| 1 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/charli_xcx.jpg]] |
| 2 | [[caption-width-right:350:[[SingerNamedrop It's Charli, baby.]]]] |
| 3 | |
| 4 | [floatboxright: Associated acts: |
| 5 | + Music/IconaPop, Music/IggyAzalea, Music/{{MO}}, Music/{{CupcakKe}}, Music/{{Uffie}}, Music/CarlyRaeJepsen, Music/ToveLo, Music/GiorgioMoroder, Music/{{Blondie|Band}}, Music/SelenaGomez, Music/{{Sophie}}, Music/ChristineAndTheQueens, Music/CarolinePolachek |
| 6 | ] |
| 7 | |
| 8 | [floatboxright: Influences: |
| 9 | + Music/SpiceGirls, Music/NoDoubt, Music/{{Tatu}}, Music/SiouxsieAndTheBanshees, Music/{{The Cure|Band}}, Music/BritneySpears, Music/HilaryDuff, Music/DonnaSummer, Music/AvrilLavigne, Music/MarilynManson, Music/LilWayne, Music/KateBush, Music/{{Bjork}}, Music/{{Weezer}}, Music/TheHives, Music/TheRamones |
| 10 | ] |
| 11 | |
| 12 | Charlotte Emma Aitchison (born August 2, 1992), better known by her stage name Charli XCX, is a British singer-songwriter of Scottish and Gujarati Indian descent. |
| 13 | |
| 14 | She first reached mainstream prominence with her single "Boom Clap" (from the soundtrack of ''Literature/TheFaultInOurStars''), as well as some collaborations with Music/IconaPop ("I Love It") and Music/IggyAzalea ("Fancy"), the latter of which went to #1 in the United States for a span of weeks in summer 2014. Prior to her breakthrough, she recorded two albums -- 2008's ''14'', which was never officially released, and 2013's ''True Romance'', her official debut record. |
| 15 | |
| 16 | Following the success of "Fancy," her sophomore effort ''Sucker'' was released in 2014, featuring a departure from the electronic pop she became known for to [[UsefulNotes/The90s '90s]]-inspired {{riot grrrl}}. Reception of the album was mixed. Perhaps in response to this lukewarm reaction, she eventually returned to her roots with the ''Vroom Vroom'' EP in 2016. |
| 17 | |
| 18 | Produced entirely by electronic musician Music/{{Sophie}}, ''Vroom Vroom'' is notable for its {{industrial}}-tinged sound. Charli followed this up with two collaboration-heavy[[note]]including, but not limited to: Music/{{CupcakKe}}, Music/CarlyRaeJepsen, Music/ToveLo, Music/{{MO}}, Music/KimPetras and Music/{{Uffie}}[[/note]] mixtapes across 2017, ''Music/Number1Angel'' and ''Music/Pop2'', which were produced by various acts associated with the Music/PCMusic label, particularly its founder A.G. Cook (beginning a professional creative relationship which persists to this day), along with a smattering of independent singles. |
| 19 | |
| 20 | After several years of stalling and development hiccups, her third proper studio album, ''Music/{{Charli}}'', was announced and released in late 2019. Her following album, ''how i'm feeling now'', was conversely produced in a relatively short turnaround from quarantine during the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic, and released in early 2020. |
| 21 | |
| 22 | Her fifth album, ''CRASH'', was released in 2022, marking her final album with Creator/AtlanticRecords as part of her initial record deal. Unlike Charli's post-''Vroom Vroom'' repertoire, ''CRASH'' returns to a more conventional approach to dance music and synthpop, described by Charli as being "for the ''True Romance'' angels." |
| 23 | |
| 24 | In addition to releasing her own music, she's also a successful songwriter for other artists, having written the hit singles "Same Old Love" for Music/SelenaGomez, "Beg for It" for Music/IggyAzalea, and "Senorita" for Music/ShawnMendes and Music/CamilaCabello, while having also written tracks for the likes of Music/JamesBlunt, Music/WillIAm, Music/RitaOra, Music/{{TXT}}, Music/{{Twice}} and Music/{{Blondie|Band}}. |
| 25 | ---- |
| 26 | !!Discography: |
| 27 | * ''True Romance'' (2013) |
| 28 | * ''Sucker'' (2014) |
| 29 | * ''Vroom Vroom EP'' (2016) |
| 30 | * ''Music/Number1Angel'' (2017) |
