Executive Overview
In the fast-paced ecosystem of modern pop music, the boundary between an artist’s official discography and the shadowy underworld of unreleased "demos" and "leaks" has never been more permeable. On Tuesday, September 1, the pop music landscape was jolted by the digital resurrection of a long-forgotten piece of pop history: an unreleased collaboration between two defining architects of 21st-century electronic and hyperpop music, Charli xcx and Grimes.
The track, tentatively titled "Witch v Witch," surfaced on the platform formerly known as Twitter after a vigilant fan stumbled upon a low-profile YouTube archive. Featuring a stark, mechanical jackhammer beat, heavily distorted and robotic refrains, and ethereal yet unmistakably distinct vocals from Charli xcx herself, the track instantly ignited intense online speculation.
What followed was a rare, candid, and slightly hazy public reunion between the two avant-pop icons. Through a spontaneous back-and-forth exchange on social media, both Charli and Grimes confirmed the authenticity of the track, even if the passage of time—and the frenetic pace at which both artists create—has blurred the exact origins of its creation. Complete with suspected touch-ups from British production mastermind A.G. Cook, the digital rediscovery of "Witch v Witch" offers a fascinating glimpse into the collaborative cross-pollination that defined the hyperpop and underground electronic movements of the late 2010s.
Detailed Chronology: How "Witch v Witch" Went From Obscure Archive to Viral Sensation
The digital excavation of "Witch v Witch" began like many modern music discoveries: a random algorithmic wormhole leading a dedicated fan to a neglected corner of the internet.
The Discovery and the Leak
On Tuesday (Sept. 1), an X user posted a snippet of an unidentified, dark, robotic hyperpop track. Sourced from a YouTube upload of deeply unclear provenance, the audio clip immediately captivated the online fan community. The track’s sonic profile was arresting: a spare, industrial dance beat underpinned the chorus, which was repeated in a robotic, digitally warped voice. Cutting through the metallic landscape were the unmistakable, soaring, and ethereal vocals of Charli xcx singing poignant, melancholic lines:
"Don’t ever lean on me / Get closer, you hold me / Secrets you told me."
Overwhelmed by the quality of the scrap, the fan posted the clip alongside a sentiment shared by thousands of digital music sleuths: "Coming across a random unreleased charli scrap and it being the best song of all time is lowkey way too common god she is such a talent."
Charli xcx Weighs In
It did not take long for the post to catch the attention of Charli xcx herself. Known for maintaining a deeply online, highly responsive presence with her fan base, the "360" singer offered a quick, casual confirmation that caught the internet off guard.
Quoting the post, Charli wrote: "i could be wrong but i thinkkkkkk this is me and grimes."
This single tweet instantly elevated the leak from a speculative fan edit to a legitimate, lost holy grail of modern alternative pop.
Grimes Recalls the Session
A few hours later, Grimes (Claire Boucher) entered the digital chat room to corroborate Charli’s memory, adding her own characteristic blend of nostalgia and haze regarding the recording process.
"I very hazily remember writing ‘witch v witch’ but I can’t conjure the session in my mind — but I remember making the art- I remember ‘witch v witch’ haha — I know we did this I just can’t recall where or when," Grimes wrote.
True to the intricate and collaborative nature of modern electronic music production, Grimes added a crucial detail about the song’s sonic evolution: "I feel like I did a meh initial production and I feel like someone has taken another pass over the prod and made it better here maybe AG."
Piecing Together the Puzzle
The "AG" reference was an immediate beacon for pop purists, pointing directly to British producer, songwriter, and PC Music founder A.G. Cook. Cook has served as a central creative pillar in Charli xcx’s career, executive producing her landmark 2019 self-titled album Charli, contributing heavily to 2020’s lockdown masterpiece How I’m Feeling Now, shaping 2022’s Crash, and acting as a primary architect behind her massive 2024 cultural watershed album, Brat.
Following Grimes’s deduction, Charli xcx returned to the thread to finalize the timeline and lock in the narrative. Confirming Grimes’s suspicions, Charli replied: "yessss you’re right. i think ag worked on this at a later point. we worked at your place one night in la quite a long time ago i think. i like it too!"
As of press time, formal representatives and spokespeople for both artists have declined or not yet responded to Billboard’s requests for official comment, leaving the tracks’ ultimate legal and commercial status entirely up in the air.
Supporting Context & Metrics: The Creative Ecosystem of Charli xcx and Grimes
To fully understand why the unearthing of "Witch v Witch" matters to the contemporary music landscape, one must examine the monumental creative trajectories of both Charli xcx and Grimes, alongside the shadowy culture of pop music "leaks."
