Accounts associated with Harris’s campaign began adopting the pop star’s album cover style in their social media posts, leading Vulture to suggest that this could be a “brand misstep” by Charli XCX. The “Apple” singer’s sixth studio album, “Brat,” has inspired numerous memes, TikTok dances, and new catchphrases, with the term “brat” becoming a part of Generation Z’s evolving slang. Charli XCX explains that “brat” has been redefined and is no longer used pejoratively, but rather as an expression of indifference, akin to “Who gives a fuck?”
According to Teen Vogue, when a young person calls themselves a “brat,” they might be expressing a “messy and unbothered attitude” or a rejection of traditional fashion norms. The “brat aesthetic” often includes unconventional elements, such as an intentionally “ugly” shade of green.
Charli XCX told Vulture that she does not want to be seen as a “political artist.” She emphasized, “My music is not political. Everything I do in my life feeds back into my art. Everything I say, wear, think, enjoy — it all funnels back into my art. Politics doesn’t feed my art.” She also noted, “I’m not Bob Dylan, and I’ve never pretended to be.”
The pop star admitted, “I obviously knew what I was doing” when she made the Harris-related X post, but she didn’t anticipate that “talking about being a messy bitch and, like, partying and needing a Bic lighter and a pack of Marlboro Lights would end up on CNN.” Despite this, Charli XCX expressed her desire to be “on the right side of democracy” and “the right side of women’s rights,” emphasizing that these issues are “hugely important” to her.
