Speed Drive

"Speed Drive" is a song by English singer Charli XCX from Barbie the Album, the soundtrack of the 2023 film Barbie. The song was released on 29 June 2023 as the fourth single from the soundtrack and reached number nine on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Charli XCX's sixth top 10 single in the chart.

"Speed Drive"
Single by Charli XCX
from the album Barbie the Album
Released	29 June 2023 (2023-06-29)
Recorded	2023
Genre	Hyperpop
Length	1:57
Label	Atlantic
Songwriter(s)	Charlotte Aitchison David James Parker Easyfun Ewart Everton Brown Fabian Peter Torsson Joakim Frans Åhlund Klas Frans Åhlund Michael Chapman Nicholas Chinn Patrik Knut Arve Sylvia Robinson Troy Rami
Producer(s)	Easyfun
Charli XCX singles chronology
"Hot Girl" (2022) "Speed Drive" (2023) "In the City" (2023)
Barbie singles chronology
"Barbie World" (2023) "Speed Drive" (2023) "What Was I Made For?" (2023)
Music video
"Speed Drive" on YouTube

Background and composition

Charli XCX was one of the first artists involved with Barbie the Album

Charli XCX was one of the first artists that Mark Ronson, the producer of the Barbie soundtrack, contacted to be featured on the album.^[1] In an Instagram post on 22 June 2023, Charli XCX shared that she "always loved the escapism" that her Barbie dolls provided and that it was "kind of a full circle moment to be a part of this soundtrack and movie."^[2] Ronson talked about the work with Charli XCX:^[3]

"When you’re telling someone where you want their song in the film, everyone wants to hear ‘opening credits’ or ‘closing credits,’ but not ‘car chase. [...] I remember Charli asked: ‘Where are you thinking this song is gonna go?’ And I said, ‘Err, I dunno, car chase?’ under my breath. And Charli just said: ‘This speaks to me in an immense way.’ Because Charli is just so amazing and she just loves that raw energy"

"Speed Drive" contains an interpolation of "Mickey", written by Mike Chapman and Nicholas Chinn, and performed by Toni Basil.^[1] It also contains an interpolation of "Cobrastyle", written by Klas Åhlund, Joakim Åhlund, Patrick Arve, Ewart Brown, Fabian Torsson, Troy Rami, Paul Rota, David Parker and Sylvia Robinson, and performed by Robyn; which itself is a cover of "Cobrastyle", performed by Teddybears featuring Mad Cobra.^[4]

Release

"Speed Drive" was the third single to be released from the Barbie soundtrack.^[1][5] Ahead of its release, Charli XCX shared a snippet of the song over a clip of Margot Robbie from the Barbie film.^[6]

Reception

Alex Gonzalez of Uproxx wrote that "Charli taps into her glimmery, pink energy, giving the Barbie universe the bop of the century."^[7] Liberty Dunworth of NME wrote that the single "may be brief—coming in at less than two minutes long—but still manages to pack a punch as one of the most energetic songs on the soundtrack."^[8]

Steffanee Wang of Nylon wrote that "Speed Drive" sounded "hyperpop frenzy" and "one of the album’s highlights".^[9] Cat Zhang of Pitchfork also called the track the "relative highlight" of its parent album and "more clever than the rest of Barbie's selections".^[10]

Year-end lists

Select year-end rankings of "Speed Drive"

Publication	List	Rank	Ref.
The Guardian	The 20 Best Songs of 2023	12	[11]
Pitchfork	The 100 Best Songs of 2023	56	[12]

Music video

On 1 August 2023, Charli filmed an official music video for the song, which was released on the 16th of August 2023. The music video for "Speed Drive", directed by Ramez Silyan, premiered via Charli XCX YouTube channel.^[13] The video featured a cameo of Sam Smith and Devon Lee Carlson.^[14][15][16]

Commercial performance

In the United Kingdom, "Speed Drive" reached number nine on the Official Singles Chart, becoming Charli XCX's sixth top 10 single and her first as a lead artist since "Doing It" with Rita Ora in 2015.^[17] In the United States, the song became the singer's first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 since "Break the Rules" in 2014,^[18] her fifth song to chart overall.^[9]

Personnel

All credits are adapted from CD liner notes of Barbie the Album.^[19]

• Charlotte Aitchison – songwriter
• Easyfun – songwriter, producer
• Joakim Frans Åhlund – songwriter
• Klas Frans Åhlund – songwriter
• Patrik Knut Arve – songwriter
• Ewart Everton Brown – songwriter
• David James Parker – songwriter
• Troy Rami – songwriter
• Sylvia Robinson – songwriter
• Fabian Peter Torsson – songwriter
• Mike Chapman – songwriter
• Nicholas Chinn – songwriter
• Manny Marroquin – mixing

Charts

Chart performance for "Speed Drive"

