Clairo recounted an experience from earlier this year (2025) at the Laneway music festival, which tours Australia and New Zealand. After playing a few shows on the circuit, she had a conversation with Charli XCX. "She told me she watched my set the day before. But she was like, “Where’s ‘Sofia’?”" Clairo explained, referring to her immensely popular 2019 track.
Initially, Clairo had stopped performing the song, feeling fatigued by its repetition. "I said, “I don’t play it. Don’t you have any songs where you’re just like, ‘Man, we’ve done it a lot’?”" she recalled telling Charli.
However, the interaction sparked an unexpected collaboration. "Then we came up with the idea to play it together," Clairo shared. Feeling that Charli XCX was the right person to encourage her back to the song, she recalled thinking, "'Well, if anyone can make me sing it again, I think it would be you, Miss Charli.'" Their joint performance of "Sofia" at Laneway was completely spontaneous. "So we planned on it and had no sound check. We sort of winged it and it was awesome."
This marked the first time Clairo had performed "Sofia" live in three years. The positive experience evidently resonated, as she confirmed to Seventeen that the track has since returned to her regular live show setlist – potentially including her current Coachella appearances.
The incident prompted Clairo to reflect on her artistic journey and her connection to older material. "It’s nice having three records that feel like certain moments in my life," she mused, referencing her albums like "Immunity" (created when she was 20) and subsequent works that captured different personal phases. "I got existential and made this second record where I was so scared of things that the girl on the third album wasn’t even thinking about," she elaborated on her growth.
Ultimately, the Laneway duet and the realization of fans' enduring affection for her earlier work helped Clairo make peace with songs she had previously distanced herself from. "Especially with ‘Sofia’ recently, I feel like I’ve squashed all the beef I have with some of my past songs," she stated. Her rationale became clear: acknowledging the audience's relationship with the music is paramount. "People have their own connection to them. So what’s the point of not acknowledging them?”
Clairo's candid reflection reveals how peer interaction and fan appreciation can reshape an artist's perspective, leading her to embrace her celebrated past hits with fresh energy as she takes on major stages like Coachella.