| 31 | * ''Music/Pop2'' (2017) |
| 32 | * ''Music/{{Charli}}'' (2019) |
| 33 | * ''how i'm feeling now'' (2020) |
| 34 | * ''CRASH'' (2022) |
| 35 | * ''[[Film/{{Bottoms}} Bottoms]]'' (2023)[[labelnote:*]]with Leo Birenberg[[/labelnote]] - Original Score |
| 36 | * ''BRAT'' (2024) |
| 37 | !!Hit Singles: |
| 38 | * [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxxajLWwzqY "I Love It"]] (with Music/IconaPop) |
| 39 | * [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-zpOMYRi0w "Fancy"]] (with Music/IggyAzalea) |
| 40 | * [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOPMlIIg_38 "Boom Clap"]] |
| 41 | * [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPRy1B4t5YA "Boys"]] |
| 42 | * [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-v1b9waHWY "1999"]] (with Music/TroyeSivan) |
| 43 | ---- |
| 44 | !!"I was busy thinkin' bout tropes..." |
| 45 | * The90s: "1999," a collaboration with Music/TroyeSivan, is a huge nostalgic love letter to the decade, [[ShoutOut with lyrics referencing]] Music/BritneySpears, ''Series/AllThat'', and Music/{{Eminem}}, with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-v1b9waHWY the music video]] directly recreating some of its imagery. |
| 46 | %% * AlbumTitleDrop: ''Vroom Vroom'' has a title track of the same name, which is also the name of the record label Charli started around the time of the EP's release. |
| 47 | * AllLowercaseLetters: All titles of ''how i'm feeling now'' are rendered like this. |
| 48 | * AloneInACrowd: [[https://www.instagram.com/p/Bz_APevn3H5/ As elaborated by Charli]], "Gone" is about the anxieties and insecurities of being in a large social crowd, feeling isolated and ''wanting'' to be gone from it all. |
| 49 | -->I feel so unstable, fucking hate these people\ |
| 50 | How they making me feel lately, they making me weird, baby, lately\ |
| 51 | I feel so unstable, fucking hate these people\ |
| 52 | How they making me loathe, they making me loathe |
| 53 | * {{Animeland}}: The video for "[=SuperLove=]," in which she and some friends go to some kind of techno dance club in Tokyo with robots and yakuza bikers. |
| 54 | * AutoTune: Charli [[https://toofab.com/2018/10/23/why-charli-xcx-thinks-auto-tune-is-the-savior-of-her-live-performances/ freely admits]] to using it regularly as a crutch for her voice, even during live performances. [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools That said, her application of it tends to be pretty creative]], able to extend her range to deliberately synthetic extents on tracks like "Lucky" or "Click." |
| 55 | * AwardBaitSong: "Official" is a song which [[https://www.vogue.com/article/charli-xcx-interview-charli-album?verso=true by Charli's own admission]] was created with the expressed purpose of being a "perfect" pop song. To boot, it's a soft ballad and one of her most straightforward love songs. |
| 56 | * BrokenRecord: Quite a few of Charli’s songs contain this, usually in their choruses. |
| 57 | ** Even in one of her earliest hits “I Love It” with Music/IconaPop whose chorus is Charli screaming “I don’t care, I love it!” |
| 58 | ** The chorus of "I Got It," which lyrically consists of Charli rhythmically saying "I got it I got it I got it I got it I got it I got it..." |
| 59 | ** A similar thing happens with "Shake It," whose hook is Charli speaking "I shake it I shake it I shake it ooh, I shake it I shake it all on you." |
| 60 | ** "Unlock It"’s repeated refrains of “Lock it lock it lock it lock it lock it lock it, unlock it.” |
| 61 | ** The “Focus” chorus which is simply made up of “I just want you to focus on my love, just focus on my…” you get the idea. |
| 62 | ** “Do you wanna roll with me? Do you wanna roll with me? Say yeah” And “yeah yeah yeah” from “Roll With Me.” |
| 63 | ** [[MadnessMantra Used very effectively]] in “pink diamond,” a song about going stir-crazy in isolation. |
