Charli XCX’s debut album True Romance came out 10 years ago today, and our own James Rettig penned a nice little tribute. Charli herself also has some words to share. On Instagram, alongside a photo of herself from the album’s cover shoot, she offered this message:

wow. 10 years of true romance. this album – that initially not many people heard but quite a few people grew to adore – was the beginning of everything for me. the beginning of discovering myself as a person – my voice, my confidence, my style, how big I could make my hair, how I moved on stage… and the beginning of compiling all of those elements into myself as an artist. i was just a myspace kid inspired by teen movies, party photos and what felt like a very far away and impenetrable club scene. i just wanted to escape, figure out what made me tick and meet people who understood the things that I adored. i came to la and met the people who helped me write the first songs i was truly proud of; the songs that made up this album… so thank you @arielrechtshaid @justinraisen @patrikbergerking and all the other collaborators who were a part of this project – you helped me on the path of getting more comfortable and confident (still working on it – always will be). Oh also thank you @bloodpop for not suing me for stealing the beat for grins and putting my version on SoundCloud.. I didn’t really know how the logistics worked at that point, but I’m glad u let me use the beat for like zero £ – it’s still to this day one of my favorite songs i’ve made. It’s funny to think that I Love It almost went on this album, at one point as my own song, with me as the solo artist… perhaps if it had loads more people would have known about TR – and about me. Perhaps literally everything would have been different. I think about that sometimes.. but i’m happy it played out like this because really i needed time to evolve and learn and hone. So, happy true romance day, thank you to everyone who’s been here from the beginning and i hope you enjoy the original angel reissue of the vinyl available at the link in my bio in 30 mins (lol – sorry) x

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