11 facts about pop icon Charli XCX as Brat summer continues
Following the release of Brat last month, Charli XCX is the moment!
Queer British pop star Charli XCX has been taking over our Spotify algorithms with her critically acclaimed album Brat.
But if you’re still out of the loop, we’ve got you covered, with 11 facts to help you get to know the singer who will be everywhere this summer.
She signed her first record deal aged 16
The 31-year-old musician first started making music at the age of 14, posting her songs on her MySpace page before performing at raves and parties.
She signed with Atlantic when she was just 16 years old, and released her debut album, True Romance, in April 2013, when she was 20.
She has collaborated with several major artists
Charli XCX is well-known for creating absolute bangers in collaboration with other artists, with her 2012 single “I Love It” with Icona Pop reaching number one in the UK charts.
She has also appeared on singles with Troye Sivan, Christine & The Queens, Lizzo, Iggy Azalea and Haim.
Charli has co-written songs with pop legends
In addition to her six solo albums, Charli CX has also co-written for other artists, including Iggy Azalea, Selena Gomez and Blondie.
Most recently, she co-wrote the Shawn Mendez and Camila Cabello collaboration “Señorita” in 2019, and the Sigala/Rita Ora collab “You For Me” in 2021.
Her parents used to drive her to her own shows
Beginning her career at the age of 14, the musician, who was raised in Essex, started performing in raves and parties in East London after promoters found her music on MySpace. Her parents reportedly drove her to her shows, before she moved to London, and attended several raves with her.
She was billed on flyers under the stage name Charli XCX, which was her MSN Messenger display name at the time.
She dropped out of her degree course
At the age of 18, Charli moved to London to study for a fine art degree at University College London’s Slade School of Fine Art, but dropped out in her second year. By that time, she had already released two music videos.
In 2015, she told The Telegraph: “I realised I didn’t know anything about art and I wasn’t good at arguing, and that’s all you really need for art school.”
Charlie XCX has created a documentary
The musician has created a documentary feature, Alone Together, as well as a podcast for Radio 1 where she finds the perfect songs for “life’s ultimate playlist”, called Charli XCX’s Best Song Ever.
The documentary, released in 2021, follows Charli as she pulls together her fourth album during the COVID-19 lockdown.
She wrote one of her albums during lockdown
That album, How I’m Feeling Now, was released in May 2020. Conceived in six weeks, it was created in a hugely collaborative process with her fans during lockdown. It debuted at number 33 on the UK album chart, and was shortlisted for the Mercury Prize that year.
She created a theme song for Super Nintendo World
Charli XCX and Galantis collaborated on We Are Born to Play, the theme song for Japan’s Super Nintendo World theme park, which opened in 2021.
The song included music from Super Mario games, and featured the singer hanging out with Nintendo character Toad on top of Peach’s Castle in the music video.
She is engaged to a fellow musician
Charli XCX is engaged to The 1975’s drummer George Daniel.
The pair began dating publicl in 2022, but reportedly met while working on the track Spinning, which came out in March 2021. They collaborated again on her album Crash, which came out in March 2022.
The couple announced their engagement on Instagram last November.
Her music has featured in several movies
Boom Clap is known for appearing in the teen movie The Fault In Our Stars, however her music has also appeared on several other film soundtracks.
Hot Girl featured in the 2022’s Bodies Bodies Bodies, while “Speed Drive” can be heard on run-away smash Barbie. She was the score co-composer for the 2023 queer hit Bottoms.
Brat is one of the highest-rated albums of 2024
Brat is one of the biggest albums of 2024 so far, rated Metacritic‘s number-one for the first half of the year and inspiring a “brat girl summer” from fans embracing partying and hedonism by way of a tribute.
And Charli XCX will be taking the show on the road, performing at four headline UK arena shows as part of The Brat Tour in November and December.
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