| 64 | ---> I just wanna go real hard, I just wanna go real hard, pink diamond in the dark... |
| 65 | ** The “party 4 u” chorus repeats “I only threw this party for you.” |
| 66 | * TheCameo: |
| 67 | ** She featured in Music/DannyBrown's song "Float On," but her only role was to provide backing vocals in the chorus. |
| 68 | ** The video for "Break The Rules" features a brief appearance by Creator/RoseMcGowan as a SadistTeacher who [[CoveredInGunge pours pink goo over Charli and her friends]] at prom a-la ''Film/{{Carrie|1976}}''. |
| 69 | ** The video for "Vroom Vroom" features brief appearances by A.G. Cook (founder of Music/PCMusic and later a major producer for most of Charli's work beginning with ''Number 1 Angel'') and Hannah Diamond (a prominent Music/PCMusic act and friend to both Charli and Cook). |
| 70 | *** Cook also appears in the video for "Every Rule," accompanying Charli on keyboard. |
| 71 | ** The video for "Boys" contains ''a ton'', listed below in MassiveMultiplayerCrossover. |
| 72 | * CameraAbuse: The music video for "Von Dutch" takes this up to 11. The camera (the POV of an obsessive paparazzi chasing her through an airport) takes a vicious beating from Charli--it gets punched, kicked, hit with a suitcase, and even pushed down the stairs. |
| 73 | * CarSong: "Vroom Vroom" is about living the high life through fast cars, and "Porsche" is Charli's rumination on treating herself to the titular luxury car following a bitter breakup. To a lesser degree, she also frequently references cars as a metaphor for other subjects, such as in "Backseat," "White Mercedes," and "Crash." |
| 74 | * CarefulWithThatAxe: Post "CRASH" Tour, Charli has consistently begun performances of "Vroom Vroom" with a guttural scream as the beat drops. |
| 75 | * ChildPopstar: She started recording music in her early teens and made her first album when she was 14, [[DotingParent which was funded by her own father.]] |
| 76 | * ClusterFBomb: Charli XCX curses fairly often in her songs, but "Sucker" takes it to a whole new level. However, her most famous song "Boom Clap," and the entire How I'm Feeling Now album are notably devoid of swearing. |
| 77 | * ColorCodedForYourConvenience: She has synesthesia (to be more specific, a kind called chromesthesia) which means she sees music as colours. Since she prefers music that's black, purple, pink, and red, she had no problem with letting Icona Pop record "I Love It" instead of her, as it wasn't in a colour she liked. |
| 78 | -->''"I’ve wanted to write good pop music, beautiful pop music—not just throwaways. I’ve always wanted to make it sound luscious, and beautiful and cinematic. I feel like I’ve done that with this record. The way that I describe it is purple pop music, it’s moody, emotional and rich."'' |
| 79 | * CoolPeopleRebelAgainstAuthority: Pretty much the basis behind "Break the Rules." |
| 80 | * CostumePorn: The video for "Used To Know Me" shows Charli in variety of different outfits, most of which are played for {{Fanservice}}. Includes an 80s-inspired [[SensualSpandex leotard]], a [[AllGuysWantCheerleaders cheerleader]], a [[DressedLikeADominatrix latex catsuit]], and [[NaughtyNuns a sexy nun.]] |
| 81 | * DeathByMusicVideo: |
| 82 | ** She attends her own funeral in the "Good Ones" video, and she collapses at the end. |
| 83 | ** Implied at the end of "Von Dutch" in which she and the paparazzi are both riding on the baggage carousel, motionless and badly injured. |
| 84 | * EpicRocking: "Track 10" from ''Pop 2'' is her first and currently only song from her albums to go past the five minute mark. |
| 85 | * FadingIntoTheNextSong: Nearly every song on ''True Romance'' and the entirety of the ''Heartbreaks & Earthquakes'' EP. |
| 86 | * {{Fangirl}}: Of Music/BritneySpears. She made special mention of her love of ''Blackout''. |
