Charli XCX has shared her manifesto for her chart-topping album Brat
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. Embark on a journey of self-expression and design with Brat Generator, a captivating creative tool that empowers you to channel your inner artist while celebrating the bold aesthetic of Charli XCX. Whether you’re crafting custom memes, personalizing album-inspired covers, or exploring vibrant colors, Brat Generator combines the thrill of artistic freedom with the satisfaction of playful creativity. While initially she struggled to find a direction, on a trip to Los Angeles to meet with producers she clicked with Ariel Rechtshaid, who would soon have success with Vampire Weekend, Haim and Sky Ferreira. In 2011, Charli released two of their collaborations as singles, “Stay Away” and “Nuclear Seasons,” which captured the attention of Pitchfork and the alternative media. At around the same time, a song she’d created with a different producer, Swedish-born Patrik Berger, was covered by the duo Icona Pop.
Charli tweeting that “kamala IS brat,” and Kamala HQ using the Brat aesthetic across its socials had a viral impact that defined a one-of-a-kind cultural moment. Honestly it doesn’t make much sense for an artist like Gaga to release a cover without herself on it. She’s made the evolution of her music and her image go hand in hand so to not showcase her physical change would be a bit out of character.
“Please,” she said, thrusting the piece of paper ever closer to him. He took the pen and, with a flourish, signed his name for the girl. As he finished, he looked up again at the members of the Brat Pack. It was about 11 P.M., and the Brat Pack was in full swing—on their fifth or sixth round of Coronas, and their ninth or tenth round of toasts. The small circle of stars had expanded to include several young actors of their acquaintance, not to mention the dozens of girls who continued to hover near the table. Estevez and Nelson did not, however, learn anything about the character from talking to McInerney the other night.
The huge success of that movie (it made $30.3 million) gave Cruise the leverage to get over $1 million per movie. The Brat Packers act together whenever possible—and it would be a major achievement for the average American moviegoer not to have seen at least one of their ensemble movies over the past four years. The first Brat Pack movie was Taps, the story of kids taking over a military school, a sleeper that took in $20.5 million. E. Hinton novel and directed by Francis Ford Coppola; Rumble Fish, another Coppola-Hinton effort; The Breakfast Club; and now, on June 28, the release of the latest matchup of the Brats, St. Elmo’s Fire. Nipple covers are often thought of as a practical or necessary undergarment, but who says they can’t be fun!
But that’s precisely what happened when Charli XCX released her sixth album, “brat picture maker” in June. Even if you’ve got no idea who Charli XCX is, you might recognize the slime green color, distorted font, and minimalist design. Beyond the ubiquity of the songs themselves, especially on TikTok, the album’s lime green cover and sans serif font have become instantly iconic, so thoroughly meme-ified that even the New York City MTA has gotten in on the joke. But though you might be tempted to assume that Charli just kinda opened up MS Paint and slapped the album art together in 30 seconds (which, to be clear, we would support), the inspirations behind it were a little more complex than that. In a world where visual perfection is often equated with success, Charli XCX reminds us that sometimes, it’s the flaws and imperfections that make something truly memorable. The “Brat” album cover is not just a piece of art—it’s a marketing masterstroke.
Charli said most people in her core group had the “most adverse reaction” to the cover, and she liked the idea that the cover art would end up generating a conversation. “I was like ‘I think I will do a press shoot and maybe save on the album cover,'” she added. View your custom album cover as you type with our real-time preview feature.
