Exploring Charli XCX’s Wild Summer Style: The Brat Summer Aesthetic
Regarding her latest album, the singer of “360” decided to follow her instincts and take risks with the music she put out into the world, ultimately leading her back to her rave roots.
“I really miss the era when pop music was wild and unpredictable,” she expressed in a February interview with The Face. “I long for the days of Paris Hilton. Everyone is so concerned about everything now, how they are perceived, if their art will cause offense.”
Despite the pressures of the mainstream pop scene, Charli found success by remaining true to herself and shunning the typical pop star image.
“I understand that if I kept my struggles to myself, pushed through, and didn’t speak my mind, and perhaps underwent cosmetic procedures, I could potentially fit into the commercial world better,” she shared with GQ in May. “Sometimes I’m tempted to go down that path, but the issue is that my fanbase knows that’s not who I am, so they can sense something is off, and they think, ‘This is fake.’ But then I find myself in a position where the masses are like, ‘What is this?'”
However, the pop icon must be doing something right, as a TikTok dance challenge for her song “Apple” has taken the internet by storm. Even the cast of the Twisters movie—featuring Daisy Edgar Jones, Glen Powell, and Anthony Ramos—participated in the trend, as seen here.