Charm, the third studio album by popular American artist, Clairo, was released on July 12, 2024. Upon debut, the album charted at #8 on the Billboard 200 with 47,000 albums sold. This makes it her first top-ten album with 27.4 million streams on Spotify in the same week it was released.
Charm consists of 11 unique songs, titled, “Nomad”, “Sexy to Someone”, “Second Nature”, “Slow Dance”, “Thank You”, “Terrapin”, “Juna”, “Add up to My Love”, “Echo”, “Glory of the Snow”, and lastly, “Pier 4”. Within just a few days, “Juna”, the most viral song of her album, reached all social media platforms, including TikTok, and skyrocketed up the charts. Initially, Clairo hinted at the debut of this album by teasing it on Instagram with several posts, one captioned with a #3 emoji, a checkmark, and a purple heart emoji, which indicated her third studio album was complete. After a long painful wait, she made a joyful announcement, publicizing her new album’s release date, on July 12, with its lead single being Sexy to Someone.
What makes Charm so distinct from Clairo’s usual discography is the concept that’s used to produce all the songs. The sophisticated blend of jazz and soft rock, with a hint of pop, perfectly embodies the feeling of being “charmed” by someone.
“Juna” has an extremely warm, cozy vibe to it, diving into the concept of deep connection with someone where everything becomes instinct. It mainly grew viral after many content creators used the audio on social media, making it one of the most listened songs of Charm. This song is life changing-ly good. Due to its very catchy beat along with soft instrumentals, it is the perfect song to blast at full volume, with its goosebumps-inducing instrumentals. Whether it’s taking a quick walk around the neighborhood, or writing a 2000-word essay under an extreme amount of stress, “Juna” just suits every single setting. Clairo captured the concept of infatuation very well with her carefully thought-out lyrics, right-on-point beats, and overall flawless concept. Meanwhile, “Terrapin” gained some critism for having a repetitive and redundant beat. Most of the instrumentals play over and over again, with almost little to no variation. Additionally, the lyrics don’t fit as well into the concept, as it explores the feelings of getting drunk with a friend and telling them “I love you”. All around, this makes it one of the least favorited songs of Charm.
Her other songs are just as flowy and melodic as well, making this album an overall hit. On the contrary, Clairo has released numerous soundtracks such as the hit singles, “Bags” and “Sofia”, which all fit into the lo-fi or indie category of music. By experimenting with a different music genre, she took a huge step into the music industry and showcased her range as a rising artist.
With much recognition, Clairo made a huge achievement with her new album and will continue to drop amazing hits in the near future. So be sure to stay tuned!
Rating 3.5/5, although Clairo’s iconic album brought up much attention and praise for her incredible new concept, only the song “Juna” stuck out enough to be recognized as a hit song. Unfortunately, the others weren’t as catchy or did not have an outstandingly unique melody. Overall, Clairo really stepped out of her comfort zone to come up with, and produce, such a distinct album, foreshadowing many other individual songs in the future.