| 87 | * FemaleGaze: The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPRy1B4t5YA ''Boys'']] video has many handsome celebrities posing in scenarios that are usually considered for women. |
| 88 | * FormerTeenRebel: Her high school years included performing at underground rave parties ([[OpenMindedParent which her parents even came to]]) and "rummaging through CD crates for punk [=CDs=] and wearing defiant outfits to school -- [[TooManyBelts 'five belts instead of one,']] she recalls -- in order to demonstrate her overall rebelliousness." |
| 89 | * GenreMashup: Her music is a mix of synthpop, dark wave, pop punk, electronica, witch house, and whatever else she feels like. Taken to an extreme with the ''Vroom Vroom'' EP, which can be best described as "experimental pop" -- trap, grime, EDM, bubblegum pop, and industrial hip-hop (complete with her rapping for the first time) come together here to create something completely different. |
| 90 | * GenreThrowback: In stark contrast to her now-signature {{hyperpop}} sound of the future, ''CRASH'' consists of tracks greatly inspired by more traditional genre sounds from the '80s and '90s, with Charli citing Music/JanetJackson as one particular major influence. The TitleTrack is effectively Charli's take on NewJackSwing, "New Shapes" a mixture of '80s SynthPop and IndiePop, "Yuck" an invocation of classic funk and disco, etc. |
| 91 | * GirlsNightOutEpisode: "[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Girls Night Out]]," to nobody's surprise, complete with the repeating chorus of "No boys, no boys!" |
| 92 | * GratuitousForeignLanguage: |
| 93 | ** "I Got It" and "Shake It" feature entire guest verses by the Brazilian Music/PablloVittar in Portuguese. |
| 94 | ** "February 2017" is closed with a verse from [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yaeji Yaeji]] in Korean. |
| 95 | * GriefSong: A song she sang at Billboard's Women In Music awards, "So I," is about her late producer and friend Music/{{SOPHIE}}, and how she wishes she could have spent more time with her before she passed away. |
| 96 | --> ''And I know you always said it's okay to cry\ |
| 97 | So I know I can cry, I can cry, so I cry'' |
| 98 | * HardDrinkingPartyGirl: She frequently indulges in this imagery, from "Fancy" to "Break the Rules" to "After the Afterparty." |
| 99 | * HellBentForLeather: She often wears leather jackets, paired with CoolShades. [[https://ewedit.files.wordpress.com/2018/10/charli-xcx-1999.jpg One of the single cover arts for "1999"]] features her and Troye Sivan in full ''[[Film/TheMatrix Matrix]]''-style getup. |
| 100 | * HiddenDepths: You probably wouldn't pick up on it on first listen, but her musical influences are quite eclectic--including mainstream pop acts like Music/BritneySpears, Music/TheBlackEyedPeas, and Music/JanetJackson, but also more alternative/avant-garde acts such as Music/KateBush, Music/CrystalCastles, Music/SiouxsieAndTheBanshees, and Music/LouReed. |
| 101 | * IdenticalStranger: Some believe she looks like Creator/LilyCollins, or Sasha Grey. Also bears some resemblance to Music/{{Lorde}}. |
| 102 | * IntercourseWithYou: |
| 103 | ** The chorus of "What I Like." |
| 104 | ** Also in "Champagne Coast," she says "come into my bedroom" ''thirty-two times''. Not exactly subtle. |
| 105 | ** "Lipgloss" featuring Music/{{CupcakKe}} is all about girls getting oral sex. |
| 106 | * LastNoteNightmare: |
| 107 | ** "claws" ends with an increasingly loud, synth-y buildup that in context sounds like it's leading to a climactic final verse, but abruptly it dissolves into glitched-out chaos for a few seconds. [[GainaxEnding And then the song ends.]] |
