Charli XCX brings out Tinashe for two-song surprise at ACL Festival

Charli XCX brought out Tinashe during her headlining set at ACL Festival in Austin, Texas on Friday. Rolling Stone reported the joint performance on 10 October. A headlining set is the closing, top-billed slot on a festival stage. Charli gave part of that time to her guest.

Tinashe sang two songs during the appearance. The songs were "Nobody Wanna Dance Anymore" and "Melatonin". Both are tracks from Popstar, Tinashe's album. She stayed with her own catalogue for the short visit.

One moment was a first. The performance of "Nobody Wanna Dance Anymore" was the song's live debut. That term means it had not been played in full for an audience before. The ACL crowd in Austin heard it live before anyone else. It lasted only one song, then the set moved on.

The second song came with a clear studio link. "Melatonin" was produced by Arca, who built the track's sound in the studio. Austin American-Statesman noted the production credit in its coverage of the night. A producer shapes a recording, from rhythm and texture to final arrangement. The live version carried that blueprint onto the festival stage.

Friday was not their first time on the same song. In 2015, Charli XCX and Tinashe both appeared as guests on Ty Dolla $ign's "Drop That Kitty". Each added a guest part to a single led by another artist. That shared credit dates back more than a decade. It gave the ACL reunion a long lead-in.

They have worked together more directly since. Charli and Tinashe collaborated on the "B2B" remix. The remix is featured on Brat and It's Completely Different but Also Still Brat, the expanded companion to Charli's Brat album. A remix reworks an existing track, often around a new voice or new production. In this case, it put Tinashe inside Charli's recent run of material.

Charli has shared her ACL stage more than once. During the first weekend of ACL Fest, she brought out Troye Sivan to perform two songs. That made Tinashe the second headline guest in consecutive weekends. Same stage. Different surprise.

For fans, this means a brief set with several threads to pull. A new album gets a live showcase. An older joint credit gets a live follow-up. And a festival headline turns into a shared slot, at least for two songs.