It seems that with every passing year, we find new ways to define our summers. First we had “hot girl summer” back in 2019 with rapper and singer Meghan Thee Stallion’s song of the same name; then last year we had “Barbenheimer” with the release of the award winning films Barbie and Oppenheimer. Now, in 2024, we have what the media has called, the “brat summer.”
The term was coined after pop artist Charlie XCX released her newest album, Brat, on June 7th. Though this album had its own major impact, a whole other artist was quickly rising to fame at almost the same time of Brat’s release. With her red hair, drag makeup, and iconic songs, Chappell Roan has amassed a considerable number of fans these past few months. Just last August, she had the biggest crowd at a daytime set on the first day of the Lollapalooza music festival, further proving just how impactful her influence has been over the summer as well.
What’s surprising about both of these artists is how their music, performances, and overall “essence” have both shifted and influenced the content going viral on social media platforms as of late. From TikTok dances, to profile picture designs, and pop culture slang, it is very unlikely that someone who actively engages with platforms like X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, or TikTok, hasn’t heard of them.
Charli XCX, THE party girl blueprint
Our “young girl from Essex” was born in Cambridge on the 2nd of August, 1992. She began posting songs on Myspace, and eventually started performing at the U.K. “rave scene” from a very young age. It wasn’t until 2012 that she gained popularity after collaborating with Icona Pop on the hit “I Love It.” From there, her career only flourished. In 2014, she collaborated with Iggy Azalea on the award winning song “Fancy.” That same year, she released “Boom Clap” for the movie adaptation of The Fault in Our Stars, which made it to the Top 10 in the Billboard Hot 100s. As if that wasn’t enough, a few months later, she released her second album, Sucker, which featured successful songs like “Break The Rules” and “Doing It.” Amongst her most recent releases, we had the song “Speed Drive” which was created for last year’s iconic film Barbie. Needless to say, she has been in the game for a while, and she’s been very successful at it. When she wasn’t writing music for herself, she would often collaborate with artists such as Camila Cabello, Rita Ora, and Selena Gomez.
Taking into account her origins in the rave scene, her music has always had a party girl, edgy, hyperpop feel to it. Her fans, who call themselves “Charli’s Angels,” have even gone as far to say that “Charli always predicts where the industry is going to be next.” With good club songs and the party girl aesthetic having a comeback, Brat was just what we needed.
Chappell Roan, THE midwestern princess.
Chappell was born in Missouri on February 19, 1998 and lived most of her young years in a trailer park, raised by conservative and Christian parents. She loved singing from a very young age, and was discovered on Youtube thanks to her song covers.
After being signed to Atlantic Records in 2017, she had the opportunity to drop her first EP “School Nights.” Three years later, she released the now-trending song “Pink Pony Club,” and not long after, she was dropped from her label.
After this, Chappell took a hiatus from her music career and moved back to her hometown after having left everything behind a few years prior. Later on in 2023, she released her latest album The Rise and Fall of a Midwestern Princess, and rose to stardom after opening for Olivia Rodrigo during the month of April this year, since both artists share the same producer in Dan Nigro. Since then, crowds have gathered together to dance to her hits like “Hot To Go!” and “Good Luck, Babe!” She has also appeared in shows like the Tiny Desk Concert in March and, more recently, The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon in July.
Now, onto their lasting impact…
Charlie XCX’s latest album Brat is a mixture of pop, nightclub, rave, and getting-ready hits that honestly never miss. She defines it as her most personal album yet, with her lyrics being similar to conversations she would have with her closest friends. For example, on one of the album’s most famous songs “Girl, so confusing,” she “works it out on the remix” with fellow pop singer and friend Lorde, ending the public’s assumptions of an ongoing feud between them. She goes on to have many of her celebrity friends make appearances on her “360” music video, which only brought more attention to the album as well.
Her album cover and marketing designs have brought a whole new meaning to the color lime green, inspiring many people to change their profile pictures on social media platforms to the neon design. Even the presidential candidate for the Democratic party, Kamala Harris, changed her X header to the green color, showing the pop-star’s influence on mainstream media.
People started using the term “brat summer” all over social media to talk about what the word “brat” meant to them, and her song “Apple” only added to the album’s success. After the song’s TikTok dance went viral, multiple celebrities such as Ashley Tisdale, Glen Powell, Daisy Edgar Jones, Brooke Shields, Eva Longoria, and more, have uploaded videos participating in the Apple Dance, increasing the song’s streams exponentially.
In the case of Chappell Roan, her impact pertains to how she has brought queer representation to mainstream pop. She often incorporates lyrics where she explicitly talks about queer relationships, wears outfits inspired by drag culture, invites drag queens as openers for her shows, and encourages her fans to dress up on theme for her concerts, creating a safe environment for self expression.
While Charli has set the standard for a summer filled with brat behavior, Chappell has inspired a wave known as a “Femininomenon.” A term that has become popular thanks to the first track on her album with the same title. In an interview with Capital Buzz, the artist defined the term saying that “it was about like how it’s a phenomenon if like sleeping with a man is better than sleeping with a girl. So I was like, ‘It’s a phenomenon, but it’s also feminine.’ And so we just kind of mushed it together.” Nonetheless, fans have made threads on reddit, voicing out their own interpretations of the song. The consensus has been that the term can be used to reference an empowered woman, that does not accept the bare minimum from men, and it can also be used to celebrate WlW relationships.
Apart from all she has done for the LGBTQ+ community, she has brought back both camp and maximalist looks, which is new and refreshing for the pop scene nowadays, where we are often left with the feeling that every “new” artist isn’t really “new,” they just have a different stage name. Apart from that, she has shown her activism by actively talking about political topics both on her social media and on stage. One of these instances being when she turned down the White House’s invitation to perform at Pride, and addressed her decision during her set at the New York City festival stating: “We want liberty, freedom, and justice for all. When you do that, that’s when I’ll come.” She also calls for “freedom for all oppressed people in occupied territories,” alluding to the government’s involvement in Israel’s occupation of Palestine.
It’s clear that artists like these two have molded not just the soundtrack of our summer, but the core of how we express ourselves. With their bold music, unapologetic aesthetic, and fearless attitudes, they’ve inspired a movement across social media, music festivals, and beyond. Whether you’re more into Charli’s club classics or you belt out to Chappell’s unforgettable anthems, this summer was all about embracing our inner brat. If you enjoy both artists equally, like me, there are some that believe that the two might actually end up collabing! For sure, it’s just a matter of time before both artists surprise us again.