| 108 | ** The ending to "visions," the final track of ''how i'm feeling now'', is an emotional yet energetic ballad wrapped in a [[HardcoreTechno hardstyle beat]] for the most part, but in the final minute once Charli's vocals fade out, the instrumental begins to break down, becoming increasingly stressful and cacophanic mess of distorted synths before suddenly fading out. It's arguably framed like a SuddenDownerEnding, as the song itself is a celebration of a future with her lover that had yet to occur, making the ending sound like as if even the song [[AndThenWhat has no idea of what comes next.]] |
| 109 | * LighterAndSofter: After the DarkWave-influenced ''True Romance'', she made a GenreShift to pop-punk and electroclash on ''Sucker''. |
| 110 | * {{Lockdown}}: ''how i'm feeling now'' was created during and is largely about quarantine life during the UsefulNotes/CoronavirusDisease2019Pandemic, ruminating on the state of her isolation from her friends and loved ones, her mental health, and her impatience for life to return to "normal". |
| 111 | * MassiveMultiplayerCrossover: |
| 112 | ** The video for "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPRy1B4t5YA Boys]]" is basically a montage of at least 60 male music celebrities in full FemaleGaze-y glory, including, but are not limited to: [[Music/PCMusic A.G.]] [[CreatorCameo Cook]], [[Music/BringMeTheHorizon Oli Sykes]], Music/JoeJonas, [[Music/MsMr Max Hershenow]], Music/CharliePuth, Music/GEazy, [[Music/VampireWeekend Ezra Koenig, Rostam Batmanglij]], [[Music/{{Bastille}} Dan Smith]], Flume, Wiz Khalifa, Ty Dolla $ign, Joey Bada$$, Music/TinieTempah, Creator/RizAhmed (and the rest of the Swet Shop Boys), Taka Moriuchi, [[Music/TheLibertines Carl Barat]], Music/MacDeMarco, Music/WillIAm, Tommy Cash, Diplo, Laurie Vincent, [[Music/TheVamps Tristan Evans and James McVey]], and Music/VanceJoy. |
| 113 | ** Again in the music video for "360," which includes many internet it-girls meeting to "fulfill the prophecy of finding the hot new internet girl:" among them are Matisse Andrews, Quenlin Blackwell, Sakura Bready, Chloe Cherry, Greer Cohen, Anna Collins, A.G. Cook, Alex Consani, Emma Chamberlain, Gabbriette, Julia Fox, Isamaya Ffrench, Blizzy [=McGuire=], Tess [=McMillan=], Salem Mitchell, Hari Nef, Peri Rosenzweig, Creator/RachelSennott, Creator/ChloeSevigny, Richie Shazam, and Niki Takesh. |
| 114 | * MinimalisticCoverArt: |
| 115 | ** The cover of ''True Romance'' is a picture of her with a white background. ''Sucker'' is also a picture of her, except with a pink background. Her singles, on the other hand, are a mix of this and DesignStudentsOrgasm. |
| 116 | ** ''BRAT'' plays this completely straight, being just a lime green background with "brat" written over it in Arial font. According to an interview with Vogue, Charli got very sick of female artists like her having to plaster their photographs over everything, [[FaceOnTheCover including album covers]], and went with something deliberately odd and confrontational "to trigger the idea of something being wrong." |
| 117 | * MoneySong: "Gold Coins." She also did a cover of "Money (That's What I Want)." |
| 118 | * MoodWhiplash: ''Charli'' opens with "Next Level Charli," a loud, epic anthem celebrating the start of a giant party with fans, but is immediately followed up with "Gone," a noticeably more melancholy (if still booming) ballad about feeling overwhelmed in a crowd and wanting to leave. |
| 119 | * MsFanservice: She plays into this with her many appearances in music videos and televised performances. The Tokyo-set Video for "Boom Clap", where a stunningly gorgeous Charli jaunts around the streets of the city in tiny, mostly form-hugging attire (and at one point in what appears to be nothing more than a nightgown). She also posts sexually provocative images of herself on social media on a regular basis, and has a fondness for wearing sheer tops without a bra. |
| 120 | * NewSoundAlbum: |
| 121 | ** ''Sucker'' incorporates elements of pop-punk, power pop and dance-pop-- genres not particularly heard before on ''True Romance''. |
