The Success Of ‘Brat’ Leading Up To The 2025 Grammys

With the end of 2024, I find myself reflecting on everything that happened in the past year. I graduated high school, got a full-time job, started university, and listened to endless amounts of music. 

But if you’re anything like me, the soundtrack of summer 2024 was narrated by three albums: Short N Sweet by Sabrina Carpenter, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess by Chappell Roan, and Brat by Charli XCX. 

While working at a summer camp kept me constantly exposed to the likes of Carpenter, Roan, Taylor Swift and more, the seismic impact of Brat didn’t reach me until slightly later, when I began university in September. 

Walking through downtown, the Eaton Centre, Scotiabank Arena, and the massive crowds at the Sweat Tour, the whole city seemed to be covered in Brat green. 

Admittedly, I didn’t really listen to Brat until my professor (shoutout SOC 202) called on me in class to describe the Brat character. I struggled to answer, using blanket terms to describe the crowds I had seen dancing at Charli XCX and Troye Sivan concerts; wearing bright green and dark sunglasses. My professor then went on to ask other students, who gave much more detailed answers on who their Brat was, and who Charli was.

In my head, this collided with the Charli XCX of my childhood. The pop singer who sang “I Love It“, “London Queen,” and “Boom Clap” had become entirely unrecognizable to me. This is why it came as such a surprise that my professor spoke as if she was so impactful (but more on that later).

At that moment I realized I was missing something about this global phenomenon, and I’ve never been more right.

Who is Charli XCX?

Charli XCX wrote, recorded, and produced her first album when she was 14 years old. When she was 15, she began performing at raves in abandoned warehouses in London, which gave her undeniable credibility as a musical force. 

However, she struggled with her artistic identity and didn’t know what type of music she wanted to make. Despite this, she was undeniably good at making hit singles.

She created the song “I Love It” as a joke with her boyfriend, only for her agent to send it to ICONAPOP who remixed it into the beloved track that dominated much of the 2010s. Sometime after this, she made the hit song “Boom Clap” for the film The Fault in Our Stars, while creating numerous albums which failed to reach mainstream audiences.

She continued to struggle with her artistic identity while labels consistently pressured her to release more hit songs to turn a higher profit. While making her albums, Charli was independently producing mixtapes that were released online and gained even less attention than her main albums. 

Eventually, she decided that the best thing for her was to create music that was special to her. So, she took a massive step away from her record labels, and over five years, produced albums with colleagues SOPHIE and A.G. Cook. 

These albums were described as abrasive, edgy, and unlikeable by mainstream media and critics. However, this was the first time Charli had a truly rebellious musical style, and she was finally described as both an artist and musician. Since Charli had finally found her niche, she started to gain a cult fan base.

After this period, Charli decided to go back to Atlantic Records, bringing A.G. Cook with her to produce a new album. Packed with introspective lyrics, yet packaged in the futuristic sound of hyperpop, they began working on Brat.

What Makes brat So Special?

Brat has grown into a revolution. Both artistically and as a marketable concept, this album hit all the right marks to reach its audience and is the culmination of Charli’s artistic progression. Nominated for several Grammys (such as Best Recording Package, Best Dance/Electronic Album, and Best Album), Brat took the world by storm and revolutionized the pop genre. 

The Brat album cover is defined primarily by its garish, neon green colour, which from now on is dubbed “brat green.” The simple black and green design primed all of the album’s consumers to automatically associate the Brat green colour with the album, therefore associating the colour with Charli. 

This branding was genius, as it also ties in with Charli’s brat look of messy black hair, dark sunglasses, and angsty clothing against bright green backdrops and lighting. Moreover, the brat aesthetic dominated the internet in many notable ways, such as being mimicked in the political campaigns of Kamala Harris. In the fashion industry, brat influenced the design of many garments to fit the aesthetic, especially as Charli created a partnership with H&M.

On that note, Charli has strong associations with other musical artists, brands, and companies. Aside from her work with Atlantic Records, A.G. Cook, and other labels and producers, the Brat remix album Brat and It’s Completely Different but Also Still Brat, furthered Charli’s associations by bringing a plethora of new artists and producers onto the album. 

From Ariana Grande to Addison Rae, this remix album was star-studded, and unleashed an entirely new wave of creativity among these tracks. Further, Charli went on the Sweat Tour with Troye Sivan in 2024, who also collaborated on the remix album and had collaborated on songs with Charli before Brat. 

Charli has also used brat to solidify her reputation as a performer. Her Boiler Room performance, where she DJ’d and remixed many of her songs, is regarded as an exquisite example of live musical production. In her live shows, such as on the Sweat Tour, her energy is infectious, and she does an excellent job of maintaining a high energy level for her audience. 

The Brat album has had significant impacts on youth by reigniting a culture of genuine rebellion against dominant groups of people. Historically speaking, there have been phases of rebellion in music since the dawn of its creation. Previous examples of rebellious and youthful music can be seen in the Rock n’ Roll movement of the 1960s and 1970s, and the punk rock scene of the 1990s, amongst many others. 

The point of rebellion in art is not to cause destruction and terror, but to push back against dominant ideologies held by people during the time periods that the rebellions appear. In the early 2020s, Brat rebelled against the clean girl aesthetic, anti-social behaviours created by lockdown, and general ideologies of a typical “mature adult.”

This album, in many ways, was meant to cause dissension and abrasion. The straight-shooting lyrics, edgy musical production, and off-putting album cover design all aid the mission of creating meaning within something that appears unlikeable. Even the phrase “brat” itself implies a snotty, unlikeable character at first glance. However, there are many layers of depth to this increasingly relatable icon.

And this is what makes Charli such a likeable figure. Rounding out the success of her album, Charli’s branding is both relatable to a variety of people and a symbol of aspiration to work towards. By pairing vulnerability with insane product and brand quality, Charli has made herself and her album accessible and available to a massive audience that spans the entire globe. 

From the continued Brat-styled posts over social media, this tells me it is a trend that won’t be left behind in 2025. With a turbulent rise to fame, a killer work ethic, and an undeniably strong brand, the original BRAT, Charli XCX is sure to leave her mark at this year’s Grammy Awards.

• brat
• entertainment
• music
• pop music