Brat’s back: Charli XCX to make Glastonbury return after prize-winning year
By Hannah Roberts, PA Entertainment Reporter
One year on from the launch of Brat and Charli XCX is bringing her genre-defining tracks to Glastonbury’s Other Stage.
Her culture-shaping sixth studio album was nominated for the Mercury Prize last year and won the album of the year at the Brit Awards in March.
In recent months the singer, real name Charlotte Aitchison, has been performing at festivals across the globe, including Coachella in California, Primavera Sound in Barcelona and a headline slot at Lido Festival in London.
The 32-year-old played her Partygirl set at Glastonbury Festival in 2024, but this time the singer is taking to a much bigger stage amid a year that has seen her pick up a slew of awards.
Following the release of Brat, her infectious electronic-pop tracks soared up the charts and inspired a trend, with fans embracing the “brat summer” cultural movement.
The accolades followed, and in March she dominated the Brit Awards, winning five categories including songwriter of the year.
She also secured album of the year, artist of the year, dance act, and song of the year for her track Guess featuring US superstar Billie Eilish.
In February she picked up three awards at the Grammys and she was named songwriter of the year at The Ivors in May.
Born in Cambridge in 1992 the singer is the only child of a mother of Indian descent and a Scottish father.
She began posting her songs on Myspace as a teenager before performing at raves and later being signed.
In 2013, she released her major-label debut album True Romance, after several singles which did not chart.
She broke through into the mainstream after featuring on Icona Pop’s 2012 hit I Love It, which went to number one in the UK.
She gained further attention after her 2014 collaboration with Australian singer Iggy Azalea on Fancy, which was nominated for two Grammy awards: record of the year and best pop duo/group performance.
Her second album, 2014’s Sucker, featured the top 10 hit Boom Clap and reached number 15 in the UK album charts.
In 2019 she starred in the documentary I’m With The Band: Nasty Cherry, in which she put together a girl band that included model Gabriella Bechtel, known professionally as Gabbriette, who is engaged to The 1975 frontman Matty Healy.
The band, who headlined Glastonbury on Friday, also features drummer George Daniel, who is engaged to Charli XCX.
Also in 2019, she released her album Charli and followed it up with 2020’s Mercury Prize-nominated How I’m Feeling Now, which landed at 33 in the UK albums chart.
In 2021, she expressed her grief at the death of her friend and long-time collaborator Sophie, whom she has cited as a major influence and paid tribute to during an acceptance speech at the Brit Awards earlier in the year.
The singer’s first number one in the albums chart came with her fifth LP, Crash, which was released in 2022 and featured collaborations with the likes of Rina Sawayama and Caroline Polachek.
The artist, known for her championing of experimental hyper pop, was also among the artists to feature on the Barbie movie soundtrack, and her song Speed Drive reached number nine in the UK chart.
The latest addition to her catalogue, which saw the world embrace the “brat summer” cultural movement, propelled the singer to stratospheric heights.
The trend promoted sultry style choices, including a lot of neon green in honour of the album’s cover.
She followed her album with a remixed version featuring collaborations with the likes of Lorde, Troye Sivan, Ariana Grande, Bon Iver and Kesha.
She also released a Guess remix with Eilish which soared to number one on the UK singles chart in August 2024.
During an appearance on Saturday Night Live, she defined the meaning of Brat and said: “So many people have asked me, what is brat, and honestly, it’s just like an attitude, it’s a vibe.”
The singer has said the idea of letting Brat go is “hard” and as she finished her performance at Lido Festival on June 14 a message on stage told fans: “It wasn’t just a summer thing. It’s a forever thing. Please don’t let it be over.”