Need to Know is the upcoming second extended play by British girl group XO. It is set to be released on 16 October 2026 through Polydor Records. Described by the group as a "mini-album", it is a conceptual project that reframes prompts from advice columns listing "20 Things You Need to Know in Your Twenties" into songs. It has been preceded by three singles: "Hotline", "Clique" and "Stacey (Take You Higher)". XO have promoted the EP with various live appearances, including festival sets and residencies at Colours, Hoxton and G-A-Y in Heaven.
Background and release XO were formed by Polydor Records in late 2024, selecting auditionees Summer Askew, Shali Bordoni, Zoë Miller, Emmy Statham and Reanna Sujeewon to be in the group. In September 2025, they released the song "Lovesick" as their debut single and the lead single from their debut extended play (EP), Fashionably Late (2025). Fashionably Late was released on 14 November of that year.
"Hotline" was released as the lead single from Need to Know on 24 April 2026. The first release for XO since Fashionably Late, it felt like a "reintroduction" for the group. Despite having already recorded "Hotline" and other unreleased tracks at the time of their debut EP, they had a set release schedule they wanted to follow. Sujeewon explained: "We've been sitting on a lot of these tracks for a really long time, even since the first EP, because we knew the journey that we wanted to take. We've come into this year with a 'boom!'; we know what we're releasing, we're just excited to get it all out. Last year was a lot of research and development in real life, we were learning as we went. Now, we've figured out the plan. We've got such sick things to come!"
"Clique" was released as the second single on 3 July. The music video leaned into the group's real-life formation, with it being set in the audition room where the members initially met. "Stacey (Take You Higher)" followed on 4 September. The EP is set to be released on 16 October.
Composition With Fashionably Late, XO felt the music had established their friendships within the group. For Need to Know, they wanted to shift the focus onto their individual characteristics. Miller felt that the EP would defy people's expectations of XO; she stated: "We've got a lot of music coming out that isn't what people are expecting from us. That's really exciting. I don't know how much I'm allowed to say, but we're switching the vibes a little bit". She concluded that XO felt their job as creatives was to make people feel something new through their art.
Need to Know has been described as a conceptual project that takes loose inspiration from advice columns listing "20 Things You Need to Know In Your Twenties". Various prompts were reframed into songs, beginning with opening track "Hotline". The track centres on an advice centre for getting over an ex, while dissecting themes of friendship and sisterhood that have been shown in XO's prior releases. The chorus urges people to "ring on the hot girl hotline" for steps on how to become a better version of yourself following a relationship. "Clique" follows as the second track and was described as a "girl power anthem". Co-written by Willow Kayne, Ryan Tedder and Ellrod, it is a pop song which revolves around belonging to a sisterhood. The third song, "Stacey (Take You Higher)", was co-written for the group by MNEK, Kabba and Michelle O'Faith. It also interpolates the 1992 rave song "Let Me Be Your Fantasy" by Baby D. The lyrical content explores feeling jealous over a crush pining for someone else called Stacey.
Promotion "Clique" was initially performed on their debut tour in late 2025, before its release in mid-2026. In March 2026, XO performed at the Gaydio Awards; there, they debuted "Hotline". In June 2026, they promoted Need to Know at the Isle of Wight Festival, as well appearing at the Discovery Festival and All Points East in August. Also throughout August, XO held a month-long residency in Colours, Hoxton, throughout which they performed material from Need to Know for the first time prior to its release. They will also perform three shows at G-A-Y in Heaven: the first introduced the group to the audience, the second promoted the release of "Stacey (Take You Higher)" as the third single, while the third will be in promotion of the EP's release.
XO initially announced and promoted their Fashionably Late Tour, following the release of their debut EP. Tickets for the tour became available to purchase that same month. They were handled by Live Nation UK and Ticketmaster. It was set to see them visit five venues across England and Scotland throughout May, with the first date hosted by King Tut's Wah Wah Hut in Glasgow. However, after the release of "Hotline" and the announcement of Need to Know, the Fashionably Late Tour was retooled into the Need to Know Tour and was rescheduled for November 2026. However, the Need to Know tour was later cancelled.
Track listing
Notes "Stacey (Take You Higher)" contains a sample of "Let Me Be Your Fantasy", performed by Baby D and written by Floyd Dyce.
References