Ema Nevrelova
September
Contrary to many trends circulating on social media, the “brat summer” trend emerged from an album title. In the era of short videos and short extracts for songs, it sometimes seems impossible to appreciate more 'time-consuming' forms of art and music, but Charli XCX proved us wrong. Songwriter and artist Charli XCX released her sixth studio album, Brat, on June 7, 2024. It is worth mentioning that Charli has maintained her relevance for over 15 years, and has accomplished exactly what she had imagined for herself back in 2009 when she stated in an interview for the magazine Dazed Digital: “I want to prove to people that you don’t have to become this big, commercial pop writing machine to be successful, you can just do whatever you want, and it will be fine.”
However, the recent resurgence of her popularity led some people to believe that she made an overhyped album with sloppy covers. Yet, her true fans know that coloured background and blurry title has been the aesthetics of her past four albums (including Brat). Fittingly, “you can just do whatever you want, and it will be fine” could also be a good basis to establish the definition of term brat, even though the commonly cited description of “brat essentials” by Charli XCX as having a “pack of cigs, a Bic lighter and a strappy white top with no bra.” There definitely has been room for interpretation illustrated by the #brat on Instagram. We’ll find ourselves scrolling through 2.7 million posts ranging from references to the album, people talking about and embracing themselves using the brat aesthetic and lyrics from the album, photos of vice-president Kamala Haris, and tutorials on brat green hair and makeup. Nevertheless, there remains the question: How did being ‘brat’ come into the mainstream in an era dominated by the highest grossing tour in history, Taylor Swift’s Eras tour?
As Charli XCX alluded to in her interview for podcast Sidetrack, there is a cultural shift and “the niche is being rewarded.’’
Her statement might be confusing to most people as they probably connect Charli with her second and arguably most mainstream studio album Sucker (which included hits like Break The Rules or Boom Clap) released in 2014. What is perhaps lesser known is that she has been active in the Underground scene since her teenage years—attending raves or DJing in clubs. Charli has also collaborated with a producer named SOPHIE who, I would argue, helped shape her work towards hyperpop, a microgenre of electronic and pop music originating in the UK (mostly spread through SoundCloud).
There are other reasons apart from a higher appreciation for the niche that made this album relevant this summer. An important factor for the promotion of the album was that Charli is the embodiment of brat—from the way she dresses to her confident yet vulnerable presence. Eye-catching colour, her strong personality and Tik Tok opened the door for her album into the mainstream. Another good marketing strategy and demonstration of various meanings of brat was the reconciliation of Lorde and Charli over the song “The girl, so confusing” – even though they never really had a falling out. The 3.9 million views on YouTube prove that communication, female solidarity and friendship are brat.
When discussing friendship that should have happened sooner, let’s look at the song “Guess” featuring Billie Eilish. The song “Guess” doesn’t appear on the original album Brat, but on its extended version called “Brat and it’s the same but there’s three more songs so it’s not” released on June 10. This queer hit pushed the brat obsession even further, with some of us longing for “lower back tattoo”. Possibly, the biggest ‘brat move’ surrounding the song was Charli and Billie donating around 10 000 of undergarments, from the Guess videoclip, to the I Support The Girls nonprofit organization providing ‘‘distribution of undergarments and menstrual products to folx experiencing homelessness and to victims of domestic violence.’’
Charli doesn’t just address important topics in real life but also in her songs. “I think about it all the time” touches on the thought process and expectations around having children. Lines that resonate are “Should I stop my birth control? ‘Cause my career feels so small in the existential scheme of it all.’’ A second song with heartbreaking potential (not in a romantic way) is Apple. Unveiling Charli’s complicated relationship with parents allows for a reflection on our own childhood traumas and for a realisation that “the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.’’ Notably, the most emotional and vulnerable song is “So I” – tribute to Charli’s long time music mentor, DJ and producer SOPHIE, who passed away in 2021. Slower tempo and reference to SOPHIE’ song It’s okay to cry should make us all cry. Clearly, brat isn’t solely about being a shallow bad girl, rather, it deals with the intricacy of womanhood from a messy feminine perspective.
That is not to say that there is not a party element to the album, as Charli XCX revealed in the Therapuss podcast: “It [the album] is very personal but there are songs about just like getting f*cked up.’’ The party songs include 360, 365, Rewind or Club classics and that is where Charli utilized her skills from DJing. The tempo is fast, almost to a point where you feel dizzy but in a soothing tipsy way, at the same time the lyrics serve as reassurance that we don’t have a perfect routine, body or personality. We can “just rewind’’ and “say something stupid.’’
The popularity of this trend got so widespread that it even found its way into U.S. politics. After vice-president of the U.S. Kamala Harris announced running for presidency; Charli XCX endorsed her by writing on X: “kamala IS brat.’’ Harris’s campaign adopted the brat aesthetic and produced memes, making many people quickly forget about the attempted assassination of Donald Trump—a success, from a marketing point of view. Despite Harris’s quick rise to internet fame, it wasn't coincidental. As many politicians before her she likely aimed at younger voters in hopes of securing their votes. It remains to be seen if this tactic will prove to be successful, as Democrat voters among Generation Z and Millennials tend to sympathize with Palestine and criticize President Joe Biden’s policy in the current Israeli-Palestinian war. Harris will likely follow in his footsteps if she becomes president. Regardless of the outcome of the U.S. presidential elections, it is safe to say that “kamala IS brat’’ will not be forgotten.
To conclude, this summer we witnessed a cultural shift during which, paradoxically, niche became part of mainstream culture and politics. But has the Brat album made a societal impact? As with any trend or album we will probably forget brat summer ever happened. Nevertheless, it will be one more summer which 2.7 million of us spent being less self-conscious and less bothered by other people’s expectations. Charli XCX reminded us, in her blunt and unhinged way, that we can be confident and vulnerable and there is in fact nothing wrong with our imperfect, complicated personalities. After all, if the potential U.S. president can be brat, can’t we all?