Hyperpop icon Charli XCX left her everlasting mark on the music industry with her flashy yet authentic album, Brat. The singer-songwriter Charlotte Aitchison was born on August 2, 1992, in Cambridge, UK. From a young age, Charli was fascinated with club culture and made her musical debut at 14, performing at warehouse raves. This lifestyle would be formative for Charli’s musical career, as the alternative aesthetic has always been crucial to her. This is depicted exemplarily in the pop culture bombshell Brat, released on June 7, 2024. Three key factors make this album captivating: the marketing, the music itself, and the remix album.
Firstly, one can’t discuss Brat without acknowledging Charli’s genius promotion strategies. One of the main tactics she utilized was to make this new album and its brand memorable. She accomplished this through the cover; the obnoxious lime green background and the album’s name in Arial font make for an irritating yet unforgettable image. The simplicity of this color became a sort of unofficial trademark since the first thing that comes to mind when shown that remarkable green is Brat. This pivotal branding is behind the birth of the noteworthy “Brat Summer,” which has been sweeping the internet for some time now. Another of Charli’s tactics to promote her album was a blunt advertisement, including spectacles like the “Brat Wall” in Greenpoint, New York. Essentially, Charli intended to ensure that Brat was always on your mind.
Additionally, she is further popularizing the album by co-headlining “The Sweat Tour” with Troye Sivan, in which music from both of their discographies is exposed to each other’s fanbases. As the tour has gradually gained more traction, Charli and Troye have invited some singers from their remixes, such as Lorde on “Girl, So Confusing” or Billie Eilish on “Guess.” By utilizing all these strategies, Charli has assured that people will talk about her for the foreseeable future.
Then, there’s the actual music. The album’s performance is shown by such stellar reviews as a 95 from Metacritic and an 8.6 from Pitchfork. Meaghan Garvey from Pitchfork said, “Brat is imperious and cool, nuanced and vulnerable, and one of the best pop albums of the year.” The idea of the album is to exemplify Charli’s party-girl aesthetic while giving us a glimpse at her vulnerable side; this is done flawlessly through the music. Songs like “Von Dutch” and “360” accentuate Charli’s reckless and boisterous persona, while songs like “Sympathy is a Knife” and “I Think about it all the time” shine light on some of her most profound and most personal insecurities. Aside from the symbolism of the music, the undeniable catchiness has attracted many listeners as well. For instance, songs such as “365” and “Apple” have found immense popularity on TikTok, and the latter has created its trend. I think it’s fair to say that if Brat had not been invented, then a beloved summer anthem would’ve never graced our ears.
Lastly, we have to address the remix album. As Brat and the trends surrounding it accrued more attention over time, Charli released remixes of some of the more popular songs. The most notable one is the remix for “Girl, so Confusing” with Lorde, as it shocked the world by clearing up some decade-old beef between the two. The song’s prevalence led to the phrase “Let’s work it out on the remix” heavily associated with Charli. Then, on October 11, Charli released the official remix album. Before its release, Charli left hints on artists appearing on the album. For example, fans were bewildered when Ariana Grande’s name appeared on a billboard with a Brat green backdrop. Disregarding the mixed reactions that the remix album has received, the fact that Charli has had a society in a chokehold for around half a year now is indisputable.
In conclusion, Charli XCX has secured her spot as a remarkable artist in society’s eyes for a long time. After reading this article, hopefully you’ll give the album a listen, as it has much more to offer than that unsightly lime green might lead you to believe.