Grimes and Charli XCX Piece Together a Lost Collaboration — on X
Grimes could not quite remember making a song with Charli XCX. Charli XCX could not quite place it either. And the conversation that followed — played out in public on X — left both artists with more questions than answers about a track called 'Witch v Witch.'
The exchange began on Tuesday, 1 September 2026, when a fan posted a clip of an unreleased song sourced from a YouTube video on X, describing it as an unreleased Charli XCX scrap, according to Billboard. Charli XCX replied: '[i could be wrong] but i thinkkkkkk this is me and grimes,' as reported by Billboard.
Grimes then weighed in on her own X account, writing: 'I very hazily remember writing "witch v witch" but I can't conjure the session in my mind — but I remember making the art.' She added that she felt she had done 'a meh initial production' and speculated that 'someone has taken another pass over the prod and made it better here maybe AG,' referring to the producer A.G. Cook, as reported by Billboard.
Charli XCX responded to Grimes directly on X on 2 September, writing: 'yessss you're right. i think ag worked on this at a later point. we worked at your place one night in la quite a long time ago i think. i like it too!' (Billboard)
Cook is a British producer and frequent Grimes collaborator who executive produced Charli XCX's 2019 album Charli and worked on tracks from How I'm Feeling Now (2020), Crash (2022) and brat (2024), per Billboard. His involvement would be consistent with both artists' recollections, though neither Grimes nor Charli XCX could confirm specifics.
Billboard reported that neither artist could place exactly when, where or how the unreleased song came together. Spokespeople for both Grimes and Charli XCX had not returned Billboard's request for comment at press time.
What makes the exchange unusual is its candour. Two major artists publicly reconstructing a collaboration in real time — one uncertain about the session itself, the other narrowing it down to a single night in Los Angeles 'quite a long time ago' — is not how unreleased music typically surfaces. Normally a leak prompts a takedown notice or a tight-lipped confirmation. Here, the artists themselves did the detective work, and the audience watched it happen.
Whether 'Witch v Witch' ever gets an official release remains unaddressed. For now, the song lives in a fan-posted YouTube clip and a thread of hazily recalled memories from the people who made it.
