Is It Time To Say Goodbye To BRAT Summer?
Photo Credit: Henry Redcliffe
Written by Caterina Terrizzi
Since last June, a distinctive shade of neon lime green has become globally synonymous with Charli XCX, one of 2024’s biggest pop stars and the ultimate “PARTYGIRL.” One of the key reasons for the success of “BRAT” as a whole has been how Charli has kept the album so on-trend and on-brand throughout the year, constantly evolving and reimagining it.
A couple of days after “BRAT” was released, Charli immediately put out “Brat and it’s the same but there’s three more songs so it’s not,” which was a deluxe album with a couple extra tracks. Just ten days later and two weeks after “BRAT” was released—right as it started gaining traction among mainstream audiences—Charli released a new version of “Girl, So Confusing” featuring Lorde, which bolstered the album’s popularity even further. ‘Brat Summer’ officially took off, becoming an aesthetic, mood, and lifestyle rather than simply a viral music moment. The collabs didn’t stop there. In August, Charli teamed up with Billie Eilish and The Dare for a remix of “Guess,” and then in October, she released an entirely new version of the album: “Brat and It’s Completely Different but Still Brat,” with a feature on every single track.
Later that fall, she hit the road with Troye Sivan for their co-headlining “SWEAT” tour, where they alternated sets and even performed a few songs together. Despite the high demand, my friend and I were able to score tickets, and see Brat Summer come to life. The show was phenomenal, and the idea of the two artists combining sets was genius, especially with their close relationship and amazing chemistry. Since both artists were able to take breaks while the other performed, the shows’ energy never dipped, with not a second of downtime. After the “SWEAT” tour, many audience members, including myself, found themselves wanting more. Brat Summer had clearly not died out yet, and fans were longing for another show that captured the same level of energy. That’s when Charli announced another tour solely for “BRAT” over spring 2025, continuing the legacy of Brat Summer well into the new year.
After hours in the Ticketmaster queue, I managed to snag two tickets for the final New York show in May. Seeing Charli live again was unforgettable, and she performed an impressive 90-minute set stacked with favorites off of “BRAT” and fan (or should I say club) classics. The crowd went wild for tracks like “Vroom Vroom” and “party 4 u,” which had recently gone viral on TikTok. While there were no special guests onstage, during “Apple,” the screens lit up with a live video of Rosé from K-pop group Blackpink doing the iconic “Apple Dance” in the crowd. Other nights, some of Charli’s other friends had done the dance, including Clairo and Gabriette, who’s mentioned in one of the first lines of the album. She closed the night with an encore featuring “Track 10” and “I Love It,” performed in the center of the arena with water cascading like rain around her. After she left the stage, a final message flashed on the screen:
“does this mean that brat summer is over? i don’t know who i am if it’s over??? i just want this moment to last forever. please don’t let it be over.”
The message perfectly captured the tension of Brat Summer’s lifespan. Charli echoed this idea again via her TikTok, admitting, “it’s really hard to let go of BRAT and let go of this thing that is so inherently me.” While Brat Summer may start to fade out, Charli clearly has a few more tricks up her sleeve. What was once the simple neon lime-green cover with the words “brat” printed on the front of the album across all streaming platforms changed to have “brat” crossed out during the Spring shows. After her last show in New York, a brown, decay-like texture began forming on the button of the album, possibly hinting at the decay of Brat Summer. This, along with the recent announcement for the “party 4 u” music video have shown that Charli is still planning to keep Brat Summer alive as long as she can. And now, with Brat Summer having lasted nearly a year, the question remains: how much longer can we hold on before it’s time to say goodbye to the “BRAT” era?