Pop stardom isn’t what it used to be—at least not for those currently living it.
Charli XCX recently launched a Substack newsletter, and her opening posts revealed something striking: she’s exhausted by music-making and increasingly drawn to film.
She’s not alone in feeling this way.
A growing number of millennial pop stars are publicly questioning their relationship with music, signaling what might be a generational shift in how artists navigate fame, creativity, and mental health in an industry that demands constant output and perfection.
When Success Feels Like Burnout
In her debut newsletter titled “Running on the spot in a dream,” Charli XCX opened up about feeling creatively stuck after Brat, her critically acclaimed album that dominated cultural conversations.
After my previous album, Brat, I had this feeling that I wouldn’t be able to make music anymore.
Her husband, producer George Daniel, reminded her that creative doubt is normal. But this time felt different to XCX—more visceral, more final.
It felt so potent this time, sort of like being hit by a truck and left on the side of the road to bleed out.
XCX’s pivot toward film isn’t subtle. She’s attached to nine upcoming movie projects as an actress, wrote original songs for Mother Mary, and is creating a conceptual soundtrack for Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights adaptation.
As some of you may know I’m currently feeling more inspired by film than I am by music. Film is where my creative brain seems to be gravitating. I’m enjoying acting, I’m enjoying writing, I’m enjoying watching and I’m above all enjoying discovering a new craft.
Ariana Grande’s “Last Hurrah”
Ariana Grande expressed similar sentiments throughout her extensive Wicked press tours. While promoting her role as Glinda, Grande repeatedly emphasized that her relationship with pop music is changing dramatically.
During an appearance on Good Hang With Amy Poehler, Grande referred to her planned 2026 tour as potentially her final one for years.
I’m very excited to do this small tour, but I think it might not happen again for a long, long, long, long time. So I’m going to give it my all and it’s going to be beautiful and I think that’s why I’m doing it, because it’s like, one last hurrah.
Landing Wicked nearly convinced Grande to leave music entirely. On the Shut Up Evan podcast, she revealed that before departing for London to film, she’d privately decided music might be over for her.
I didn’t think I was gonna make an album ever again. When I left for London, that was kind of my secret, but I didn’t think I was going to.
Selena Gomez Chooses Acting Over Music
Selena Gomez’s trajectory mirrors Grande’s in many ways. Both started as child actors before pivoting to successful music careers in their twenties.
Now, Gomez has found critical acclaim through Only Murders in the Building and the Oscar-nominated Emilia Pérez. Her passion clearly lies with acting.
Reflecting on her career last year, Gomez acknowledged that while she enjoyed music and touring, acting holds greater appeal as she matures.
She mentioned having perhaps one more album left in her but made her preference crystal clear: if forced to choose between acting and music, she’d choose acting.
Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus Rethink Touring
Even pop stars still committed to making music are fundamentally reshaping what their careers look like moving forward.
After wrapping her massive two-year Eras Tour, Taylor Swift made clear she won’t embark on another tour soon—especially not one as extravagant.
I am so tired when I think about doing it again because I’d want to do it really well again.
Miley Cyrus has been even more definitive about touring. Her last proper headlining tour was in 2014 supporting Bangerz. Since then, she’s done minimal live performances.
During a Good Morning America appearance this summer, Cyrus explained her choice centers on protecting her sobriety and mental health.
I do have the physical ability, and I have the opportunities to tour. I wish I had the desire, but I don’t.
Why This Generation Is Different
What’s driving this collective exhaustion among millennial pop stars?
The rewards for creativity have diminished while demands from fans, public scrutiny, and labels have intensified. Social media has created an environment where artists exist in constant judgment, with every move dissected and criticized.
Previous generations of pop icons—Madonna, Janet Jackson, Cher, Cyndi Lauper—continued touring and releasing music well past 50. They balanced music with film and other creative pursuits but seemed energized rather than drained by maintaining pop careers.
Rihanna pioneered this shift nearly a decade ago, though less vocally. She hasn’t released an album or toured in almost 10 years, instead building beauty and fashion empires that became her primary focus.
Grande and Gomez followed with their own lucrative beauty brands, which now generate significant portions of their wealth—offering financial stability without creative depletion.
The Pace Has Changed, The Stakes Are Higher
Today’s music industry prioritizes quantity over quality. Great risks get shunned. Streaming culture demands constant content.
Chart success requires strategic releases, aggressive promotion cycles, and maintaining relevance across multiple platforms simultaneously. The work never stops.
XCX explored these “realities of being a pop star” in her second newsletter, describing a life split between glamorous moments and “strange and soulless liminal spaces”—holding rooms, windowless green rooms, overnight van rides.
More significantly, she addressed feeling trapped by public perception and internet discourse that puts pop stars in rigid boxes.
I think subconsciously people still believe there is only room for women to be a certain type of way and once they claim to be one way they better not DARE grow or change or morph into something else.
Longing For Fantasy and Freedom
By her newsletter’s conclusion, XCX revealed what she truly craves and perhaps what’s missing from modern pop stardom.
I don’t care if they tell the truth or lie or play a character or adopt a persona or fabricate entire scenarios and worlds. To me that’s the point, that’s the drama, that’s the fun, that’s the FANTASY.
She’s advocating for artistic freedom, reinvention, and the permission to evolve without judgment—luxuries previous pop generations seemed to enjoy more freely.
Whether today’s demands are genuinely more grueling or this generation simply finds less inspiration in what remains is debatable. What’s undeniable is that millennial pop stars are burning out, and their exhaustion is reshaping what pop stardom looks like for future generations.
Perhaps what we’re witnessing isn’t abandonment but evolution—artists refusing to sacrifice mental health and creative fulfillment for an industry model that no longer serves them.