Brat Summer: Tik Tok fad, or empowering teen lifestyle?

This past summer has been monumental for pop history, with albums like ‘The Secret of Us’ by Gracie Abrams and 'Short n Sweet’ by Sabrina Carpenter lining the billboard hot 100 all summer long. However, an artist whose work was the most different, interesting, and frankly “camp,” was Charli XCX’s Brat.

Brat is an album different from what we’ve seen from pop in recent years. With artists like Olivia Rodrigo and Gracie Abrams, pop music has relied heavily on deep, sophisticated lyrics, with the expected semi-indie, semi-electronic production of Jack Antonoff. Contrarily, Brat is bringing back the messy club-culture of the pop industry we haven’t seen much of since the early 2000’s. The production of this album is heavily electronic, with little to no acoustic moments throughout. The lyrics of brat are catchy and fun, and aren’t trying to be something they’re not–no strung out, hidden meanings here; Charli XCX sings with attitude and sass, talking about how “she’s a brat when she’s bumpin’ that (beat.)”

The ‘Brat’ album has some notable guest features, like Guess with Billie Eilish, or Von Dutch with Addison Rae; however, an overlooked gem of the album is Girl, so confusing with Lorde. This song is about a friendship between two girls where they appear to be drifting apart as the artist thinks “sometimes she might hate her,” and wonders if her friend “wants to see her falling over and failing”. Fans speculated this song was about Lorde as the lyrics refer to how the two artists “look alike” and “have the same hair.” Charli was open about how this song was written for a  fellow woman in the industry in an interview with Bowen Yang and Matt Rodgers, telling them that “they probably have an accurate guess.” She then went on to talk about her take on this song from a feminist perspective, saying that she thinks “it's great where we live in a world where women support other women,” however she doesn’t “think you’re a bad feminist if you don't see eye to eye with every woman.” Fast forward to a few weeks after the song was initially released, Lorde collaborates with Charli on Girl so confusing version with Lorde, where Lorde literally “works it out on the remix.” Lorde talks about the struggles she's faced mentally and physically, saying “she's been at war in her body,” and was “trapped in a hatred,” but takes accountability for the hurt she caused, saying “she forgot that inside that icon is still a young girl from Essex.”

The cultural implications of Brat are far more complex than some random pop-lore; Brat summer’s music has created iconic trends in the media that we will look back upon with fondness and nostalgia in 2025. The trend in question? APPLE DANCE. One could only scroll down five videos on their social media For You Page this summer before they were bombarded with the intellectual choreography of the Apple Dance. Because of its reach to the Tik Tok dance community, Brat’s popularity skyrocketed. Brat even dipped its toe in the 2024 presidential campaign, as Kamala Harris decided to affiliate herself with the Brat community, not only making Charli XCX a pop icon, but an influential figure in the Democratic party. 

 Brat has been a revolutionary piece of artwork not only due to its iconic lyrics and fun dance beats, but for what it has done for teenage girls everywhere. Brat enthusiast Marina Sabater has inferred that not only is Brat an album, “but a mindset.” When asked how one could become ‘Brat’, she stated that “Brat isn’t something you can choose, Brat chooses you,” and that “it’s a state of mind and only true baddies can really be Brat.” But for those who ‘converted’ to Brat, in what ways can it change one's perspective on life? “Brat really embraces the messy girl aesthetic, which makes me feel more comfortable, because I don't have to pretend I'm cutsie and coquette,” says sophomore Zoe Le. For the common teenage girl, Brat doesn’t always have to mean clubbing in Ibiza at Hi: for Alison Fiedler, it means working at the Windfall Market in Falmouth, Massachusetts. “Sometimes people would come in after they were out yachting and I would bag sandwiches for them, and if I was really lucky they’d tip me,” she reminisced. Fiedler’s story is proof that sometimes being Brat means getting your money up, NOT your funny up.

Thus, we can conclude that not only is Brat a piece of cultural iconography, but also a lifestyle for teen girls across the world. Brat encapsulates the confidence and sass that teen girls should strive for. We can learn from Charli XCX not only to be better, but to be Brat.

Kat Stephens