Many may recognize the voice of 32-year-old British pop singer Charli XCX from her 2012 feature on “I Love It” by Icona Pop, which reached seven on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2013 (Billboard). Some of Charli’s other iconic songs in the early 2000s include “Boom Clap” and “1999,” both of which peaked on singles charts.
Nine years had gone by since Charli XCX last made an appearance on the Billboard Hot 100 when she released a new single for the 2023 Barbie movie called “Speed Drive” (Billboard). “Speed Drive” became Charli’s first single to make the Billboard Hot 100 since 2014 (Billboard). Charli’s ultimate rise back to the top of the music industry, however, began with a neon green square and the word “brat.”
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The album, titled “BRAT,” was released on June 7, 2024. Within just one week of BRAT’s release, 30,000 copies were sold on vinyl and it hit number one on the Vinyl Albums ranking (Billboard). The 15-song album was an instant hit, and fans identified with the club-style music, living out their “Brat Summer.” A few of the tracks made it to TikTok, where fans created dances, one of the most notable being the song “Apple.” Ramapo senior Keshvi Patel shared what she thought of the album: “Brat has influenced this whole summer so heavily. It’s trashy in a classy way.” Charli XCX’s bold and unique vocals didn’t end there. Just three days later, the singer fed her fans with a deluxe album ironically titled: “Brat and it’s the same but there’s three more songs so it’s not.” All 18 tracks were performed at the Sweat Tour, a familiar collaboration between Charli XCX and Troye Sivan, who first became a musical duo with their hit single “1999” back in 2018. The Sweat Tour also featured the duo’s most recent project, “Talk talk.”
Despite “Brat Summer” coming to an end, fans are eager for Charli’s next album, which includes 11 remixed Brat songs. It just keeps getting better, right? Ramapo senior Ryan Francin comments, “With the release of the remix album on Friday, it’s going to be a brat fall. It’s never-ending.”
This past summer marked Charli XCX’s most successful album as an artist. Will brat fall unveil new horizons? Or will Brat Summer be the British pop star’s legacy?
