Charli XCX

Charli XCX’s 2024 album Brat became a cultural phenomenon, inspiring the phrase “Brat Summer” and earning three Grammy Awards: Best Dance Pop Recording for “Von Dutch”, Best Dance/Electronic Album, and Best Recording Package. The record became her second UK number-one album, produced the UK top-ten single “Apple”, and later yielded her second UK number-one song with the Billie Eilish collaboration “Guess”. Billboard and Rolling Stone were among the publications that named Brat the best album of 2024.

Born Charlotte Emma Aitchison on 2 August 1992 in Cambridge, England, she began posting songs to Myspace in 2008 before becoming involved in London’s rave scene. After signing with Asylum Records in 2010, she issued singles and mixtapes through the early part of the decade. Her first major breakthrough arrived in 2012, when she co-wrote and featured on Icona Pop’s “I Love It”, a global hit and her first UK number-one. Her debut album, True Romance, followed in 2013 but didn't meet commercial expectations.

In 2014, Charli XCX featured on Iggy Azalea’s “Fancy”, one of the year’s best-selling singles worldwide and her most streamed song. That year also brought “Boom Clap”, her first solo top-ten single in the United States, and her second album, Sucker, which included “Break the Rules” and “Doing It” with Rita Ora. From 2015, she worked with producers connected to the UK collective PC Music, developing a more experimental sound and visual approach. The resulting releases included the 2016 EP Vroom Vroom and the 2017 mixtapes Number 1 Angel and Pop 2. Her 2019 album Charli included the hit “1999” with Troye Sivan, while 2020’s How I’m Feeling Now, made during the COVID-19 lockdowns, received critical acclaim.

Crash became her first number-one album in both the UK and Australia in 2022. She later contributed “Speed Drive”, a UK top-ten single from the 2023 Barbie soundtrack. Beyond her own recordings, Aitchison has co-written songs including Iggy Azalea’s “Beg for It”, Selena Gomez’s “Same Old Love”, Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello’s “Señorita”, and Katseye’s “Gabriela”. She received the ASCAP Global Impact Award in 2024 and was included on Gold House’s 2024 A100 list as its first honouree of British Indian origin. She has also moved into independent film, co-producing and starring in Aidan Zamiri’s 2026 film The Moment, alongside acting roles in Erupcja, Sacrifice, 100 Nights of Hero, I Want Your Sex, and Faces of Death. Her 2026 albums Wuthering Heights, also the soundtrack to its film adaptation, and Music, Fashion, Film followed.