No One Lasts Forever

The closing track on Charli XCX's seventh studio album, Music, Fashion, Film, arrives as a five-minute-and-42-second exploration of mortality and legacy. Released on July 24, 2026, via Atlantic Records, the song marks the longest studio recording in the artist's career to date. It features a spoken-word performance by Canadian director David Cronenberg, whose voice provides a somber counterpoint to the pop structures that dominate the rest of the record.

Recording sessions for the project took place in Toronto during 2025, where Charli XCX captured a lengthy conversation with Cronenberg. She later edited segments of their discussion to align with themes of existentialism and the transient nature of fame. The lyrics juxtapose her verses about the fleeting nature of stardom against his philosophical musings on death. The track concludes with the repeated line delivered by Cronenberg: "They are dead, they are gone, no one lasts forever," reinforcing the album's central argument that oblivion serves as a form of freedom.

Musically, the production blends electronic elements with avant-garde textures created solely by Charli XCX. Critics described the arrangement as the emotional heart of the album, shifting from introspective melodies to darker cinematic sounds reminiscent of Cronenberg's filmography. A physical version of the single exists with a duration of approximately three minutes, omitting the extended spoken-word segment found in the full digital release. [edit]