“BRAT SUMMER” is a phrase people cannot escape, even as fall has dawned upon us; many Charli XCX fans are continuing the album’s mainstream success, now dubbing this fall, “brat autumn.” Along with the lime green and blurred Arial front aesthetic, Charli XCX has created a new world of her own.
Charli XCX released her album, Brat, on June 7, 2023. This is the singer’s sixth studio album. The strategic decision to release Brat at the start of summer paid off massively. The album’s high upbeat energy vibe has become the soundtrack for parties, road trips, beach days, or even just a mood boost, according to thecurrent.org. By releasing the album at the start of the season, Brat and summer became intertwined. Senior Sarah Welzant says that she is “a big fan of the energy that comes from this album,” and that “it gets me to move along with it and sing. I put it on a lot when I’m in the car and I can’t help but sing along to it and have a little jam session.” She adds that, “It’s been hyping me up before my field hockey games.”
Charli XCX isn’t a new artist, despite her recent popularity. She has been in the music industry for over 16 years, starting as a DJ at small raves in England. Some of her well-known songs like “Boom Clap,” “Break the Rules,” “Boys,” and “I Love It” topped the charts during the 2010s. However, this is her first big break in the music industry, according to medium.com. Welzant says “I got into her music around when she released her album Charli.” She also remembers when “I heard “I Love It” by Icona Pop [feat. Charli XCX] and being absolutely in love with the song.”
The marketing and development behind Brat is one of the reasons the album got so much traction within the first tease of the project. The release of the neon green album cover sparked debate among fans about the album cover’s creativity. An album cover that didn’t feature the artist herself was the point – it was the essence of being a true brat. Welzant adds that she thinks “[it’s] funny and iconic that Charli picked [the term] brat. To me, I see it as ‘I’m a brat, I do as I please.’” The visual identity of Brat became one of the most recognizable and popular topics this summer. As Welzant describes, “Brat summer is really just, like, go out, have fun, and party.”
The development of the signature ‘Brat Green’ itself took trial and error, according to garrisonkeillor.com. The artist reportedly went through 65 different color samples to find the iconic color that is the center staple of the album. When Charli talked to Vogue Singapore, she said she chose this color because she “wanted to go with an offensive, off-trend shade of green to trigger the idea of something being wrong.” Welzant says “She is doing something that makes a brand for herself and puts her out there. She’s been getting more and more popular as of late. I think it’s awesome to see.”
The marketing of Brat has also had an online and physical presence. Leading up to the album’s initial release, Chari XCX created the “Brat wall” in New York City, the classic neon green color showcasing and building hype for the album. Charli’s TikTok account would go live, the camera staged in a still position for hours so that fans could slowly watch the wall be painted repeatedly during its existence. Following the release and further months of Brat, Charli would update the wall and tease new remixes and collaborations for the albums. On June 10, when the wall became white, the artist announced the deluxe version of the album, Brat and it’s the same but there are three more songs so it’s not, and later a remix of “Girl, so confusing” with New Zealand singer Lorde. Welzant added her favorite songs in the articles are “club classics,” “Girl, so confusing,” and “365.”
Brat’s marketing has been centered on the music and the album itself. Charli XCX has released a total of 20 variants of her album onto vinyl. However, all of them have one thing in common: the packaging. The vinyl is sealed away with a sticker that can cover art and has to be cut precisely to preserve the packaging, but also to simply open the vinyl. The deluxe vinyl includes perforated edges that you have to pull off to retrieve the disks. This design of making buyers destroy the packaging to get to the music; it’s a part of the idea of Brat being a messy album, to ignore the beauty of collecting a vinyl to preserve it but rather enjoy the music inside.
Charli XCX has also started her venture on the SWEAT Tour along with Australian singer Troye Sivan in support of Brat, and Sivan’s album Something to Give Each Other. The tour began on September 14 in Detroit, Michigan, and is set to end on October 23 in Seattle, Washington. The tour combines lighting effects, on-screen visuals with a ground level caged in catwalk, and choreography from backup dancers, according to thecentraltrend.com. Concertgoers of the SWEAT Tour get to experience two hours of both artists with songs reaching across seven albums between both artists, as well as longtime fan-favorite collaborations with the two artists.
Welzant attended a concert and said that her experience was “great” and that she “really enjoyed every part about it. The choreography, vocals, and visuals were all entertaining to watch.” She noted that she never listened to Sivan as much as she did Charli, but “I really thought he did a good job on stage. His performances were very interesting.” She noted that her favorite part was “seeing the crowd collectively dressing in neon green. or something related to the branding of Brat orTroye Sivan, and also just getting hyped with the music.” Finally, she added that her favorite performances from the artist were “I Love It,” “Track 10,” “Speed Drive,” and “Vroom Vroom,” and that “Troye Sivan and Charli did their collaborated song from a while back named “1999,” which I enjoyed.”
