Once the “Brat” era is over, what happened to Charli XCX?

There was a moment when it seemed like Charli XCX had suddenly become the most influential pop star on the face of the Earth. It happened, as we know, in the summer of two years ago 2024after the release of “Brat”The sixth album by the British singer-songwriter: not a simple record release, but a record capable of becoming a cultural phenomenon real, between editorials of very prestigious newspapers (“It is impossible to escape from this color”, wrote the New York Timeson a page of his site tinged with that acid green made cool by Charli XCX), social analyses (“Brat” means “bad girl”, “bratty”but in the singer-songwriter’s imagination it was a term that brought with it a sort of ode to emancipation on various fronts), intertwining with the politics («Kamala is brat», wrote the singer-songwriter on X in the aftermath of the withdrawal of Joe Biden come on US presidential electionsgiving his endorsement to Kamala Harris in the battle against thescammer and sexual predator», as the Democratic candidate defined it, Donald Trump). Then that moment is over. Leaving Charli XCX not empty-handed: the record won ai Grammy Awards of 2025 the prize as “Best Dance/Electronic Album” of the year, also triumphing at the Brit Awards as “Best British Album” of the season. There “Brat summer”as it was dubbed by the media that summer, vanished as quickly as it appeared, like most things in a fit-for-purpose world. Instagram story. Leaving Charli XCX facing a big question: how reposition?

Let’s be clear: Charli XCX existed before “Brat”. But if up until then she had been a singer-songwriter in a certain way nichewith that album she found herself being perceived as one popstarswith consequent pressures And expectations. «I think the success of “Brat” is in a certain sense one curse. I won’t be able to promote my next album in the same way. I will change, but whatever I do next will be compared, even if the music is completely different, the scale, the way it is delivered, the level of conversation,” he said at the time. In those months Charli XCX seems to have understood one fundamental thing: you can’t stay inside a room for too long character without risking becoming the caricature of yourself, one speck. And so the hangover ended acid green the British singer-songwriter chose to focus on the smartest move possible: disappear. Letting thehype was consumed. Its repositioning now goes through “Wuthering Heights”, soundtrack of the film of the same name Emerald Fennell based on the novel of the same name by Emily Brontethe same as in 1992 inspired the film of Peter Kosminsky with Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Binoche And Sinead O’Connor. The album will be released tomorrow, coinciding with the arrival at the cinema of the film, starring Margot Robbie And Jacob Elordiamong the most anticipated titles of this season. If “Brat” was an album inspired by the world of the night and the imagination of club culture“Wuthering Heights” is the opposite: a deliberate choice narrative, cinematicAlmost literary. A job designed not to dominate TikTok or set festival stages on fire, but to tell a story history.

Originally Charli XCX was only supposed to compose a song for the soundtrack of the new film adaptation of “Wuthering Heights”at the invitation of the director Emerald Fennel. But after reading the screenplaythe singer-songwriter said she “immediately felt inspired” and began working on several tracks along with his right arm Finn Keanelater asking Fennel if he could work on a real one concept album complete for the film, with songs linked to the imagery of “Wuthering Heights”. Charli XCX describes the album’s musical style as a «elegant and brutal sound palette» which is « as different as possible from “Brat” » and which reflects « a world that seems undeniably raw, wild, sexual, Gothic And British». Listening to the first appetizer of the project, “House”released last November, featuring the voice of John Caleit immediately became apparent that “Wuthering Heights” had no relationship at the level of sonority or of humor with “Brat”: described as a song gothic rock And “neoclassical dark wave», the song swept away the acid green of the 2024 album. To immerse fans even more in the imagery of “Wuthering Heights” they then thought, in order, “Chains of love” (with Laurie Anderson to the viola, all true) e “Wall of sound”.

In his newsletter last November Charli XCX revealed that she felt «blocked, empty And sterile» after “Brat”: «I had the feeling that I would never be able to make music again: it was like being hit by a truck and left on the side of the road to bleed to death». Charli XCX then wrote about how “Wuthering Heights” and the acting – starred in “Erupcja”, “100 nights of Hero” And “Sacrifice”while this year we will see it in “Mother nature”, “The gallery owner” And “The Moment” – have revitalized his creativity: «At the moment I feel more inspired by cinema than from music. I like acting, I like writing, I like watching and above all I like discovering a new art. These things enrich me greatly and inspire me deeply at this time. This collection of songs is an album, and sure, my name is in the credits, but is it a Charli XCX album? I don’t even know. Nor am I interested in finding out. I just know it’s a celebration of mine freedom as an artist right now and what I feel passion for what I created and how it was created.”