Chart (2023)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)[20]	22
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[21]	47
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[22]	44
Canada CHR/Top 40 (Billboard)[23]	48
Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)[24]	37
Germany (GfK)[25]	82
Global 200 (Billboard)[26]	58
Guatemala Anglo (Monitor Latino)[27]	17
Ireland (IRMA)[28]	7
Latvia (EHR)[29]	30
Netherlands (Single Tip)[30]	9
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[31]	22
Poland (Polish Streaming Top 100)[32]	39
Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100)[33]	61
Sweden Heatseeker (Sverigetopplistan)[34]	9
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[35]	89
UK Singles (OCC)[36]	9
US Billboard Hot 100[37]	73
US Pop Airplay (Billboard)[38]	22

Certifications

Certifications for "Speed Drive"

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[39]	Gold	40,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[40]	Gold	400,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release dates and formats for "Speed Drive"

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
Various	29 June 2023	Digital download streaming	Atlantic	[41]
Italy	30 June 2023	Radio airplay	Warner	[42]

References

1. Mier, Tomás (29 June 2023). "Charli XCX Slams the Gas Pedal on 'Speed Drive' From Barbie Soundtrack". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
2. @charli_xcx (22 June 2023). "i'd always played with barbie whilst i was growing up but my first proper life changing barbie experience was when i went on a cruise ship holiday with my parents at the age of 4 (lol)..." Retrieved 14 October 2023 – via Instagram.
3. Mendelsohn, Jon (17 August 2023). "Charli XCX Releases Music Video for 'Barbie' Single "Speed Drive"". American Songwriter. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
4. Travis, Emlyn (1 July 2023). "Charli XCX used to behead her Barbies". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
5. Caraan, Sophie (30 June 2023). "Charli XCX Drops 'Barbie The Album' Contribution "Speed Drive"". Hypebeast. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
6. @charli_xcx (29 June 2023). "umm ok cute speed drive drops in 30 minutesssss https://pic.twitter.com/bMkrcDfv5j" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
7. Gonzalez, Alex (29 June 2023). "Charli XCX Shares 'Speed Drive,' A New Single From Barbie". Uproxx. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
8. Dunworth, Liberty (30 June 2023). "Charli XCX shares new single 'Speed Drive', taken from the Barbie soundtrack". NME. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
9. Wang, Steffanee (16 August 2023). "Charli XCX Goes Drifting With Devon Lee Carlson In "Speed Drive" Video". Nylon. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
10. Zhang, Cat (21 July 2023). "Various Artists: Barbie the Album Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
11. Ahmed, Aneesa; Beaumont-Thomas, Ben; Snapes, Laura (4 December 2023). "The 20 best songs of 2023". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
12. "The 100 Best Songs of 2023". Pitchfork. 4 December 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
13. Blistein, Jon (16 August 2023). "Charli XCX Burns Hot Pink Rubber in New 'Speed Drive' Video". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
14. "Charli XCX's "Speed Drive" Music Video: Watch". 16 August 2023. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
15. LaPierre, Megan (16 August 2023). "Charli XCX Vroom Vrooms for 'Barbie' Soundtrack's "Speed Drive" Video". Exclaim!. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
16. "Charli XCX Goes Drifting With Devon Lee Carlson In "Speed Drive" Video". Nylon. 16 August 2023. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
17. Griffiths, George (4 August 2023). "Dave & Central Cee have record-setting ninth week at Number 1 with Sprinter". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
18. Bowenbank, Starr (16 August 2023). "Charli XCX's 'Speed Drive' Finally Has a Music Video (With a Sam Smith Cameo)". Billboard. Retrieved 28 August 2023. "Speed Drive" became Charli XCX's first song since 2014 to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 73
19. Barbie The Album (Media notes). Atlantic Records. 2023. OCLC 1382342942.
20. "ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. 14 August 2023. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
21. "Charli XCX – Speed Drive" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
22. "Charli XCX Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
23. "Charli XCX Chart History (Canada CHR/Top 40)". Billboard. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
24. "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 32. týden 2023 in the date selector. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
25. "Charli XCX – Speed Drive" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
26. "Charli XCX Chart History (Global 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
27. "Top 20 Guatemala Anglo – Anglo – Del 24 al 30 de Julio, 2023" (in Spanish). Monitor Latino. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
28. "Official Irish Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
29. "EHR TOP 40 - 2023.10.06". European Hit Radio. Archived from the original on 13 October 2023. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
30. "Dutch Single Tip 12/08/2023". dutchcharts.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 15 August 2023.
31. "NZ Top 40 Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 14 August 2023. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
32. "OLiS – oficjalna lista sprzedaży – single w streamie" (Select week 04.08.2023–10.08.2023.) (in Polish). OLiS. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
33. "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 32. týden 2023 in the date selector. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
34. "Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 32". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
35. "Charli XCX – Speed Drive". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
36. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
37. "Charli XCX Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
38. "Charli XCX Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
39. "Canadian single certifications – Charli XCX – Speed Drive". Music Canada. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
40. "British single certifications – Charli XCX – Speed Drive (from Barbie the Album)". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
41. Rettig, James (29 June 2023). "Charli XCX Shares 'Barbie' Song "Speed Drive": Listen". Stereogum. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
42. Mompellio, Gabriel. "Charli XCX 'Speed Drive (From Barbie the Album)'" (Press release) (in Italian). Radio Airplay SRL. Retrieved 28 July 2023.