When Charli XCX got Lorde for her "Girl, so confusing" remix, it was a revolutionary way to sing about friendship. In an era when pop stars carefully drop hints about who their songs might be about, Charli and Lorde tore through all the so-called "lore" and had a candid conversation to clear the air about the tensions and misunderstandings between them.
"Guess featuring Billie Eilish," a flip of one of BRAT's deluxe tracks, is similarly fresh, albeit for a very different reason. I don't recall ever hearing a featured guest sing about wanting to fuck the first-billed artist, but that's exactly what happens here, with Eilish continuing her "Lunch"-munching by bluntly telling Charli that she's DTF.
While Charli's cheeky, suggestive rap invites the listener to "guess the colour of my underwear," Billie makes it clear that she knows exactly what colour said underwear are. "Charli likes boys, but she knows I'd hit it / Charli call me it you're with it," Eilish invites, clearly getting the memo that every BRAT lyric should be as blunt as possible.
While the original version of "Guess" pushed the limits of my tolerance for just how trashy a dance track can be while still being enjoyable, Billie's appearance is a "holy shit did she just say what I think she said" moment — the kind of jaw-dropper that, these days, is usually reserved for Kendrick Lamar guest verses. As soon as it was done, I texted at least three people to ask them if they'd heard it yet. I don't remember the last time a song made me do that.
It seems that reports of BRAT summer's death have been greatly exaggerated.