In the City (Charli XCX and Sam Smith song)
History between the two artists dates back as far as 2014, when both would hang out together at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards as well as a subsequent cover of "Stay with Me" by Charli.[1] Nine years later, in the music video for her single "Speed Drive", Charli hinted at an upcoming collaboration through a phone call with Smith in which they ask whether she heard the "new mix" and prompt her to "submit" it.[2] On 7 October, Charli shared a snippet of a track she had been working on in the studio, described as "upbeat dance-pop".[3] Smith confirmed the collaboration on 11 October through a post on Instagram where they are seen strutting down an alleyway in Osaka, Japan, to another snippet of the track.They claim to have found something they never thought they would find "in the city, in the dark", a phrase which is repeated throughout the chorus of the song.