Charli XCX has released her new track, “Speed Drive,” recorded for Greta Gerwig’s highly ancitipated upcoming Barbie movie. The track will be featured on Barbie The Album, set to be released on 21st July.
Listen to “Speed Drive” here:
The Barbie movie has been taking the internet by storm ahead of its release, promising to be all things camp and iconic with its star-studded cast and effective promotional campaigns. Starring Margot Robbie in the titular role, accompanied by Ryan Gosling as everyone’s favourite airhead Ken, the movie has already spawned a major fanbase and multiple memes before it has even hit cinemas.
Accompanying the movie will be Barbie The Album, produced by Mark Ronson and featuring some of the biggest names in music, including Dua Lipa, HAIM, Nicki Minaj, Lizzo, Ice Spice and Khalid.
Dua Lipa recently released her track “Dance the Night” from the soundtrack, followed by Nicki Minaj and Ice’s Spice’s collaboration, “Barbie World.”
Sharing a snippet of “Speed Drive” on Twitter, Charli XCX wrote “this barbie likes to vroom,” referencing the Barbie promotional posters as well as her own beloved track, “Vroom Vroom.”
this #barbie likes to vroom
speed drive out now https://t.co/3km77uq5nK pic.twitter.com/YkqU2mILkW
— Charli (@charli_xcx) June 29, 2023
Charli XCX also took the opportunity to share an exclusive clip of “Speed Drive” in the movie, in which we see Barbie running through the real world accompanied by the track.
umm ok cute speed drive drops in 30 minutesssss pic.twitter.com/bMkrcDfv5j — Charli (@charli_xcx) June 29, 2023
“Speed Drive” samples Toni Basil’s classic 1981 track “Mickey,” with Charli XCX telling Rolling Stone that she flipped the track to “feel quite bratty” and to be “about just being hot.”
Charli XCX also revealed to Rolling Stone that she was one of the first artists that Mark Ronson approached when beginning work on the soundtrack and discussed her personal relationship to the Barbie franchise. She said that she’s “always loved the escapism my Barbies provided with me and it’s kind of a full circle moment to be a part of this soundtrack and movie.”
Speaking about the track itself, Charli XCX shared, “I’ve always really liked singing about cars. For me, there is this intrinsic link between driving and music and feeling like you’re a star when you’re in a car.” The star opted to have her track accompany a chase scene in the movie for this very reason.
Ahead of the official release of Barbie The Album, Mark Ronson has curated a Barbie inspired Spotify playlist, which can be found here:
Listen to music from and inspired by Barbie, curated by @MarkRonson Follow the official @barbiethemovie playlist on @Spotify https://t.co/vO3kOx2Wmq pic.twitter.com/xqhhZJDWxT
— Barbie The Album (@barbiethealbum) June 26, 2023
The album will also be available to purchase on vinyl, with Barbie and Ken themselves showing you the pink and blue formats that are available for pre-order now:
Calling all Barbie’s & Ken’s Pre-order Barbie The Album on Vinyl in Exclusive Hot Pink, Sky Blue and more https://t.co/v7ZU1n4dG5 pic.twitter.com/Vox6snmVXX
— Barbie The Album (@barbiethealbum) June 16, 2023
