Charli XCX has confirmed the official death of ‘Brat‘ summer, and revealed who she wants to take over this year.
Following its release last year, ‘Brat‘ quickly evolved into a cultural phenomenon, with both the concept of ‘Brat’ summer and the record’s simple lime green artwork becoming a meme as fans worldwide embraced the album’s hedonistic aesthetic and attitude.
The album’s impact even extended beyond the pop world and worked its way into Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign, sparking a wave of serious political pundits trying and failing to explain the album’s ethos.
Now, though, it appears Charli has officially declared the summer of ‘Brat’ over, and has passed the torch to a host of her peers.
Closing her Coachella weekend two set on Saturday (April 19), Charli played her Icona Pop collaboration, ‘I Love It’, as the giant screen behind her on stage showed the text: “maybe it’s time for a different kind of summer?,” before listing the artists and directors primed to take over this year.
— media (@entplus_) April 20, 2025
The list consisted of acts with recently released projects or new releases on the horizon, including Lorde, Addison Rae, PinkPantheress, Haim, Pulp, Aidan Zamari, Yung Lean, Ethel Cain, David Cronenberg, Kali Uchis, Perfume Genius, Sean Price Williams, Rosalía and Ari Aster.
Also on the list were Kogonada, Caroline Polachek, Paul Thomas Anderson, Joachim Trier, These New Puritans, Hailey Benton Gates, Turnstile, A$AP Rocky, Darren Aronofsky, Blood Orange, Bon Iver and Celine Song.
As images of the set have begun circulating on the internet, Charli has been sharing them on her Instagram story, seemingly confirming her passing of the torch.
Elsewhere in her weekend two performance, she enlisted Addison Rae for a live rendition of their ‘Von Dutch’ remix.
The singer’s set the previous week saw her joined by a handful of the artists featured on the ‘Brat‘ remix album, ‘Brat and it’s completely different but also still brat‘, with Lorde, Troye Sivan, and Billie Eilish surprising the audience.
She concluded that show with further cryptic messaging on the giant screen above the stage, reading: “Thank you so much Coachella. Does this mean that brat summer is finally over????? … Idk? … Maybe? … yeah cuz duh it was already over like last year. … wait… was it? … NO???… I don’t know who I am if it’s over??? FUCKKKKK…. Wait… I remembered…I’m Charli XCX… and honestly… I just want this moment to last forever…”
As the lights went down, the screen flashed: “PLEASE DON’T LET IT BE OVER.”
In a four-star review of ‘Brat’, NME wrote: “It all paints a picture of who XCX is in 2024. Growing pains, grief and aching doubts come alongside self-confidence, celebration and the knowledge of the place XCX holds in the musical landscape – indeed, she kicks off ‘360’ with the knowing: “I went my own way and I made it / I’m your favourite reference baby”.
“With ‘Brat’, XCX demonstrates that going her own way will always sound pretty good.”
