Charli XCX Robs Gas Station, Evades Stripper Police in Wild ‘Doing It’ Video
In the video for her previous single, “Break the Rules,” Charli XCX raised an impressive amount of hell: hijacking a school bus, donning lingerie and crashing a high school prom dance. But the singer has gone even crazier with the clip for “Doing It,” as she and guest vocalist Rita Ora cruise through the California desert in a pink monster truck, playing a cat-and-mouse game with male stripper policemen after robbing a gas station. Along the way, director Adam Powell and Charli (who wrote the treatment) drop in mechanical bulls, telephone booth costume changes and old men wearing dangerously skimpy bathing suits.
The singer states that the video was inspired by classic films like Thelma & Louise and Natural Born Killers. “I wanted it to be like this badass Barbie Thelma & Louise-esque video,” she says. “So we robbed a store with toy guns, rode a bucking bronco and nearly crashed a pink pick-up truck through the desert.” The funky “Doing It” – which was produced by Ariel Rechtshaid and Mr. Rogers – is the third single from Charli’s third album, Sucker, following “Break the Rules” and the ubiquitous “Boom Clap.”
The singer recently received two 2015 Grammy nominations for co-writing and singing on Iggy Azalea’s “Fancy” – one of Rolling Stone‘s 50 Best Songs of 2014 – which is up for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance and Record of the Year. Charli will serve as the main support act on Katy Perry’s expansive arena tour in February and March, and she’ll follow with a series of international dates throughout April and festival dates in June (including Governor’s Ball in New York City).