My favorite pop album of the year just got a little bit better. Chxrry is back today with the deluxe edition of U, Me and My Ego, her breakout debut album that catapulted the Toronto singer-songwriter to a new level of fandom this summer.
The deluxe adds four songs to the record, all produced by Believve (Tyla, LE SSERAFIM). Considering Believve and Chxrry were locked in for the original album, that’s not really a surprise; Back in May, Chxrry described her right-hand producer as, “somebody who’s encouraged me to fully lean into who I am [and] try all the things I want to try.”
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For the deluxe, that meant bringing out the big guns — namely Rema on “Big Shot” — but more importantly, doubling down on the hooky melodies and emotional candor that defined Chxrry’s discography this year. Of course, she isn’t sacrificing any bit of her confidence or bold demeanor: “Big Shot” is an overt come on (“If you could pull me you can pull out my extensions”), while “Phone” finds her driving a man past the brink of obsession in one of her catchiest songs to date. But Chxrry’s songwriting chops feel strongest when she’s letting her armor down.
That vulnerability is clearest on lovelorn ballad “Friends Don’t Kiss." Crooning over a wash of gentle chords and delicate harmonies, Chxrry outlines blurred boundaries and hookups on tour, tracing a friends-to-lovers arc that isn’t quite as uncomplicated as she’d hope. In emotional free fall, her voice swells and sighs alongside the instrumental.
The personal bent of “Friends” amplifies its heartache, but Chxrry’s pen is even sharper on “Like A Man,” tilting towards a more universal register. “I’ll be committed to misunderstand / just like a man,” she sings wryly. “When it’s too late / I’ll learn, I’ll yearn, I’ll fix all my mistakes.” At points across U, Me and My Ego (Deluxe), Chxrry can be as much of a heartbreaker as the boys, but “Like A Man” feels slipperier than that. It’s both a droll excuse for her own avoidant impulses and a bitter catalog of how previous lovers have wronged her, and it’s hard to pin down which facet seems more prominent.
That ambiguous balance turns “Like A Man” into a Rorschach test for our own feelings about romance, which is the biggest strength of U, Me and My Ego. Chxrry might be singing about her life, but it often feels like yours.
