Who is Charli XCX?
Charli XCX has been a singer for over ten years, releasing some of the biggest songs in 2010. Her discography includes “I Love It” with Icona Pop, and “Boom Clap” for The Fault In Our Stars‘ soundtrack. The biggest song she is on as a feature is “Fancy” by Iggy Azalea. She has also partaken in writing massive hits for other artists as well. This includes “Señorita” by Camila Cabello, with Shawn Mendes, and “Same Old Love” by Selena Gomez. Charli cannot be constrained to one genre or one sound as she has done it all. From hyper-pop to club classics, she is a multi-talented artist who finally had her mainstream breakthrough this year.
Brat, her latest studio album, has brought Charli XCX to a whole new level of stardom. The club tracks take Charli back to her roots of creating perfect songs to DJ and dance to. Viral track “Apple” has launched the phenomenon of the phrase “Brat summer” which means to party hard, get crazy and self-reflect. I feel like this album is the most artistically free she has been as she includes upbeat bops to dance to and other songs that have really deep meanings about mental health. To be a “Brat” is to be a partygoer who can be insecure and vulnerable about their feelings.
“Brat” Remixes
Charli XCX has over 30 million listeners on Spotify for the first time ever and has had the most iconic collaborations as remixes. The “Von Dutch” remix includes frequent producer A.G. Cook and TikTok-turned-popstar singer Addison Rae. Charli helped Rae break more into the pop music scene as they came together previously on Addison Rae’s EP with “2 Die 4.” The “Von Dutch” remix went viral on social media with Rae’s perfect scream.
After that amazing duo, we got the most iconic remix yet: “The girl, so confusing version with lorde.” This track is about her frustrations with Lorde as she makes her feel insecure. She also has a hard time being Lorde’s friend as they have been compared to each other since the jump. When Charli sent Lorde the song, the latter had no idea that Charli felt like this about her. She then decided to hop on the remix to work the differences out. Them coming together and being so vulnerable, especially with Lorde who talked about her body image along with mental health issues, was monumental.
“Guess Remix”
When you thought Charli XCX couldn’t make something just as iconic as having Lorde on a remix, we got even better news. “Brat” summer is not over. Billie Eilish would feature on her first song ever alongside Charli for the “Guess” remix. The song is a tongue-in-cheek track about obsessive people who want to guess and know everything Charli is doing or has. It plays on jealousy and the lengths people will go when they feel like that. Eilish offers a raunchy verse where she really expresses her sexuality with women. Her part was very catchy as she used her lower register and the line, “Charli likes boys but she knows I’d hit it,” was legendary.
The remix currently sits in the top 10 on the Global and US Top 50 Spotify charts, which is Charli’s first time there. Being a fan of Charli for her journey and seeing how far she has come this era is truly a gift. She has been working so hard to be back at that main star moment like when she did songs “Fancy” or “Boom Clap.” She has two songs currently in the Billboard Hot 100, her first time in ten years making it back onto the chart. Brat as a whole marks Charli’s highest charting album in the US ever, debuting at #3.
Charli XCX will embark on her first-ever arena tour alongside “Rush” singer Troye Sivan for the Sweat Tour. Check Ticketmaster to find tickets for her North American tour.
