Following 2019’s album, Charli, and a Brit nomination for British Female Solo Artist, Charli’s 2020 album, the Mercury Prize-Nominated ‘how i’m feeling now’ was inspired by and released during the Covid-19 pandemic.

On April 6th, Charli’s Instagram feed was archived and a Zoom was announced with 1,000 of her fans (and livestreamed to YouTube), where the project, album name and deadline were announced. The Zoom code was tweeted one minute before the event began. Each week during the campaign there was a livestreamed Zoom call with guests (curated by Charli’s PR team, Huxley PR) including Maisie Williams, Paris Hilton and a variety of fans and press. It became the hottest ticket for fans as the weeks progressed.

The working title was announced as how i’m feeling now and the first single ‘forever’ was released on April 9th. Charli then used her dedicated fans on Instagram and Twitter to boost the album conversation. For the ‘forever’ artwork, Charli released three images shot on an iPhone in her bedroom and asked fans to pick the best one for the artwork. Eventually three different pieces of artwork were announced – the photo chosen by the fans and two artworks produced by friends of hers. The same strategy was produced for the next two releases (prealbum), ‘claws’ and ‘i finally understand’.

Charli continued to show the process in real-time via Instagram Live, Feed posts and tweets by sharing music demos which evoked a huge sense of involvement for fans. This continued into music video development.

For the ‘forever’ video, Charli encouraged fans to submit their own videos to be included. A brief for fans was posted across all of Charli’s socials and fans quickly sent their phone footage through in droves. Fans absolutely loved seeing their videos make it to the final music video, and it brought the connection between Charli and her fans even closer.

The video for ‘claws’ was shot on a green screen in Charli’s house. Much like the rest of the content for the album release, it was shot by the people she was isolating with. Following the music video release, the green screen footage was also released to fans so they could create their own worlds for ‘claws’ to live in. Shortly after, the stems for the album music were also released.

The album was released on the previously announced deadline of 15th May 2020 and is already being held in huge critical acclaim as an emotionally raw, relentlessly progressive sonic world, built from inside the comfort of Charli’s own home. ‘how i’m feeling now’ has given further spotlight to Charli’s status as one of the most adaptable, exciting pop artists working today, and through its uniquely collaborative approach, provided a shared space for those who listen to feel safe enough to express themselves however they wish at a time when they need it most.