Vroom Vroom by Charli xcx // 10 Year Anniversary EP Review

- February 25, 2026

Despite being a divisive release by Charli xcx at the time, her 2016 EP, Vroom Vroom, has gone on to become an experimental pop classic that is largely regarded as one of the defining releases to pioneer the hyperpop movement. Made largely in collaboration with producer SOPHIE in just three days, the EP captured two visionaries who were so far ahead of their time that the rest of pop music spent the next decade catching up. Its quick, four‑track runtime stands as a brief but incredibly impactful chapter in Charli's discography, planting the seeds for so much of the groundbreaking work she would go on to make.

This stands as the only full‑length project she and SOPHIE ever officially released together, but it was an undoubtedly formative one as well. While Charli has undoubtedly garnered a significant amount of mainstream success in the decade following Vroom Vroom's release - especially in the past couple of years post‑BRAT - at this point in 2016 she was still largely seen as a more niche figure in pop music. She had, of course, already experienced massive moments with songs like "I Love It", "Fancy", and "Boom Clap", among others, all of which were defining hits of the early 2010s that kept her in the broader pop conversation. With that being said, Vroom Vroom marked the moment she stopped centering commercial success in the traditional sense.

Instead, she set out wanting to make something weirdly experimental and entirely new. That willingness to abandon the expected and lean into something abrasive and forward-thinking is a major reason why Charli has always been such a captivating voice in modern music.

The ethos and sonic attitude of Vroom Vroom went on to shape so much of her subsequent work as well, not only in the abrasive electronic elements, the heavy, intentional autotuned vocal effects, and the glitchy maximalism - but also for the way it cemented her refusal to ever do the same thing twice. Even when Charli isn't pulling directly from this sound, the influence is there in her willingness to take creative chances and put herself out there for the sake of what feels true to her and her art.

Charli and SOPHIE created something entirely singular with the title track, "Vroom Vroom". It is undoubtedly the standout of the EP and remains a cornerstone of her discography and one of the most iconic songs she has ever released. It opens with the instantly recognizable demand of "Lets ride" and immediately launches into a wild, chaotic listening experience that still feels fresh a decade later. The opening verse, where she sort of half-raps her way through great lines like "Lavender Lamborghini, roll up in a blue bikini", is so fun and distinctly Charli. It then switches into an anthemic and hooky pop-leaning chorus, which is part of what makes this song so brilliant. Their ability to blend the two worlds of traditional pop and the hyperpop sound they were creating within one song was done so effortlessly.

The post-chorus itself is one of the defining moments of the entire song. She sings, "Vroom, vroom, bitches know they can't catch me, vroom, vroom, cute, sexy and my ride's sporty". It is a hyper-stylized and bratty representation of all of the elements that make a quintessential Charli xcx song.

In an interview with Radio.com, Charli talked about the origins of how "Vroom Vroom" came to be. She said, "That's like me and SOPHIE just kind of fucking around and doing the first thing that comes into our head. And you know what's weird about that song is the chorus is pretty pop, actually. The sounds are probably too crazy for some people, but it is essentially, that chorus is a very pop chorus." That feeling of two artists coming together, having fun, and pushing the boundaries of everything that they had made prior is fully embodied in the final product.

She also added in an interview with Vogue that she had, "...felt like I'd been trying to make a song that sounded like 'Vroom Vroom' for forever, but I couldn't do it because I hadn't met anybody who had the skills to make the sound. When I met SOPHIE, it was like: 'Wow, you get it, and you get me, and you also make me feel something.'"

From that point forward, the other three songs continue to build the really distinct sonic world she was experimenting in at the time. "Paradise" follows, featuring electronic artist Hannah Diamond. The song is one of the outliers of the project, in the way that it is mostly unlike anything Charli has ever done before or since, for better or worse (but mostly for the better). It was definitely not like anything else that artists like her were making at the time, either. It has a messy, electronic vibe, very indicative of a blend of Hannah and SOPHIE's musical styles. There is a harsh, synthetic quality to it that feels incredibly distinctive, almost abrasive in a way that becomes part of its charm.

"Trophy" follows, and it is another highlight from this EP. It repeatedly samples Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction saying "I want that trophy," which is a really cool and clever use of the film quote in a song like this. The full line is "Now I wanna dance, I wanna win. I want that trophy," which feels like a fun interpretation of Charli's ethos and attitude. It also feels very reminiscent of early 2000s pop tracks; "Wind It Up" by Gwen Stefani comes to mind immediately as an obvious inspiration. It plays like a sharp evolution of some of Charli's early full‑pop music as well, and overall it is just a really fun song.

Vroom Vroom ends with the underrated gem "Secret (Shh)," which brings a darker, sultrier edge to the final moments of the EP. It is very 2016, but in a good way though, with a sound that fit perfectly into the rising electronic landscape of that era in music. Her delivery of lines in the chorus like "No one gets to know but you" lean into a whispery, almost seductive sort of delivery that brings a very distinct mood to the song. Charli was writing for a lot of other artists then like Britney Spears, Selena Gomez, and Rihanna, so it is easy to imagine any of them potentially taking this song. It feels even better in Charli's voice, because it fits so seamlessly into the world of this EP and the style she was carving out for herself. It is a really underrated moment in her catalog.

Alongside the release of this EP, Charli also launched her own independent experimental pop label, Vroom Vroom Recordings. Named after the project that marked such a bold and progressive shift in her sound, the label felt like a natural extension of the world she was building. It was a statement in itself, capturing her confidence as an artist and her forward‑thinking approach to the boundaryless possibilities of what pop music could be and should be.

What was once polarizing has also grown into a cult favorite among her fanbase, now seen as a reinvention of pop music itself and a blueprint that countless artists have tried to replicate in their own way. Vroom Vroom ultimately became the predecessor to an entire era of experimental pop, and its influence continues to echo through so much that followed.