How Charli XCX turned Brat Summer into a pop phenomenon

Charli XCX and Brat sUMMER: a CHOKEHOLD UPON OUR GENERATION.

Charli XCX, a 32-year-old pop star and DJ from Essex, first received widespread attention for her 2012 single with Icon Pop, ‘I Love It.’ From that movement forward, Charli became a cult fandom sensation. It wasn’t until more than ten years later in 2024, upon releasing the iconic ‘Brat’ album, that she rose to international stardom. Her album ‘Brat’ has become the zeitgeist of the summer, representing edgy, “party girl” culture and Y2K nostalgia. 

In an interview on RA Exchange, Charli spoke about her artistic process, a salient differentiator that has made her the artist of the moment: “I never really mood board music… I treat the record as a world that I build through persona. That’s always so much more interesting to me than the music. I find [I like] artists [best] who are fully rounded and [present] every single thing that they do as part of the world. Whether it be the font, the Tweets, the photography, the music, the shows… that builds everything for me. So the world [of Brat] is inspired by dancing at a rave, being sweaty, with your nipples showing through your tank top, more than it is by [any] music [or] artist.”

What has captivated the attention of global audiences is exactly as described: the world. Charli is convicted in her portrayal of that which she has created, the character she has become within this world, and how that world inspires actions, moods, and plot lines. Charli often coyly expresses in interviews, which she mainly does in the form of long-attention-span podcasts, that she does not care about the music. In the same RA Exchange interview, she stipulated that the music is less critical than the environment, the excitement, the thrill, and the anticipation of a rave. She also expressed her commitment to staying in character, to continuously fortifying her world. “What is art without conviction? You have to be convicted to be good.”

Another key factor to Charli’s success: time. As mentioned, Charli first rose to fame in 2012, but it wasn’t until 12 years later that she reached celebrity, A-lister, and pop icon status. Although Brat has become an overnight sensation, Charli has been working for decades, slowly developing connections, a brand, style, tonality, and prowess. This evolution and the constant pursuit of mastery inevitably positioned her for an industry heist – someday, somehow, Charli was destined for a takeover.

Rave culture is in her DNA. Long before her infamous Boiler Room set, Charli religiously attended raves. During interviews, Charli muses about the raves she attended as a child. Her parents, adoring and supportive, chaperoned her at raves during her most formative years. Charli eventually moved from Essex to London to attend Slade School of Fine Art, which ranked as the UK’s top art and design education institution. Although she only attended Slade for a year before dropping out to pursue music, Charli became engrossed in London’s depraved grime scene. The lurid essence of this type of party would eventually become the forefront of ‘Brat,’ the provocative, unbothered, and sultry essence of Charli XCX’s current character.

Charli is also unique in her disinterest in live performance and shameless promotion of autotune. All of Charli’s live shows are DJ sets rather than traditional pop star performances with backup dancers, spectacle, and gags. It’s Charli, a skimpy rave outfit, a DJ board, and the crowd. “What makes me really feel is when I see a DJ… doing more than just playing the songs but being really creative with song choice, or mixing or not mixing. That’s when I began to really feel alive in this space and I don’t need to watch something. I need to feel what’s happening.”

Upon closer look, Charli’s rise to stardom surpasses a brilliant PR campaign: the secret sauce is her commitment to inexorable individualism. Paris Hilton did it and so did Miley Cyrus. Before them, it was Paul McCartney and Mick Jagger. Artists like Picasso, Van Gough, and Andy Warhol created a fascinating lens for seeing the world. The conviction, dedication to character, and purpose kept audiences hooked during the zeitgeist and posthumously. People have always marveled at the energy of a libertine, maverick, and sybarite – Charli is simply the marvel of the now.