Before there was “I’m so julia-ah-ah-ah” and the iconic shade of green, Charli XCX was the “Boom Clap” girl, or to those in the know; the “Vroom Vroom” girl. Charlotte Aitchison, born 1992 in Cambridge, got into music by attending raves and sharing her work on Tumblr. Over ten years since her debut True Romance and smash-hit co-write “I Love It,” Charli has achieved the pop star era she has been striving for her entire career. While Brat’s impact is undeniable, the flawless rollout of the record makes it seem like she finally cracked the code. However, as a long-haul angel, the Brat era is the culmination of a decade of studied hitmaking, genius marketing, and impeccable timing. Let’s dive into how Charli revolutionized the rollout and broke the system without compromising herself.
Coming up with the likes of Marina, Lana, and FKA Twigs as a Tumblr icon, Charli’s early career was defined by underground electronic pop. Following her string of smash hits and moody debut entitled True Romance, Charli put out her second album Sucker. It was critically maligned for its brash immaturity and its milquetoast pop-punk sound, and overall “Boom Clap” -ness. In 2016 Charli found herself with her now iconic EP Vroom Vroom. In collaboration with her long-time producer A.G. Cook and hyperpop legend in the late SOPHIE, Charli redefined her sound and identity. After her 2017 record XCX World was leaked and subsequently scrapped, Charli retaliated with back-to-back mixtapes Number 1 Angel and Pop 2. Both received next to no marketing or label push, yet turned her into a cult pop icon by sheer force of quality. As Charli re-entered the conversation with her self-titled album Charli in 2019 and the quarantine concept album How I’m Feeling Now in 2020, she seemed to have solidified herself as an alt-pop favorite. The hyperpop pioneer seemed destined to the Carly Rae Jepsen lot in life: to be adored by rabid gays and critics but ignored by the mainstream.
Prior to Brat‘s meteoric rise, Charli released her 5th studio album Crash in March 2022. Marketed as her “sellout era” she used every trick in the industry toolbox. From Ava Max style interpolation to an approachable 80s sound, Charli threw her hyperpop roots aside to dabble in “real” stardom. But the record underperformed, peaking at 7 on the Billboard 200 with a quick fall-off; impressive for Charli but chump change for a real icon. She had reached a new audience, but fans weren’t pleased. After her experimental quarantine record How I’m Feeling Now in 2020 which dove into the depths of EDM and intimate confessions, Crash felt as deep as a kiddie pool. Redirecting by signing a new record deal with her previous label Atlantic, Charli started hinting at the Brat era through abrasive singles like “Hot Girl” for the film Bodies Bodies Bodies, and her feature on Caroline Polachek’s “Welcome To My Island” remix. After months of hiatus, we received the lead single “Von Dutch” and the teaser for Charli’s Boiler Room set. Little did we know that Brat would be Charli’s late-career imperial era.
On June 7th, 2024 Brat dropped to much critical acclaim, a number 3 on the Billboard 200 and a number 2 on the UK charts. The era has persisted as one of the most impactful pop rollouts in recent memory. The universality of the record isn’t only due to the impressive songwriting and production, but to the unavoidable nature of the marketing campaign. In late February Charli released the album cover which instantly sparked a divisive conversation. Featuring the blurry word “brat” in an Arial font over an acidic chartreuse background, it sent stan Twitter into a tizzy. While some fans lauded the bold design, others would deride it for not featuring a photo of Charli herself or for being ugly. The design only became more viral in May, when the album art became a massive mural dubbed “the brat wall,” used to announce both the remix “Girl, So Confusing Featuring Lorde” and cheekily titled Brat and it’s the same but there’s three more songs so it’s not. Along with this, Charli made brat generators where fans could turn any text into a version of the album covers, as a result, the iconoclastic visual language of Brat was unceasingly viral. The genius was a cover that could be endlessly adapted, turning any lime green object into word-of-mouth publicity via your oomfs’s Instagram story. The accessibility of brat is built into the culture of the record, anyone can be bratty and messy and fun. Brat is partygirl and partygirl is cool and everyone wants to be cool. This made Brat instantly relatable and exciting, and most importantly targeted at Charli’s club-going fanbase of girls and gays.
