Charli XCX ends 'brat summer,' ignites fan backlash

On June 7, the sixth album of the British pop star Charli XCX, titled "Brat," was released. On June 1, the artist posted a series of photos and videos on Instagram with the caption: "Brat summer bitch get ready." "Brat" literally means "brat" in English, but it has a slightly lighter and broader connotation. A "brat" can describe a person who is annoying, spoiled, immature, or does not behave calmly.

In an interview for BBC Sounds, Charli XCX was asked what "brat summer" is about. She replied that it can be "quite luxurious," but also "tacky [...] like a pack of cigarettes and a Bic lighter and a white tank top without a bra." Both the album and brat summer gained enormous popularity on social media. For many, the summer of 2024 had the colour of toxic green from the album cover and the taste of trying to save carefree hedonism in a world that is full of financial, climate, and political concerns for Generation Z.

Charli XCX surprised fans on September 2 at noon Eastern Time, announcing the sudden end of the trend on the X platform. She wrote: "goodbye forever brat summer". Those in the comments seemed not ready to close the subject. The most popular comment was: "Rest in peace brat summer, welcome brat autumn." Another fan tried to resort to the language of facts: "Girl, we still didn't get the remix album, and summer technically doesn't end for another three weeks, come back here!".

People from the southern hemisphere were most affected. One of them wrote: "Charli, it will soon be summer in Australia. I will keep brat summer alive. Please don't do this." Practically, the only accepting message that appeared under Charli XCX's post came from the profile of the streaming platform Deezer. Their social media department replied: "Thank you forever, Charli. It was an epic party!"

brat summer, like other organic trends, was exploited to the hilt by the marketing departments of larger and smaller corporations. Uber Eats, Bershka, and Moon Juice, among others made attempts to monetize. Clothing brands quickly pulled out everything they had ever produced in neon green from the warehouses for social media posts. The fact that Charli XCX personally announced the end of brat summer allows marketing departments to smoothly transition into the autumn trend.