Last week, TikTok powerhouse Charli D’Amelio made a surprise release. It wasn’t a hoodie, a coffee order, or even a new reality show. Charli announced that she would be stepping into music and her first single and music video were already out.
Titled “if you ask me to,” Charli’s debut chased the season finale of The D’Amelio Show. A heartbroken ballad about a teenage love story that didn’t end the way you’d hope, “if you ask me to” is a soft, sad almost.
For fans that were quick to speculate, Charli shut down rumors about her personal connections to the song in a Billboard interview. In recent interviews and even her time on Dancing with the Stars, Charli has been opening up about how much of her life is up for grabs from her massive following and how she’s been learning to keep some things just for herself. This song is no different. “I wanted to use this as a time in my life where I don’t have to talk about true experiences—so much of my life is so out there,” Charli told Billboard.
Charli also shared that she wants people to see her “as a person and what my character is and what I’m made up of rather than my TikTok videos.” While TikTok is typically fun, games, and dances with friends, Charli is still a whole person (no matter her massive success). The song, of course, means something to her, but the story is apparently fictional, and she’s keeping the ways she relates to it to herself.
The accompanying music video features a party scene where an isolated Charli seems to circle the new relationship between a guy she loved and his new girlfriend who seem oblivious to Charli’s sadness. While Charli sinks further into self-deprecating lyrics like “But God, she’s so pretty and funny and witty. I don’t think that I stand a chance,” their relationship progresses and Charli seems to feel left behind.
While a Charli D’Amelio music announcement might have made us all briefly imagine bubblegum pop and danceable lyrics, the song that Charli’s fans have had on repeat is darker and possibly more lyrically interesting than a throwaway pop song made for TikTok. Charli told Billboard that she is inspired by artists like Sam Smith, Billie Eilish, and her sister Dixie D’Amelio. It will be interesting to see how those influences and others continue to make their way into more music she might release.
Watch the video for “if you ask me to” now!
