The queen of having a cultural impact on music, Charli XCX, is back with a follow-up to her iconic Brat album, Brat and it’s completely different but also still brat. The Brat remix album — which released on Oct. 11 — takes her Brat songs and remixes them, featuring a variety of popular artists like Ariana Grande, The 1975, Bon Iver, The Japanese House, and more. The title of the remix album foretells exactly what listeners will be getting from the album before they even begin listening, and yet, surprisingly, some fans are still feeling betrayed by the new drop, leaving listeners in a silly debate over whether the songs should’ve been changed for the remixes or if they’re better left alone.
The TLDR of the drama is that, upon the new album’s release, some fans have taken to X (formerly known as Twitter) in an uproar over the fact that the remixes… (*checks notes*) sound different from the original songs.
For example, one song I noticed changed quite a bit was “Apple.” I love the original version because it is the epitome of harsh hyper pop, with brazen beats and electric lyrics. I love the remix of the song as well, but for different reasons. The Japanese House is on the song, making the song more slow and indie, with the beginning becoming a solo from The Japanese House, repeating “you’re making me so sad.” Yet, the song maintains that hyper-pop feel through snippets of the classic, “I’ve been looking at you so long now I only see me,” and the beat has remained unchanged.
Apparently, some people expected the songs on the album to be the same as th originals, just with an added verse from a celebrity. Instead, some are disappointed to find crafty, unique versions of the songs that don’t really resemble the OG tracks very closely. “For anyone wanting to give the brat remix album [a chance], do NOT expect it to be like the original, I went in with that mindset and it might have permanently tainted it for me,” one X user wrote.
For anyone wanting to give the brat remix album do NOT expect it to be like the original I went in with that mindset and it might have permanently tainted it for me
— Bork Fireforge (@bork_fireforge) October 11, 2024
On the flip side, many other fans have pointed out the irony of these statements, as remixes are supposed to be different. One X user commented, “don’t understand why people are mad at the brat remix album sounding different than the original, that’s kinda the point of a remix.”
dont understand why people are mad at the brat remix album sounding different than the original, thats kinda the point of a remix. im so over remixes being just a new verse slapped on without any changes
— ali | علی (@theirnameisali) October 10, 2024
The sheer magnitude of artists who have gotten involved for Brat and it’s completely different but also still brat is evidence of Brat’s profound effect on the music scene. It feels fitting that their verses in these remixes give the entire Brat lore an entirely new layer, which, of course, means a bit of a different sound. Plus, Charli did warn everyone in the remix album’s title that it would be different — so what did you all expect?