Charli XCX Reveals ‘Brat’ Manifesto, Written In 2023
Charli XCX has shared her original vision for her massively successful album Brat in a post on her private Instagram page.
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“The artwork for Brat will be obnoxious, arrogant, and bold. Some people will hate it,” Charli wrote, describing the album’s stark cover image. “It will be heavily text-based, either font on a plain background or painted on a wall or disregarded object.”
Charli continued, “The whole album campaign is high art. But it is also crucial to understand the benefit of low art and celebrity. The coupling of the two is vital.”
“There is no explanation for what I do,” she continued. “The answer is always ‘No comment.’ We must cultivate desire, chaos, and destruction.
“You need to understand my vision. This is global. I will provide momentum and tell the story in a laser-focused way,” she stated. She also made it clear how important she thought her fanbase would be to the album’s success, “The Angels are ready and waiting. This is the moment.”
In a recent interview for Variety’s Hitmakers issue, Charli revealed that the marketing concept for Brat came before the music. “Usually when I’ve made a record, there is this transitional phase [after it’s recorded], where I’m thinking about how to present the music. But with this one, I actually did that first,” she shared.
Brat landed at No 1 on the UK Official Album Chart in October. Brat has well and truly made its mark on the cultural zeitgeist this year; the audacious campaign has seen Charli cause roadblocks around the world with her pop-up ‘PARTYGIRL’ DJ sets, break the internet with viral videos and surprise collaborations with Billie Eilish, Lorde, Addison Rae, Robyn, Yung Lean, Julia Fox, Chloë Sevigny, and Rachel Sennott.
The album was nominated for the Mercury Prize 2024 while Guess featuring Billie Eilish debuted at No 1 on the UK Official Singles Chart, making Charli the first British artist top the charts this year. In October, Charli followed it up with Brat and it’s completely different but also still brat – a brand-new version of the critically acclaimed album featuring reimagined takes and innovative reworks of tracks from Brat featuring artists such as Julian Casablancas, Bon Iver, The 1975, Shygirl, Ariana Grande, Caroline Polachek and more.