| 122 | ** The ''Vroom Vroom'' EP, produced by Music/{{Sophie}}, is definitely bubblegum bass and pop, but has some influences from trap, grime, and even industrial hip hop. Following that was ''Number 1 Angel'' and the establishment of her longstanding relationship with the Music/PCMusic community (primarily its label founder A.G. Cook), with later projects ''Pop 2'', ''Charli'', and ''how i'm feeling now'' experimenting and adapting with their futuristic, quirky, and hyper-real brand of pop. |
| 123 | ** ''CRASH'', is much more of a "poptastic" throwback record, eschewing the avant-garde, {{hyperpop}} sounds of the future for the vintage, 80's SynthPop-inspired [[GenreThrowback sounds of the past]]. |
| 124 | ** ''BRAT'' completely eschews traditional pop formula for a more minimalist sound reminiscent of underground club music, returning to noisy and quirky {{hyperpop}} textures, but arranged to be her most intentionally repetitive, gritty, and mainstream-unfriendly release to date. |
| 125 | * NonAppearingTitle: "Grins," "Cloud Aura," "Track 10," (despite being an alternate version of 'Blame It On Your Love'), "February 2017," "2099," and "c2.0." |
| 126 | * OutOfGenreExperience: "Need Ur Luv." It sounds like 50s doo-wop, which is completely unlike anything else she's done before. |
| 127 | * PantyShot: The single cover for "360." |
| 128 | * PerkyGoth: One of her looks (lots of black, dark lipstick). |
| 129 | * PurpleIsPowerful: Her live shows have a ''lot'' of purple lighting (see ColorCodedForYourConvenience). |
| 130 | * RearrangeTheSong: A.G. Cook (primary producer for much of Charli's work starting from ''Number 1 Angel'' onward) is fond of recycling past solo production from himself and Life Sim (who may be a separate, highly reclusive project or an alternate identity): |
| 131 | ** [[http://agcook.com/n1a/ As explained in the liner notes]], "Lipgloss" started as an unreleased Life Sim instrumental simply titled "Lightning," which then got edited and recycled by several producers including Cook and Music/{{Sophie}} before reaching [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3wSBK6xiXs the final version]] on ''Number 1 Angel'' (all three are credited as producers). A few months later, Life Sim released an updated version of his original instrumental, now titled "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMOOTCkB9Bw Lightning Lipgloss Life]]." |
| 132 | ** "Track 10" from ''Pop 2'' is a twofer: it's stated to be a remix of a previously unreleased track called "Blame It On Your Love," and part of its instrumental (from 2 minutes onwards) is a rearrangement of another track by Life Sim, "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SySgCOwaeLk IDL]]." [[{{Irony}} Hilariously enough]], a finished version of the original "Blame It On Your Love" demo, now featuring Music/{{Lizzo}}, was released as a single later on and included in the tracklist of ''Charli'', meaning there's now two completely different official arrangements of the song across two projects. |
| 133 | ** "Next Level Charli" is effectively a Charli-tinged recreation of another A.G. Cook and Life Sim collaboration, "Big Bratt," from their 2015 release "[[https://soundcloud.com/pcmus/xtreme-mixology Xtreme Mixology]]." |
| 134 | * RepetitiveAudioGlitch: Used to brief but creatively heartbreaking effect in "[[BreakUpSong Lucky]]," where the vocals briefly skip at the line "You got no reception, you're brea-ea-king up..." |
| 135 | * RevengeBallad: "Just Desserts," a collaboration with Music/MarinaDiamandis, about getting revenge on a lover for an unspecified offence. |
| 136 | -->Karma came around like I knew it would\ |
| 137 | Like I knew it would\ |
| 138 | And it feels so good [[ATasteOfTheirOwnMedicine when the shoe is put\ |
| 139 | On the other foot]] |
| 140 | * RevisitingTheRoots: |
