M. Night Shyamalan Hails Charli XCX as "True Artist" After Tour Experience

Director M. Night Shyamalan has praised Charli XCX as a “true artist” after seeing the opening night of her ‘ Music, Fashion, Film ’ tour.

- READ MORE: Charli XCX live at Reading 2026: a stylish, cinematic, but sometimes underwhelming performance

The singer kicked off her latest run of shows last week (September 11) in Philadelphia , with the Sixth Sense director among those in attendance.

Sharing a photo alongside Charli and his daughter Saleka, Shyamalan wrote on X: “Got to spend some time with @charli_xcx as she kicked off her tour in Philly.

“A true artist with integrity and a good human. I was taken away during the concert. The arena was transported. And Charli is a cinephile! So we could chat forever. @SalekaNight and I had an inspiring times with her.”

> Got to spend some time with @charli_xcx as she kicked off her tour in Philly. A true artist with integrity and a good human. I was taken away during the concert. The arena was transported. And Charli is a cinephile! So we could chat forever. @SalekaNight and I had an inspiring… pic.twitter.com/GE7BBc9Mkp — M. Night Shyamalan (@MNightShyamalan) September 12, 2026

Charli has been open about her love of cinema, and has posted reviews on social media site Letterboxd . The star has also moved into acting in recent years, and opened up about turning to film earlier this year at a Q&A for film Erupcja .

“Especially in my position, being a musician who wants to act, that’s inherently cringe anyway,” she said. “It’s all cringe, I’m very aware of that. Also, I am very new to this and wanted to sit back and learn and only really throw suggestion into the ring when I felt very, very passionate about it, or like it was going to be additive in some conversational way.”

Meanwhile, Charli recently announced a UK and Europe arena leg of her ‘Music, Fashion, Film’ tour, though has received criticism for only having six dates across Dublin, Glasgow, Manchester, London, Amsterdam and Paris.

Explaining why the run is short , the singer wrote on Instagram: “I know there’s a lot of frustration in the comments about the fact that I am not doing lots of dates. I am really sorry if you feel disappointed but I have to honor my truth as an artist: touring is really emotionally and physically hard for me.

> View this post on Instagram

“I am not looking for sympathy and I have a huge amount of respect for artists who can handle it at an intense, lengthy and high octane level, but I am just not one of those human beings and I never have been.”

She also revealed it was the same reason she has a shorter run for her North American tour, adding: “I’m sorry if you feel I am letting you down; I really am. Perhaps one day I will be built for the kind of touring you expect from me but right now I am not. If you’re coming to a show I hope you have fun and enjoy it, and I will try my best to stay in a healthy and positive mindset and enjoy it too.”

Tickets for the UK and Europe tour go on general sale at 9am BST next Friday (September 18) – you’ll be able to buy yours here – plus you can see a full list of dates here .

Charli headlined Reading & Leeds 2026 last month, NME calling it “a stylish, cinematic, but sometimes underwhelming performance” in a four-star review.

The post M. Night Shyamalan praises “true artist” Charli XCX after watching ‘Music, Fashion, Film’ tour appeared first on NME .

_Originally reported by [NME](https://www.nme.com/news/film/m-night-shyamalan-praises-true-artist-charli-xcx-watching-music-fashion-film-tour-3968669?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=m-night-shyamalan-praises-true-artist-charli-xcx-watching-music-fashion-film-tour)._