For a long time, Charli XCX represented what pop could become. Back in August 2019, Pitchfork regarded her as “The Pop Star of The Future.” By this point, it had been nine years since she signed her first record deal. Moreover, it was seven years since her first hit with Icona Pop, “I Love It”. Charli had been the future for quite some time at that point.
That prophecy wouldn’t come true until June 2024, when her album Brat was released. People dedicated their entire summer to the record, loaded with neon-colored debauchery. Consequently, Charli XCX saw her cult fanbase balloon exponentially. While this was undoubtedly a great thing, it certainly led to a lot of new eyes and ears on her. Her mockumentary The Moment tackled this, and she’s still admittedly working through it.
When she spoke to The Moment director Aidan Zamiri for Billboard, Charli said there were many new listeners who didn’t quite get her immediately. As a result, there was a lot of scrutiny that came with being the defining pop star of the year. The film allowed her to make sense of it all.
Charli xcx Opens Up About Gaining New Fans From ‘Brat’ Era
“I’d been this relatively niche artist, and then had suddenly been opened up to this huge new audience. Some of whom really connected with me, some of whom only connected with aspects of me, some of whom liked me, but didn’t really get me,” Charli told Zamiri. “How much you’re under scrutiny, in the spotlight, being listened to, watched, is a really interesting thing. It made me so acutely aware of how hard that transition can be.”
But instead of making the mistake of clutching onto the hype and momentum of Brat, Charli XCX insisted on moving forward. Whether it’s acting or crafting movie soundtracks, she doesn’t want her 2024 album alone to define her. “Nothing lasts forever — and no one lasts forever,” the British pop star stressed. “I think I’ve always known that. It’s cooler to just leave it all behind.”
Even though Brat took over the pop zeitgeist, there was some quiet tension when making the record. In a November 2024 conversation with Gwyneth Paltrow, she quietly feared that it wouldn’t resonate and might have cost her. “I actually made this record being like, ‘OK, I’m just going to do this one for me. Maybe I’m going to get dropped by my label, and that’s fine,” Charli XCX admitted. “That was kind of the headspace that I was in.”
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