“Brat” has arguably been one of the biggest albums to release this year thus far.
Neon green has painted the image of what this summer looks like so far. Pop musician Charli XCX‘s “Brat“, her acclaimed sixth studio album, has made its rounds around every corner of the world. From TikTok trends to a presidential campaign, Charli’s boldest work has sparked what many call a “brat summer.”
The Rollout
Charli announced “Brat” on February 28, 2024, and released the lead single “Von Dutch” the next day. She revealed the album’s cover art along with its release date, shocking her audience with its simplicity and daring design. The word “brat” in such a compressed font that the pixels were visible, in front of a neon green background– it was indeed bratty.
The album anticipated a release date of June 7, 2024, and Charli released other singles during the period between the announcement and the release date, such as “Club Classics” and a “Von Dutch” remix featuring Addison Rae and A.G. Cook.
Charli continued to build up hype for the album’s eventual release. Numerous events she set up include holding a Boiler Room set in a desolate Brooklyn warehouse. She also arranged a first-look Los Angeles movie theatre screening of the music video for “360”, which stars names such as Chloë Sevigny and Rachel Sennott.
Additionally, Charli announced a set of tour dates for big cities including Mexico City and Barcelona, featuring both live shows and DJ sets. She also announced the “Sweat Tour” with Troye Sivan, featuring North American dates at arenas such as Madison Square Garden.
Charli held many events for hardcore fans and announced a myriad of tour dates, making “Brat” highly anticipated before its release.
The Release of “Brat”
Following its scheduled release date, “Brat” came out on June 7, 2024. The album features production from names such as George Daniel of the 1975 (also her fiancée), and frequent Rosalía collaborator El Guincho. Hudson Mohawke and Easyfun also have placements on the album. It landed third place on the Billboard 200 chart, which marked her biggest album charting yet. It debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart, losing to a reissue of Taylor Swift’s last album. This in turn would anger many of Charli’s fans.
Charli released the deluxe version, fittingly titled “Brat and It’s the Same But There’s Three More Songs So It’s Not,” just three days after the original album’s release. In typical “Brat” fashion, she had her team announce the deluxe version on a “Brat” wall during a TikTok live. The reissue featured highly anticipated songs that didn’t make the album, such as “Spring Breakers” and “Guess”.
Following its commercial success, Charli soon performed at sold-out shows for her small tour, such as at the Shrine Expo Hall in Los Angeles and the Brooklyn Paramount in New York.
Music critics and casual listeners alike have given “Brat” numerous positive reviews. The album holds a score of 95 on Metacritic, an 8.6 on Pitchfork and five stars from the Guardian. Well-known music critic Anthony Fantano, frequently known as TheNeedleDrop online, also gave the album a full score of 10.
“Girl, So Confusing,” one of the tracks on the album speculated to be about Lorde, turned out to be about her. The New Zealand native hopped on the remix and released it on June 21, 2024, fulfilling the hearts of the many who grew up on Tumblr.
The Current Summer Takeover of “Brat”
One month after its release, “Brat” is still riding the hype that Charli based its foundation on.
Tracks like “365” and “Apple” have captivated audiences, appearing in memes and trends across various social media platforms.
Recently, “Apple” has made its rounds on TikTok, amassing over 380,000 videos under its original sound. A dance trend was created for the song by Kelley Heyer, with many recreating it such as Charli herself. Additionally, Charli revealed that she initially did not include the song in the final cut of the album.
Many brands, franchises and other businesses have also utilized the “brat” aesthetic in their advertising and campaigns. Notable names include Field Roast and Moon Juice. A “Brat” generator was also created by Charli and her team, for others to create memes in the style of the iconic “Brat” album cover.
Moreover, after Joe Biden dropped out of the U.S. presidential election for the next term, it was announced that Kamala Harris would take his place. This prompted Charli to tweet “kamala IS brat”, followed by her following Harris’ X, formerly known as Twitter, account. In return, Harris followed Charli on her Instagram and X account. The Kamala HQ X account also features a header that says “Kamala HQ” in the fashion of the “Brat” album cover.
What’s Next For Brat?
Another notorious “Brat” wall livestream scared fans into thinking it was the end of an era. Workers painted over the wall and sprawled against the wall was the word “goodbye”. The fact that Charli also signed a contract with Atlantic Records for just two more albums, with one being “Brat”, also added fuel to the fire.
Charli confirmed that it was rather the end for the wall itself, and that “Brat” summer was starting. Although, it doesn’t help that Charli recently said she has considered quitting music to pursue an acting career.
An anticipated and rumored “Brat” remix album has still yet to be announced. It is supposedly featuring a “365” remix with Shygirl, along with the remix singles that have already been released. With “Brat” taking over the airwaves for over a month, fans are now desperate for more releases.
As Charli said, “Brat” summer is only just starting. With the upcoming “Sweat Tour” with Troye Sivan, it can be expected that the rumored remix album will come out later in the year.
For a fact, the “brat” era is nowhere near close to an end. Everyone should prepare themselves for a potential “brat autumn” in the coming months.
