5 minute read
Charli XCX
FEATURES Cracking It Charli XCX
Charli XCX, real name Charlotte Emma Aitchison, is a rarity in the music industry. Unlike other Brit hopefuls she cracked the US market aged 19 well before becoming a force to be reckoned with here in the UK.
Charli (the XCX stands for “Kiss Charli Kiss” - her old MSN Messenger username) wrote and sang on the smash electropop hit ‘I Love It’ for the Scandinavian duo Icona Pop. The track sold more than 2.5 million copies in the US and was such an edgy and catchy song it became known as “the US soundtrack to summer.”
She also co-wrote and provided vocals for the Iggy Azalea track, ‘Fancy’ which sold 7 million copies worldwide and became the most streamed track on Spotify in the States.
Americans definitely got Cambridgeborn Charli XCX first. In 2015, her breakthrough single ‘Boom Clap’ featured on the soundtrack to the US box office film ‘The Fault in Our Stars’ which catapulted her to further superstardom. As a result, she toured the US with her own headline show, “Girl Power”, and was awarded “Hit Maker of the Year” at the 9th Annual Billboard Women in Music Awards.
Not that the Brits and Europeans missed a trick here…they were soon to follow. Charli had a few years out partying in Brazil and dating a producer 11 years her senior. It was her time to “grow up” away from the media spotlight. It wasn’t until later that year that the singer acknowledged her real calling.
“I realised that I just wanted to be a f***ing boss. I decided I didn’t have to choose between being an artist and being a songwriter and just started to do both. I felt ready to go and make songs and not feel worried about making a cool record or getting a hit. I just wanted to make songs that I really like.
“I figured out who I was; it took me ages but was so liberating and amazing. I think it’d be cool for young girls, especially, not to worry about what people think of them and not try to replicate what they think is the right thing to do.”
Despite being only 29, Charli XCX now has five hit albums under her well-styled belt.
She made her first album aged only 14, back in 2007, with money she was loaned from her parents - which she was quick to dismiss as an “experiment!”
To this day, she is slightly annoyed that her early tracks, including the strangely titled ‘I Wanna Be Darth Vadar’ and ‘Dinosaur Sex’ are still easily found online.
“I don’t count that as the beginning of my career. But whatever. Everyone did embarrassing s**t when they were 14. My mistakes are just live online for everyone to hear!” she admits.
However, it was exactly this – and her successful My Space page – which alerted industry music moguls to the young, raw talent. Charli also interestingly used to perform at Warehouse raves in London when she was too young to even have a drink at them! She was briefly signed in 2010 to Asylum Records but Warner Music, Atlantic catapulted her to success.
Her second album, and her first proper studio album signed as an artist, entitled ‘True Romance’ was released in 2013 and the third, ‘Sucker’ released the following year to critical acclaim.
Charli XCX’s stock was starting to rise at home at this time when notably artists find it the other way round, or not at all – like Oasis, The Jam, Stone Roses and Robbie Williams to name but a few who were notorious for trying unsuccessfully to crack the US market.
Charli XCX opened for Katy Perry on the European leg of her Prismatic World Tour and the same year headlined her own UK. She also featured alongside R&B artist Tinashe on rapper Ty Dolla Sign’s single ‘Drop That Kitty.’
This year Charli XCX has launched her fifth studio album ‘Crash’ to excellent reviews. It’s a far cry from her slower, more melodic fourth album ‘How I’m Feeling’ released in 2020 and written during lockdown with the album cover showing her relaxed, sprawled on a bed.
The album artwork for Crash - interestingly her last album for Warner’s Atlantic - is an extremely racy and graphic picture showing Charli XCX bikini clad on the hood of a car covered in blood.
While she has received a bit of slack for this “attention grabbing image” – it has got people talking, and more importantly, buying her records.... pushing her into the number one album spot in the UK for the first time.
‘Crash’ is most definitely cool and catchy – a sublime mix of pop and electro pop with collaborations from the talented indie rock chick Caroline Polachek and rockers Christine and the Queens.
Whether you’re a fan of Charli XCX or not you have to admit she is a true all-rounder; writer, lyricist, singer, dancer, director and she knows the direction she wants to head in. Whilst she was embarrassed about her pop heritage, she has now firmly embraced it – and blends a perfect mix of electropop, breathy singing and clever lyrics to provide mass appeal all over the world.
Plus, she cracked the tough US market as a teenager, that is a true accolade for the beautiful Brit export. Liam Gallagher and Robbie Williams must be seething!
