"Sympathy Is a Knife" is a song by the English singer Charli XCX from her sixth studio album, Brat, released through Atlantic Records.
A synth-pop track driven by synthesizers and vocoded vocals, it was written about self-comparison, paranoia, insecurities, and suicidal ideation.
Charli XCX included the song in the setlist of her Sweat tour with Troye Sivan throughout 2024 and 2025, and performed it on Saturday Night Live in November 2024.
Upon the release of Charli XCX's sixth studio album Brat, fans speculated that "Sympathy Is a Knife" was written about the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift and her ex-boyfriend, Matty Healy of the 1975.
[3][5] During a DJ set Charli XCX was playing at in São Paulo during June 2024, the audience chanted "Taylor is dead!".
She further praised Charli XCX's ability to "[take] a song to places you wouldn't expect it to go" and the fact that "she's been doing it consistently for over a decade".
[17] Charli XCX's vocals are vocoded,[18] and the stuttering beat is paired alongside distorted bass[17] and drum machines.
[20] For Dork, Abigail Firth called the synthesizers "jolting" and described the track as a "heavier, more arresting" version of Charli XCX's 2019 song "Gone".
[24] According to Jake Viswanath of Bustle, it was seen as a representation of one of the central themes of its parent album, as it deals with the singer's "complicated emotions about other women".
[16] The lyric "Don't wanna see her backstage at my boyfriend's show / fingers crossed behind my back / I hope they break up quick" was interpreted as being about Swift and Healy's relationship.
[1] Dakota West Foss from Sputnikmusic believed that the song's character "suspiciously matches Taylor Swift's description".
Club, the writer Drew Gillis said that the "meat" of Brat is within Charli XCX's "own insecurity", and used lyrics from "Sympathy Is a Knife" as an example.
[19] Brittany Spanos from Rolling Stone called it "the first of several tracks that see her baring some of her most conflicted emotions over beats that never lose their energy".
[43] On 6 October, she revealed a sample of the lyrics from the "Sympathy Is a Knife" remix on her social media, alongside a link to pre-order the album.
[44] In an interview with Zane Lowe for Apple Music, Charli XCX opened up about her relationship with Grande and how the rollout of Brat changed her as a person.
[46] The day before the album's release, Charli XCX performed the remix version at Storm King Art Center for a listening party.
Over a "synth-y, glitchier, and handclap-driven" instrumental, the artists exchange verses about rumours and how they refuse to address them, a stance that was compared to Grande's "Yes, And?
[53] In its final 30 seconds, its sounds become distorted, like a "radio signal drawing listeners into the dilemma by creating a sense of discord", according to Bain.
[54] Phares said it showcases Charli XCX and Grande "finding solidarity in dealing with impossible demands and beauty standards".
[56] DIY's Lisa Wright also ranked it second, writing, "it's the one that feels the most hot off the presses", and said it is "underscored by a fellow star who's been through that wringer many times over".
[58] Andy Steiner of Paste believed that it leans too much into the " 'fame is prison'-type narrative", and criticised Grande's use of "unspecific language and kiss offs".