“The music industry fucks with you.”

Charli XCX‘s slow rise to fame has made her one of the most interesting characters to assault the charts in recent years. She graces the cover of this weekend’s Guardian Guide, with the cover story by Kate Hutchinson delving into her rise to fame, debut album and more.

It includes some memorable quotes on the music industry, song writing and accepted behaviour for female performers.

On the music industry:

“The music industry fucks with you. […] One day you’re on cloud nine and the next day… I’ve cried so much over the past year because it’s been so crazy. I guess in that sense I’m a bad pop star because everything’s meant to be fantastic all the time, but it’s not – and that’s shit [when people pretend it is]. But I also love that feeling of not knowing what’s going to happen. That’s why I do this.”

On writing ‘I Love It’:

“When ‘I Love It’ happened, people were like, ‘Did you…?’ and I was like, ‘Yeah, I fucking wrote it, why are you so shocked? Oh, it’s because I’ve got a vagina?'”

On nudity and accepted behaviour for female performers:

“I don’t think that the whole nudity thing is a massive deal, anyway, as long as you’re in control of it. But if you’re a girl in pop music, you shouldn’t have to cover yourself up to be taken seriously. You should be able to stand in your pants and be drunk as fuck and do whatever you want without being called a whore. It’s really tough for girls because people want to bring them down.”

FACT’s Lauren Martin reviewied Charli XCX’s debut True Romance earlier this year.