"Guess" received positive reviews from critics and entered the top of the UK Singles Chart, and at number twelve on the Billboard Hot 100. It also topped the Billboard Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart, as well as the charts in Australia, Ireland, Lithuania, and New Zealand, and peaked within the top ten of the charts in Canada, Norway, and Sweden. The song became Charli's first UK number one as a solo artist. The remix received a nomination for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards.
Original version and background
The original version of "Guess" was released on 10 June 2024 through Atlantic Records as the seventeenth track of the deluxe version of her sixth studio album, Brat.[2] It was produced by the Dare and co-written with Dylan Brady of 100 gecs, with the chorus interpolating the loop from French electronic duo Daft Punk's 2005 song "Technologic".[3] "Guess" makes references to guessing the colour of her underwear and cunnilingus.[4] Upon release, the song was described as "extremely horny" by Kaelen Bell of Exclaim![5]
In May 2024, Eilish stated in an interview with Zane Lowe that she had been in a studio for the first time in several years and had recorded a collaboration with an artist she was a huge fan of. She also mentioned that she had previously resisted such collaborations due to nervousness.[6] Charli had previously expressed an interest in collaborating with Eilish as early as 2017, though the pair were unable to find an appropriate song.[7]
On 31 July 2024, Charli XCX shared a post with the artwork of the remix, asking followers to guess based on the cover showing just the lower profiles of both artists.[8] The singer is seen wearing white mini-skirt while the collaborator wears baggy jeans and several rings on their hand. Based on the details, fans quickly figured out the featured artist to be Eilish.[9] That same day, fans shared pictures of flyers asking people to call a phone number that plays a snippet of the remix.[10]
On 31 July, Charli XCX confirmed the remix with Eilish and announced the release for the following day.[11] It is the fifth remix of a Brat track, following "Girl, So Confusing" with Lorde, "360" with Yung Lean and Robyn, "Von Dutch" with Skream and Benga, and "Von Dutch" with Addison Rae.[12] Eilish's verse features a little extra bass, which Anna Gaca of Pitchfork interpreted as representing Eilish "spott[ing] the girl she likes and her heart's pounding".[13] An accompanying music video directed by Aidan Zamiri was released alongside the remix.[14] According to Zamiri, the video was filmed on 28 July 2024, only four days ahead of its release.[15] The video starts in a house party hosted by Charli XCX, where Eilish appears driving a skiploader through the wall. The two then walk on a street where panties are falling from the sky before climbing a pile of them.[16]
"There's people for every style. Just because somebody is experiencing homelessness doesn't mean that they don't prefer to wear a thong."
The video ends with a message that the undergarments not worn in the video would be donated to I Support the Girls, an American charity which distributes underwear and period products to women suffering domestic violence, homelessness, and hardship. The charity later stated that it had received 10,000 pairs, much of which was "sexy", and its founder Dana Marlowe stated that they welcomed such a donation on the grounds that it was important to them to encourage choice.[17]
One fan described Eilish's lyrics "Charli likes boys but she knows I'd hit it" as "predatory" and accused her of queerbaiting, prompting an angry response from Eilish's brother Finneas O'Connell.[21] Many fans interpreted a whispered lyric at the end of the track, "You wanna guess what me and Billie have been textin' about? (You've been disrespectful)/ Still tryin' to guess the password to my Google Drive (Are you obsessed with me?)/ You wanna guess the address of the party we're at (You know you're not invited)", to be a jab at Taylor Swift, because her album The Tortured Poets Department had obstructed both Charli's Brat and Eilish's Hit Me Hard and Soft from the top of the UK Albums Chart and Billboard 200, respectively.[22]
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 32. týden 2024 in the date selector. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 32. týden 2024 in the date selector. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
