Chxrry is not done with U, Me & My Ego yet. The XO and Republic Records artist returned to the album on November 6 with a deluxe edition that turns a 10-track statement into a 14-track one, announcing the arrival herself on Instagram with a simple caption: \u201cDeluxe out now 😼 14\/14.\u201d The original album arrived on May 29, and the deluxe does not rework it \u2014 it extends it, giving the record a second act while the first is still fresh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The numbers tell the story plainly. The May album ran 10 songs and about 28 minutes; the deluxe runs 14 songs and about 40 minutes, according to Apple Music. Four new tracks close the expanded tracklist: \u201cBig Shot\u201d featuring Rema, \u201cLike A Man,\u201d \u201cPhone\u201d and \u201cFriends Don\u2019t Kiss.\u201d The original ten \u2014 from opener \u201cBlockstar\u201d through \u201cMain Character\u201d \u2014 stay in place, so the new songs land as an ending rather than an interruption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That sequencing matters, because the whole record is built around confidence and control. Its title track, \u201cU, Me & My Ego,\u201d \u201cBlockstar\u201d and \u201cMain Character\u201d are not shy songs, and the deluxe leans further into that posture instead of softening it. Chxrry even teased the expansion in the days before release with a clip captioned \u201cMy Ego gets bigger in 2 days\u201d \u2014 and the deluxe makes good on the joke. The ego, in other words, is not a phase of the album. It is the point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The guest list grows with it. Cash Cobain appears on \u201cBadness\u201d and Mariah the Scientist joins \u201cBottles & Lights\u201d on the original album, and Rema is the deluxe\u2019s headline addition, featuring on \u201cBig Shot.\u201d It is the kind of pairing that says something about where Chxrry sees herself now: not just a promising new voice, but an artist other stars want to stand next to. An official lyric video for \u201cBig Shot\u201d arrived with the release on her official YouTube channel, giving the new track a visual to match its billing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For listeners who still want something to hold, the deluxe is also a physical release. A day after the deluxe announcement, Chxrry posted about the album\u2019s vinyl, writing \u201cBully and u shall receive xx Vinyls available now,\u201d a nod to fans who had been asking for it. The deluxe is streaming now, with vinyls available too \u2014 the album treated as a world to live in for a while longer, not a finished chapter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Deluxe editions can feel like an afterthought, a few leftovers tacked onto a finished record. This one does not. By adding four songs that push the album\u2019s themes further, and by putting Rema on the biggest of them, Chxrry has given U, Me & My Ego a proper second act \u2014 one that doubles down on the swagger of the original and dares listeners to keep up. The ego, it turns out, had more to say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n