Charli xcx knows exactly how to turn a concert into an event, and her latest New York show came with the kind of surprise that longtime fans could hardly have scripted better.
During her Monday night performance at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, Charli unexpectedly welcomed Kim Petras to the stage for a live rendition of “Unlock It,” reuniting two artists whose musical partnership stretches back nearly a decade.
The surprise arrived deep into Charli’s September 14 set. After performing “Von dutch,” she moved into “Unlock It” — only for Petras to appear and transform a familiar fan favorite into one of the night’s biggest moments. The song was followed by “Guess” as Charli powered ahead with a sprawling set that also included “360,” “365,” “Apple,” “Vroom Vroom” and “party 4 u.”
Charli xcx and Kim Petras Give ‘Unlock It’ Its Full-Circle Moment
“Unlock It” occupies a special place in Charli’s catalog.
Originally released in December 2017 as part of her influential Pop 2 mixtape, the track features Petras alongside Jay Park and was produced by A. G. Cook and Life Sim. Long before Charli’s mainstream breakthrough reached its current scale, “Unlock It” represented the adventurous, futuristic pop universe she was building with a rotating cast of collaborators.
Years later, the song took on another life online, helping introduce the track to listeners who may not have experienced the Pop 2 era the first time around.
That makes Petras walking onto a Barclays Center stage in 2026 feel considerably bigger than a standard surprise appearance. It connected Charli’s current arena-sized world with the experimental pop community that helped build her reputation in the first place.
There is some history here, too. Back in 2018, during another New York performance featuring Petras, Charli memorably pointed toward her collaborator and declared: “This is the future of pop.”
Eight years later, seeing the pair reunited in a major New York arena gave that old statement an almost full-circle quality.
Kim Petras Has Already Been Part of Charli’s Latest Chapter
The Barclays Center appearance was not the first time Petras has joined Charli in New York this year.
At Charli’s intimate Music Hall of Williamsburg show in July, Petras came onstage to perform her own track “Jeep.” That concert also featured surprise appearances from Clairo and Underscores, establishing early on that unexpected collaborations would remain an important part of Charli’s latest live era.
The approach fits Charli particularly well. She has explained that she is not interested in simply repeating an identical concert night after night, saying that doing the same thing over and over again does not feel alive enough for her.
Bringing Petras out for “Unlock It” is almost a perfect example of that philosophy. Fans may know the song. They may even expect it in the set. What they cannot necessarily predict is whether one of its original voices is about to walk onto the stage.
Charli’s New Tour Is Already Built for Surprises
The Brooklyn concerts come at the beginning of Charli’s Music, Fashion, Film North American run, which launched in Philadelphia on September 11 before moving to Barclays Center for two New York shows on September 14 and 15.
But setlists and tour dates only tell part of the story.
Charli has spent years making collaboration central to her identity, repeatedly treating pop less like a closed solo enterprise and more like a constantly changing creative community.
Kim Petras appearing for “Unlock It” captured that idea in a few minutes.
For newer fans, it was a blockbuster surprise guest. For the people who have followed Charli since Pop 2, it was something more: an old favorite suddenly coming alive again on an arena stage, with one of the artists who helped make it special standing right beside her.
And for one night in Brooklyn, Charli xcx managed to make a nine-year-old song feel like breaking news all over again.
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