She always shares credits fairly and appropriately

After Sky Ferreira suggested that elements of Charli XCX’s ‘Wuthering Heights’ album were based on some of her “old songs”, Charli’s team has responded.

• READ MORE: Charli XCX – ‘Wuthering Heights’ review: delicious gothic pop for a winter of yearning

The official soundtrack record for Emerald Fennell’s recent film was released in February, including collaborations with The Velvet Underground’s John Cale and with Ferreira herself.

Ferreira was credited as a guest feature on the track ‘Eyes Of The World’, but on Saturday (April 4), Ferreira seemed to imply that some of the music on the soundtrack album was taken from her own original work.

One social media user had quoted an “industry insider” that suggested that, on top of ‘Eyes Of The World’, the intro to ‘Chains Of Love’ was “ripped” from ‘Ancient Idols’, a Ferreira demo dating back to around 2018, that had been intended for her as yet unreleased second album, ‘Masochism’. The same user also suggested that ‘Altars’ from ‘Wuthering Heights’ was based on a Ferreira demo from 2015.

Ferreira responded to the user in a series of Instagram comments, writing: “Your industry ‘insider’ is wrong. Close but wrong.” In a follow-up comment, she continued: “I’m not going to get into it but it was definitely more than an intro. I have proof of everything with dates. It isn’t worth the trouble bc I know how the world works.”

Charli is yet to reply herself, with her team confirming to Billboard that she is currently on location in Kyoto filming, as well as finishing her upcoming studio album.

“Charli has made seven albums, four mixtapes and one EP, and has written countless songs for other artists throughout her career. She began as a songwriter with ‘I Love It,’ and her work has been recorded by and pitched to multiple artists,” her management told the publication.

“She has her own personal history with publishing and production negotiations and because of this, she always shares credits fairly and appropriately, and values her collaborators tremendously.

“Ahead of the Wuthering Heights album release, a standard review process was conducted on a small number of tracks from the album, including fragments of material originating from earlier sessions. This process involved managers, legal representatives, artists and producers, and included a thorough review of archival materials and demo recordings.

“All relevant parties were consulted throughout, and the album was played in full in advance of release to everyone. Songwriting credits and splits were determined and agreed collectively in writing, with reference to documented timelines and contributions.

“All credits were finalized and formally approved by the appropriate parties prior to the album’s release.”

Ferreira and XCX’s connection dates back many years. The two joined forces in 2019 for the single ‘Cross You Out’, and speaking to a fan at the time who reached out to ask what it was like to work together, Charli responded: “Amazing. Sky is brilliant. She has taste and knows what she wants.”

Back in summer 2024, Charli discussed her love of Rihanna and shared how she ranked her above all other pop stars, with Ferreira being the only exception. Explaining the decision at the time, the ‘Brat’ star said that while she was “the biggest Rihanna stan ever”, she “really loves Sky [because] she’s one of a kind.”

Later that year, Charli reacted to the news that Ferreira had recorded a track for the A24 film Babygirl, starring Nicole Kidman, called ‘Leash’.

“I was already so excited for Babygirl but now we get Babygirl + a new song from Sky: omg. stan mode activated,” she wrote on X at the time.

In recent years, Ferreira has been “working” on taking back ownership of her songs after her label, Capitol Records, dropped her. In November 2023, it was reported that her name had been removed from the Capitol roster on its official website.