Lorde & Charli XCX at the 2014 MTV VMAs | Photo Credit: Getty Images

It really is a hot brat summer as Charli XCX’s acclaimed Brat has the gays in a chokehold and the artist continues to prove to these other pop girls how an album rollout is really done.

First there was the album drop on June 7, which set the internet ablaze with emotive banger after emotive banger, followed up with the surprise release of Brat and it’s the same but there’s three more songs so it’s not, which—get this—featured three more bangers. Then, as if that weren’t enough, this week Charli went ahead and released a remix of standout track “Girl, so confusing” with a killer featured guest spot.

But let’s rewind for just a moment:

When Brat was first released, fans were immediately intrigued by track 10, “Girl, so confusing,” a propulsive, confessional anthem that addressed the complications of female friendship within a music industry historically bent on pitting women against one another.

That it did so in a highly specific way—citing awkward exchanges and plans canceled at the last minute—listeners couldn’t help but speculate that it was about one fellow pop girl in particular. And thanks to some not-so-subtle lyrical clues (“They say we’ve got the same hair” chief among them) all signs pointed to Lorde.

Since breaking out around the same time a decade ago, Charli’s career has frequently crossed paths with that of the New Zealand-born artist, so the narrative checked out. But the sheer candor and self-reflective vulnerability of “Girl, so confusing” gave the song a buzzy allure, and Lorde’s praise of the album (she was also spotted attending the Brat tour date in NYC) only added fuel to the fire.

Were our girls fighting or what?

Well, leave it to two of our most incisive and brazen songwriters working today to not only fearlessly address the beef but also quash it in one fell swoop with a remix amusingly titled “The girl, so confusing version with lorde.” It’s the bad b*tch linkup to end all bad b*tch linkups.

We won’t get too deep into the lyrics here—Lorde’s thorough, thoughtful, and astoundingly honest verses speak for themselves—but the track stands as testament to the power of starting a dialogue, and a prescient reminder that you never really know what someone else is going through. Oh yeah, and it’s another banger, obviously!

Suffice it to say, the remix has the gays in their feelings, especially those of us who have been stanning these divas for over a decade now.

(Anyone else start crying when Lorde says, “I ride for you, Charli”?)

And that it came out the exact same day as Ariana Grande’s remix of “The Boy Is Mine,” featuring the R&B icons Brandy and Monica who were behind its namesake 1998 duet, has us feeling like anything’s possible, like no feud is too fiery to not make nice and bury the hatchet.

Compelled by the spirit of forgiveness, a line from Charli and Lorde’s track—”let’s work it out on the remix”—has become instant meme fodder as Gay Twitter™ uses it to optimistically call for peace treaties among some of our fiercest rivalries.

If Charli XCX and Lorde can work it out, can’t we all? Take a look at some of the funniest and realest calls to “work it out on the remix” below:

Just as the prophet foretold, the internet’s going crazy for this Charli XCX x Lorde collab.

And it turns the line isn’t just applicable to our favorite pop culture quibbles—some gays are even adopting it as a mantra for their everyday lives.

We can’t guarantee “let’s work it out on the remix” is a solution for all of life’s problems, but will we be using it on the parking attendant next time they try to give us a ticket for an expire meter? Maybe so!

Don't forget to share:

Help make sure LGBTQ+ stories are being told...

We can't rely on mainstream media to tell our stories. That's why we don't lock Queerty articles behind a paywall. Will you support our mission with a contribution today?

Cancel anytime · Proudly LGBTQ+ owned and operated