Charli XCX

Charli XCX (born Charlotte Emma Aitchison on August 2, 1992, in Cambridge, England) is a British singer, songwriter, and producer whose career has spanned over a decade of restless artistic reinvention. Raised in Essex, she began writing songs as a teenager and first gained widespread attention through her 2012 breakthrough single "I Love It" (recorded with Icona Pop), which became an international top-ten hit.

Over the following decade, Charli established herself as one of pop music's most adventurous figures. Her albums explored maximalist hyperpop (Pop 2, 2017), experimental pop collage (how i'm feeling now, 2020, written and recorded entirely during COVID lockdown in six weeks), and co-wrote global hits for artists including Iggy Azalea, Selena Gomez, and Camila Cabello.

Her sixth studio album Brat (June 2024) became a defining pop culture moment. "Brat summer" spread across social media as a cultural phenomenon, the word "brat" was named Collins English Dictionary's word of the year, and the album earned three Grammy Awards alongside near-universal critical acclaim.^[1] The album's arena tour ran from November 2024 through August 2025.^[3] In July 2025, she married George Daniel, drummer of The 1975 and longtime collaborator, in an intimate ceremony at Hackney Town Hall in London, followed by a second celebration in Sicily in September 2025.^[4]

During the Brat Tour, Charli began writing what would become her soundtrack album Wuthering Heights (February 13, 2026), created in collaboration with producer Finn Keane as a companion to Emerald Fennell's 2026 film adaptation of Emily Bronte's gothic novel. The album marked a deliberate artistic pivot: away from hyperpop and toward orchestral restraint, gothic atmosphere, and literary ambition. Charli described it as a "sister" to her debut True Romance (2013) and the desired sound as "elegant and brutal."^[1] It debuted at number one in the UK, Charli's third chart-topping album there.

Alongside her music career, Charli has expanded into film and television. She starred in and co-produced the A24 mockumentary The Moment (2026), which dramatizes events from her Brat Tour, and co-executive produced original music for films including Mother Mary (with Jack Antonoff). At Sundance 2026, she described her desire to actively leave the Brat era behind and step into new creative territory.^[2]