Charli XCX and Troye Sivan's "1999" Has the Year's Best Pop Bridge
Let's talk about bridges for a second. I don't mean the things you cross to get from Place A to Place B (though we stan those, congrats bridges, we love you bridges); I'm talking about the parts of songs that aren't the verses, that aren't the choruses, and that aren't the intros or outros. Good, quality bridges hold a special throne in the pop pantheon; they're the variables, the final-act "surprise, bitch!" moment that keeps our favorite songs from overstaying their verse-chorus-verse-chorus welcome.
Much smarter people than myself have better, stronger things to say about bridges. The most recent episode of the excellent pop music podcast, Switched on Pop, takes special note of a 2018 bridge that does exactly what it should. It's found on the Chainsmokers' smart, snappy "Side Effects," which features the singer-songwriter Emily Warren. The verses are great. The chorus is springy and concise, as is the post-chorus. The bridge, though—a talk-sung bit that's packed with personality—takes the song to heaven (it kicks in at around the 2-minute mark below).
"It's rare... people usually skip the bridge," Warren tells the Switched hosts. And when you start listening harder to songs, you notice that she's right: The bridge is often shifted to the wayside, ignored entirely. "You're in a session for like eight hours, and you've done everything, and you've recorded the vocals, and someone's like, 'You need a bridge.'"
And the thing is, you don't need a bridge. But pop-heads appreciate them deeply, as they'll probably appreciate the pitch-perfect bridge on Charli XCX's new single with Troye Sivan, "1999." Following in the footsteps of nostalgic pop songs named after years (Anne-Marie's "2002" will see you in court), "1999" is a very referential slice of pop (peep that "...Baby One More Time" shoutout on the chorus). It's very wink-wink, nudge-nudge of Charli, an artist whose subversion of the pop system makes her probably the only person who could get away with such a cheeky experiment.
XCX seems particularly adept at bridge-writing. She wrote an excellent one on XYLØ's recent "Tears & Tantrums" (it kicks in here at about 2:25). On her own recent single "No Angel," produced by the Invisible Men (of "Fancy" fame) and Saltwives (sure), the hook slows the entire banger down just as its reaching its apex (here, at 2:17). Charli XCX is, it seems, our bridge over bridgeless waters.
On "1999," though, Sivan handles the bridge on his own. "I know those days are over / But a boy can fantasize / 'Bout JTT and MTV and when I close my ey-ey-eyes / Then I'm right there, right there / And he's right there right there / And we're right there right there!" he sings as his voice grows more rushed, his breath labored and panting. A bridge that mentions Jonathan Taylor Thomas in the context of crushes and pre-teen longing? Count me in, and hear it for yourself below.