The Hyperpop and PC Music Architecture
The sonic signature of "Witch v Witch"—characterized by its dark, robot-inflected hyperpop leanings, jackhammer rhythms, and distorted vocal production—is a textbook artifact of the late 2010s experimental pop explosion. During this era, producers like A.G. Cook pushed the boundaries of pop music by merging heavy electronic sound design, metallic club textures, and hyper-processed vocals.
When Charli xcx and Grimes crossed paths in Los Angeles studios during this period, they were operating at the cutting edge of electronic subcultures. Grimes, fresh off the critical acclaim of albums like Art Angels (2015) and Miss Anthropocene (2020), was redefining self-produced ethereal art-pop. Meanwhile, Charli was dismantling traditional pop structures through her visionary Vroom Vroom EP and subsequent mixtapes Number 1 Angel and Pop 2, laying the groundwork for what would officially be labeled "hyperpop."
The Culture of Pop Leaks
The resurrection of "Witch v Witch" highlights a unique phenomenon in modern music consumption: the thriving, illicit economy of unreleased pop archives. Artists like Charli xcx have famously large vaults of unreleased material. Over the years, dozens of tracks from various eras—ranging from her early major-label pop days to her experimental mixtape periods—have leaked onto platforms like SoundCloud, YouTube, and X.
While traditional record labels historically treated unreleased leaks as copyright violations and commercial threats, contemporary artists often navigate them with a mixture of bemusement, resignation, and tactical engagement. For a digitally native audience, stumbling across a "vault track" fosters an intimate sense of discovery, transforming passive listeners into active archaeological participants in an artist’s career.
Official Statements and Social Media Timeline
The unfolding of the "Witch v Witch" discovery unfolded in real-time across public digital spaces. Below is the chronological breakdown of the primary public statements from the artists involved:
- September 1 (Fan Account):
"coming across a random unreleased charli scrap and it being the best song of all time is lowkey way too common god she is such a talent"
- September 1 (Charli xcx via X):
"i could be wrong but i thinkkkkkk this is me and grimes."
- September 1 (Grimes via X):
"I very hazily remember writing ‘witch v witch’ but I can’t conjure the session in my mind — but I remember making the art- I remember ‘witch v witch’ haha — I know we did this I just can’t recall where or when. i feel like I did a meh initial production and I feel like someone has taken another pass over the prod and made it better here maybe AG."
- September 1 (Charli xcx via X):
"yessss you’re right. i think ag worked on this at a later point. we worked at your place one night in la quite a long time ago i think. i like it too!"
Future Outlook: What’s Next for Charli xcx and Grimes?
While the resurfacing of "Witch v Witch" is little more than a nostalgic internet moment for now, both artists find themselves at vastly different, highly active chapters in their respective careers.
Grimes’s Sci-Fi Horizon
Grimes continues to tease her anticipated sixth studio album, tentatively titled Psy Opera, which she first introduced to fans in April. Though a concrete release date has yet to be officially announced, Grimes has kept her audience engaged through experimental projects. Last month, she released the collaborative track "Miku-Maxxing" alongside virtual vocaloid superstar Hatsune Miku, serving as the lead single for her upcoming EP, Beyond Borders Vol. 1: Emerge Mode Miku. Her continued exploration of artificial intelligence, virtual avatars, and futuristic soundscapes suggests that lost tracks like "Witch v Witch" share conceptual DNA with the avant-garde aesthetic she continues to champion.
Charli xcx’s Monumental Year
For Charli xcx, the unearthing of "Witch v Witch" arrives during one of the most creatively fertile and culturally dominant years of her career. Following the seismic global phenomenon of her 2024 album Brat, Charli has maintained an unrelenting multidisciplinary schedule.
In addition to her musical output—including the July release of her eighth studio album, Music, Fashion, Film (co-produced by A.G. Cook)—Charli has aggressively expanded her footprint into cinema. Over the course of the year, she has appeared in a diverse slate of films:
- The tour mockumentary The Moment
- Gregg Araki’s provocative drama I Want Your Sex
- The satirical comedy The Gallerist
- The high-profile horror remake Faces of Death
Will "Witch v Witch" Ever See an Official Release?
Given the casual, off-the-cuff nature of Charli and Grimes’s social media exchange, it remains unclear whether "Witch v Witch" will ever be officially polished, mastered, and uploaded to streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music. Often, these rough-cut vault tracks are left as spectral reminders of studio sessions past—ephemeral gifts to the most dedicated corners of the fandom.
Nevertheless, the brief convergence of Charli xcx and Grimes over a lost piece of hyperpop history serves as a potent reminder of the creative lightning in a bottle that defined an era of electronic music. Whether it remains buried in the digital underground or eventually finds its way to an official archival release, "Witch v Witch" has successfully secured its place in pop lore.