The idea of brat encompasses all that Charli is. Brat has always existed, it just took someone to tap into the intersection of TikTok cool girls and alternative icons. Filling the video for “360” with it-girls like Alex Consani, Rachel Sennott, Emma Chamberlain, Quenlin Blackwell, Chloë Sevigny, and Julia Fox (of “I’m so Julia”) made Brat feel simultaneously exclusive yet approachable. All these internet icons straddle the line between high fashion and relatable, making the world of the album both braggadocious and familiar. You too can be a brat; unserious and hot, vulnerable and untouchable.
Brat came at just the right time. We suffered many “authentic” records in recent history and Brat was a dose of raw truth. In the world of Taylor’s The Tortured Poets Department where fans have to decode an icon’s personal life exhaustively, it’s refreshing to have the pop star tell you what’s up right to your face. In contrast to something like Radical Optimism by Dua Lipa, which scratches the surface of mental health without really letting you in, Brat runs the full spectrum of feeling like you’re on top of the world to the loneliest girl in the corner of the party, to singing about generational trauma in a fruit-themed bop. When artists are selling you manufactured realness, bearing all is refreshing, especially when the songs are catchy. If Brat had just been “365 partygirl” or musings of “Why I wanna shoot myself?” it wouldn’t be the smash it is. You can’t be vulnerable without living that life, and you can’t have the highest highs without the lowest lows.
This album cycle also comes with great timing. 2024 is one of the first years post-COVID where clubbing became a priority, synergistically aligned with a new wave of recession pop (cue “Hot to Go”). Charli also picked the perfect time to do an homage to what we now call indie sleaze. After the thrums of the Saltburn resurgence of “Perfect (Exceeder)” and “Girls” by The Dare, Brat was just what the hip youth were looking for. It also coincides with an immaculately paced rollout, taking weeks between singles and keeping the fire burning all summer long with collaborations with Lorde and Billie Eilish that foretold the remix album Brat and It’s Completely Different but Also Still Brat due this October. It also helps that the Harris campaign and every brand in the world hopped on the trend, plus a viral TikTok dance doesn’t hurt either.
To touch quickly on the Sweat Tour, I had the privilege of seeing the show in Philly. Even more than a concert, it was a production with multiple acts and a strong creative vision. Shygirl was a fantastic opener, setting the tone for a night at the club and establishing the R-rated tone immediately. Seeing her giving her all even to a crowd paying her dust was great. Troye Sivan brought a troupe of male dancers, stellar vocals, and buckets of homoeroticism that made most of the stadium staff blush. Charli brought a ton of attitude, amazing outfits, and enough strobes to give a haunted house a seizure. The performers flipped back and forth; Troye with colorful passion and sultry choreography, and Charli with abrasive monochrome lighting and a lot of strutting. Eventually, the two worlds bled into each other: the sleek black-and-white world of Charli was infected by color and Troye’s warm romantic tone became clubbier and sluttier. Ultimately Charli and Troye united. Floors were licked, cages were rattled, kegs were stood upon, sex was simulated and lives were changed. If anything, this tour emphasizes universal archetypes of the club: Troye is the love-drunk twink on a Rush-fueled bender and Charli is the party girl flinging her clothes off and commanding you to be on your worst behavior. If you haven’t already, get your tickets as soon as possible. It’s worth every penny.
Charli has been bratty since day one. Take a listen to something off her long-buried, proto-debut 14. Released at the same age as the title, scuzzy tracks like “!Franchesckaar!” mixed with heartfelt stunners like “Watch The Rain,” it seems like Charli hasn’t changed a bit if only expanded her skills and started making propositions of “Should we do a little key? Should we have a little line?” It only took a decade for the mainstream to catch up with a pop star so ahead of the curve. Midway through the Sweat Tour with Troye Sivan, Charli has much to look forward to. We have yet to hear more than ten remixes on the remix record. It has been announced that Charli is set to appear in the upcoming films Faces of Death, I Want Your Sex, and 100 Nights of Hero on top of composing for Mother Mary starring Anne Hathaway. With her engagement with George Daniel, questions of motherhood, and her musical fate hanging in the balance, we can’t be sure where she will go next. Will she pivot into acting? Will she go on an extended hiatus to start a family? Will she dive headfirst into new music, pumping experimental pop into the mainstream for years to come? Will that music be a continuation of her club classics or something new altogether? Only Charlotte herself knows. But in any case, we’ll keep on bumpin’ that.
Connor is a senior theatre studies major who will be riding the wave of BRAT summer and indulging in BRAT autumn. They can be reached at [email protected]