{"id":39943,"date":"2024-10-03T10:57:05","date_gmt":"2024-10-03T15:57:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/?p=39943"},"modified":"2024-10-03T10:57:05","modified_gmt":"2024-10-03T15:57:05","slug":"brat-summer-the-impact-of-charli-xcxs-album","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/2024\/10\/03\/brat-summer-the-impact-of-charli-xcxs-album\/","title":{"rendered":"brat summer: The Impact of Charli xcx’s Album"},"content":{"rendered":"

This past summer was a magical time defined by several characteristics: the controversial Olympics; Biden bidding the presidency goodbye; and Charli xcx\u2019s 15-track, 41-minute house\/rave album BRAT (stylized brat)\u2013of which the latter had the most influence over our daily life. <\/span><\/p>\n

If you haven\u2019t had the pleasure of listening to the album in its entirety, do yourself a favor and go experience perhaps the most refreshing album of this decade. While overly analytical lyricism and story-telling have infiltrated the world of pop music (thanks, Taylor), Charli xcx did not want any metaphors on the album. Instead, she wanted this album to be a conversation between her listeners and her. For example, several songs (club classics, 365) on the album sing about partying and raving at a club, sometimes excessively so. Phrases like \u201cI\u2019m so Julia\u201d (\u201c360\u201d), \u201cbumpin\u2019 that\u201d (\u201c365\u201d) have already made their way into internet talk, and viral sensations like the \u201cApple\u201d dance on TikTok have taken over the platform in a storm. <\/span><\/p>\n

On the contrary, brat also touches on themes of ego, womanhood, and relationships. \u201cVon dutch\u201d highlights Charli\u2019s reaction to jealousy, \u201cGirl, so confusing,\u201d talks about the confusing dynamic between women, and \u201cTalk talk\u201d is a song about the lack of communication in a relationship. Of course, the three deluxe tracks (\u201cHello goodbye\u201d, \u201cGuess\u201d, and \u201cSpring breakers\u201d) on her appropriately titled deluxe album <\/span>Brat and it\u2019s the same but there\u2019s three more songs so it\u2019s not<\/span><\/i> extend the conversation of the album. The universal, casual, and easy-going appeal of <\/span>brat <\/span><\/i>makes it digestible to many, and the topics that the album explores have such a wide range that this album truly encompasses the human experience. <\/span><\/p>\n

Charli xcx has also made an effort to diversify her music through collaborating with other artists on remixes. \u201cGirl, so confusing\u201d featuring Lorde is a fan favorite, \u201cVon dutch\u201d featuring Addison Rae exemplifies the hot, partygoer vibe of the song, and \u201cTalk talk\u201d featuring Troye Sivan expertly enhances the song wholly. Some defining songs on the album are: \u201c365,\u201d \u201cVon dutch,\u201d \u201cGirl, so confusing,\u201d \u201cGuess\u201d ft. Billie Eilish, but the entire album is a treat in itself.<\/span><\/p>\n

The album extended beyond just the scope of the art and entertainment industries, branching out to fields typically not touched on by music. Soon after Biden announced dropping out of the 2024 Presidential election, Kamala\u2019s PR team spent no time establishing social media accounts for her campaign. The day that Harris announced her campaign for the presidential election, Charli xcx tweeted on <\/span>X<\/span><\/i> (formerly Twitter), \u201ckamala IS brat,\u201d to which the campaign\u2019s <\/span>TikTok <\/span><\/i>embraced the brat aesthetic. The official \u201ckamala hq\u201d account on <\/span>X <\/span><\/i>changed their banner to match <\/span>brat\u2019s <\/span><\/i>album cover, and they began to use <\/span>brat <\/span><\/i>to campaign for Harris. Edits of Kamala Harris to songs on <\/span>brat <\/span><\/i>also emerged as support for the presidential candidate. Harris\u2019s embracement of <\/span>brat <\/span><\/i>effectively popularized herself within the Gen Z and <\/span>TikTok <\/span><\/i>community, garnering support for the candidate. <\/span><\/p>\n

On popular platforms like <\/span>Roblox <\/span><\/i>and <\/span>TikTok<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>brat <\/span><\/i>has become a widespread trend. One of the most popular <\/span>Roblox <\/span><\/i>games called Dress to Impress(DTI)\u2013where players dress up and compete with other outfits\u2013had a collaboration with Charli xcx. A whole new line of clothing was released along with some <\/span>brat<\/span><\/i> related dances for the players. The song \u201cApple\u201d blew up on <\/span>TikTok <\/span><\/i>with the introduction of a dance associated with the song\u2013gaining popularity as content creators and Olympians began to do the dance.<\/span><\/p>\n

The <\/span>brat <\/span><\/i>aesthetic is one that\u2019s hard to define, but can be generalized as one that goes back to the y2k aesthetic, just in lime-green. Charli xcx\u2019s team had a difficult time deciding on how to stylize the album, spending months before deciding on its iconic lime green. But have we seen a similar phenomenon before? <\/span><\/p>\n

Circa summer 2023, the biggest craze at the moment was the <\/span>Barbie <\/span><\/i>movie. Glammed out in hot pink and maximalist motifs, <\/span>Barbie <\/span><\/i>defined summer. It was even IMSA\u2019s homecoming theme! The similarities between <\/span>Barbie <\/span><\/i>and <\/span>brat <\/span><\/i>are undeniable. Beyond both names starting with a b, both sensations were associated with an in-your-face color, maximalist aesthetics, unapologetic feminism, and a focus on living life to the fullest. It almost seems like summers are turning backwards in time to adopt the y2k aesthetic, but I\u2019m glad to have experienced both phenomena \u201cback 2 back.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Overall, the pop music industry has spoiled us this year with astonishing music. Albums like Billie Eilish\u2019s<\/span> Hit Me Hard And Soft<\/span><\/i>, Kali Uchis\u2019 <\/span>Orquideas<\/span><\/i>, and Beyonc\u00e9\u2019s <\/span>Cowboy Carter<\/span><\/i> have defined the music we listen to today, but none have had the massive phenomenon that is <\/span>brat<\/span><\/i>. <\/span>Brat <\/span><\/i>will remain a staple in house\/rave music, and will remain one of my most played albums of time.<\/span><\/p>\n

To support her album, Charli xcx has gone on the Sweat tour in collaboration with Troye Sivan, and they will be performing in Chicago on September 30th. Be sure to keep an eye out for another version of brat, titled <\/span>Brat and it\u2019s completely different but also still brat<\/span><\/i>, coming out October 11th!<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This past summer was a magical time defined by several characteristics: the controversial Olympics; Biden bidding the presidency goodbye; and Charli xcx\u2019s 15-track, 41-minute house\/rave…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1028,"featured_media":39950,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1020,3667],"tags":[3674,4422,1138],"coauthors":[4421],"class_list":["post-39943","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ae","category-music","tag-album","tag-charli-xcx","tag-music"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39943","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1028"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39943"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39943\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39964,"href":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39943\/revisions\/39964"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39950"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39943"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39943"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39943"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=39943"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}