British pop star Charli XCX is best known for her ‘Brat summer’ lifestyle: defined by 90’s hedonism, all-nighters and recreational drug-taking. But her latest outfit choice has left fans questioning whether the carefree rebellion of ‘Brat summer’ is past its due date.
Partying backstage at this year’s Coachella music festival, the singer was seen sporting a sash which read: ‘Miss Should Have Been Headliner’. This came after megastar rock band Green Day headlined the festival – performing major hits like ‘American Idiot’ and ‘Boulevard of Broken Dreams’. While the t-shirt appeared to be a joke, fans have been split, with many bashing it as an egotistical dig at Green Day.
“I love her but like it gets to a point,” one commenter wrote on X. “in what world would she be a headliner over green day like??” another user chimed.
One commenter was even harsher: “…this loser behaviour is embarrassing if you think your ego is more important than the message they’re sharing and the risk they’re taking by speaking up. She’s not only classless but ignorant too”. In Green Day’s performance, the band took the opportunity to make several political statements, with lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong taking a jab at President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance.
Of course, the cocksure ‘I don’t care what you think’ attitude is pretty typical of Charli XCX’s discography. From her 2012 jam ‘I love it’ to the Boiler Room bangers of 2024’s Brat, the singer’s motif has largely been about acting out, crashing out and, overall, just having a good time – perhaps captured no better than in her ‘365’ song lyric: “Call 999, it’s a good time.”
Even the album cover’s in-your-face shade of lime green was designed to ruffle feathers. Speaking to TikTok, Charli said that she wanted the colour to “annoy people”. Annoying or not, with over one billion Spotify streams across the summer of 2024, it’s inarguable that the irreverent, tongue-out track list of Brat captured the mood of the zeitgeist.
Base-thumping songs like ‘360’ and ‘Club Classics’ became ubiquitous night out bangers, while ‘Apple’ and ‘Everything is romantic’ were holiday playlist must-haves. The singer has since performed at The Grammys and the 2025 BRIT Awards named her ‘Songwriter of the Year’.
However, as some Redditors have pointed out, the mood in 2025 (and, more importantly, the political landscape) has shifted. One said, “Last summer was Brat, but the end of September is every year.”
Another added: “It’s been such a long and miserable winter since then. I feel like I’ve aged a hundred years since people were doing that dance with the cascading heart hands! Indeed, the innocent can never last, [brat] summer has come and passed.”
After all, who can forget Charli’s endorsement of Kamala Harris, the frontrunner against Donald Trump in the 2024 election? The singer made headlines after declaring the former Vice President as “Brat”. Kamala ran with the label, even incorporating the distinctive green into her campaign.
But, as the Reddit comments have pointed out, all summers come to an end. Donald Trump won the US presidency by an unexpected landslide in November and has since made numerous controversial moves, such as scrapping DEI programs and starting a trade war with China.
Conversely, Lorde’s new album drop seems to be capturing the mood. With the tease of her new song on TikTok, it heralded the return of “recession pop”: feel-good party music designed to distract, but not to rebel.
However, this doesn’t necessarily mean Brat summer can’t return. CharliXCX is currently set to headline Glastonbury, the UK’s largest music festival, to an audience of 200,000. As one X commenter put it: “She’s partying like she already headlined tbh.” Maybe 2025 beckons not the Brat summer we want, but the Brat summer we need?
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