Billboard publishes a long report on Charli XCX. The main interview was conducted on the way to Troye Sivan’s concert, where the singer made a surprise appearance. The questions do not delve so much into the sound of the album or compositions such as ‘Everything is Romantic’ or the one dedicated to SOPHIE in particular, but rather into the artist’s career or the way in which ‘brat’ has undoubtedly become the album of the summer.
Charli XCX checks on her phone that the idea of calling the album ‘brat’ was born on March 16, 2022 and says that from there she developed the concept and the songs. “I wanted this album to be like having a conversation with the listener in a sincere way (…) It was interesting to do things for the fan base and make them seem exclusive, but once inside the club, you feel that it is inclusive. And everyone can join the club. It’s just that everyone comes at slightly different times and in slightly different ways.”
Billboard gives a rundown of her commercial achievements and estimates that Charli XCX must earn between $500,000 and $900,000 in royalties a year from her writing for herself and others. At one point, she herself jokes about having to share royalties from her song for Barbie, Speed Drive, with so many people, when she did her part in a half-hour in a carefree manner. “Okay, yeah, whatever,” she replied to the proposal, which came from Mark Ronson.
And of course she’s back to being critical of her career. Sucker thinks it’s an “attempt at something Olivia Rodrigo’s Sour did much better” and Charli thinks she sounds like she’s “completely sold out.” It’s also interesting to hear what people on her team have to say, like Twiggy Rowley, who says: “She’s always three steps ahead. The only change is that people are now coming to her.” And her manager Brandon Creed also comments on the war in the charts over Taylor Swift: “We’re sticking to our plan, and we’re delighted with the results of the album.”
Among the clear headlines left by the interview is the possibility that Charli XCX will not make any more music after ‘Brat’, but she also mentions that she is tempted to make a “Lou Reed-type album.” What is certain is that she could be thinking about acting and this summer she will travel to Poland for a project with filming that will be improvised and may not end up seeing the light of day. More remixes of ‘Brat’ will also be released.
And then there’s the Lorde part. The ‘Melodrama’ hitmaker was also interviewed for this report and reveals that her remix of ‘girl, so confusing’ was improvised in 3 days. Hours before ‘brat’ was released, Charli XCX sent her the song and Lorde replied: “Oh my god, I had no idea you felt that way. I’m sorry. You know, I should be on a cover of the song.”
Charli XCX’s team hints that there are many months of work behind this marketing campaign, starting with all the shades of green that were considered for the cover, so that it wouldn’t remind anyone of anything too well-known in particular, but there’s also room for improvisation. For example, they’re aware that there are several singles working at once, because ‘Apple’ has gone viral on TikTok.
Lorde seems to have really understood the whole concept of ‘brat’ when talking about her remix: “There’s a rawness and immediacy on my part. I really loved the way we worked on this remix. There’s something very brat about it, something very meta and very modern. Only Charli could make it work. It’s opened a channel between us, and it’s made me say things I hadn’t said. I articulated things I didn’t know I would say or even things I’d never heard said. The whole thing has been an honor.”
Podcast: THE BRAT SUMMER
