic has permanently altered our social interactions in and out of the home. 

The “new normal” has posed new problems for those who make their living performing live for paying audiences, going to award shows and schmoozing in nightclubs, and hunkering down with collaborators in cramped recording studios. (In other words, pop stars). Charli XCX: Alone Together, the new documentary currently streaming on Hulu, finds the British born singer and songwriter grappling with isolation and insecurity during the Los Angeles lockdown of 2020 and finding comfort in her devoted fan base as they collaborate on a new album.  

The dawn of 2020 found Charli XCX coming off tour in support of her recently released third album, Charli, with another leg scheduled to start on March 20. Then the whole world went pear-shaped. When the lockdown went into effect, Charli was living in Los Angeles with managers Twiggy Rowley and Sam Pringle. Longtime boyfriend Huck Kwong arrived in town before travel restrictions kicked in, giving the couple a chance to spend more time together. 11 days was their previous record, given their busy schedules.   

Initially, Charli dealt with lockdown the same way we all did; she cooked new recipes, started new exercise regimes, overthought her problems, had panic attacks and stared into the abyss, wide-eyed at the depth of an existential crisis that threatened not just herself but possibly the entire human race. Sorry, I might have been projecting about that last part. Rather than day drinking like the rest of us, she kept busy with live streams, often featuring her celebrity friends. When that wasn’t enough to fulfill her creative needs, she announced on April 6, 2020, that she would write and record a new album in isolation and release it six weeks later. 

Rather than call on past collaborators, Charli turned to her fans, known as “Angels,” to help her craft the album from scratch. Using Zoom and social media platforms to communicate, she began live streaming her writing and recording sessions and uploading her demos for all to hear. Fans would suggest lyrics and other changes over chat apps in real time or voting for their favorite versions. Whatever one thinks about the final album, it’s an incredible way to make music and one that would have been virtually impossible in the pre-Internet era. 

The collaboration was not without its hiccups. “Someone saying ‘vocals are a bit rough,’ yeah, I’m showing you my process,” Charli complains early on. For a modern artist, one whose career began after the advent of laptop recording, she seems oddly out of step with software and equipment and relies on advice from her fans on what to buy online. 3 cameras are filming at all times, producing terabytes of mundane footage. A long segment passes before Charli addresses her fans, saying, “This is day 2.” It makes the lockdown seem as endlessly boring as it really was. 

As the weeks turn to months and the lockdown gets extended, Charli and her Angels struggle with anxiety and depression. For Charli, who says “I depend on work to make me feel like a good person,” the lockdown opens up psychic wounds and feelings of self doubt. For her fans, the pandemic lockdown threatens not only their physical and mental health but their  financial stability as well. All watch in horror as beloved businesses close and work opportunities dry up. 

Zoom parties present the Angels an opportunity to connect with each other and with Charli herself. Many of them are LGBTQ and they come from around the world. With 5 days left before the release date, Charli buckles down and finishes it in due order. A cautious smile of satisfaction crosses her face. To celebrate? Another Zoom party as Charli and the Angels dress up and party down in their bedrooms, a brief moment of euphoria. It will still be months before the world begins to open back up. 

While Alone Together is a fine, well-produced documentary, I’m not sure it will appeal to anyone besides Charli XCX fans. However, it’s a remarkable document of the early pandemic and ensuing lockdown, dredging up unpleasant memories of what happened and making you realize how much has changed. Charli and her fans connect and find comfort online but I can’t help wondering whether that’s good or bad for society and I can’t stop thinking about all we’ve lost. Text at the film’s end tells us, “The COVID-19 crisis is ongoing.”

Benjamin H. Smith is a New York based writer, producer and musician. Follow him on Twitter: @BHSmithNYC.