| 141 | ** [[https://music.apple.com/us/album/crash/1592545087 Charli describes]] ''CRASH'' -- on top of being a traditional GenreThrowback after a long string {{hyperpop}} projects -- as being a case of this for herself. As it was her final record as part of her deal with Creator/AtlanticRecords, Charli admits to approaching it as one last opportunity to utilize the label's maximist resources and create a more commercial-friendly pop album akin to when she first started out; an experiment to see if it can achieve mainstream attention that eluded her as someone who usually works on the experimental fringe of pop (this venture would be a successful one, as it became her most commercially successful album to date, and ironically kept her and Atlantic on good-enough terms for her to renew her contract for ''BRAT''). |
| 142 | ** ''BRAT'' is a more holistic case for Charli, as while [[NewSoundAlbum it's far from her usual pop-centric sound]], it's more an evocation of club music that greatly influenced her during her youth, having been raised as a performer in the illegal rave scene in London during her teens. |
| 143 | * RobotGirl: "Femmebot" gleefully toys with this imagery, using a ton of playful robot metaphors. |
| 144 | -->Go fuck your prototype\ |
| 145 | I’m an upgrade of your stereotype\ |
| 146 | Don’t come with a guarantee\ |
| 147 | I’ll use you up like you’re my battery\ |
| 148 | I feel the sparks between us, electric shock\ |
| 149 | Hot-wired if you mess it up, I’ll self-destruct |
| 150 | * {{Sampling}}: |
| 151 | ** "Trophy" gets its namedrop from a sample from ''Film/PulpFiction'' of Creator/UmaThurman saying "I want that trophy." |
| 152 | ** "Unlock It" from ''Pop 2'' borrows a few snippets from A.G. Cook's "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YG0ggHM1PLM Beautiful]]," including its TitleDrop hook. |
| 153 | ** "Delicious" from the same album is briefly interrupted in the middle by a ringtone, which is a 3-second long snippet of none other than [[CallBack Charli's own "Boom Clap"]]. |
| 154 | ** "Beg for You" samples "Cry for You" by September. |
| 155 | * SarcasticTitle: ''True Romance'' is, ironically, mostly full of bitter [[BreakupSong post-breakup songs.]] (It's named after a Creator/QuentinTarantino movie.) |
| 156 | * SelfBackingVocalist: "Grins" most prominently, and other songs. |
| 157 | * SequelSong: |
| 158 | ** "2099" to "1999," each on relative ends of the tracklist of ''Charli'' and both featuring Music/TroyeSivan. While "1999" is a straightforward throwback to nostalgic pop culture, "2099" is a chaotic, avant-garde depiction of what we can assume Charli believes is in store for the distant future of music. |
| 159 | ** "c2.0" of ''how i'm feeling now'' is a direct continuation of "Click" from ''Charli'', directly sampling portions of its distorted production and vocal hooks. Whereas "Click" is a BoastfulRap about Charli being with her [[{{Pun}} clique]], "c2.0" is more of her reminiscing about them, missing them as a result of their self-isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic. |
| 160 | * SexyPackaging: She's naked on the cover of ''Music/{{Charli}}'' with her breasts only barely covered by some futuristic pink wires, is in just white panties and a crop top on ''how i'm feeling now'', and is in a bikini on the cover of ''CRASH.'' (Though that last one, being a ShoutOut to ''Film/{{Crash}}'' by David Cronenberg, may cause some FanDisservice since it's supposed to look like she's just been hit by a car). |
| 161 | * SexySchoolwoman: She often wears plaid skirts (and not just in the "Fancy" video) despite being in her early 20s. (However, she really did go to an elite boarding school.) |
| 162 | * ShoutOut: |
| 163 | ** To Creator/QuentinTarantino, to ''Film/TheCraft'', and most of all to [[Music/SpiceGirls Ginger Spice]] and Girl Power - even going as far as wearing the same [[IconicOutfit Union Jack dress]] as her on tour. |
| 164 | ** In the video for "Break the Rules," she gets a pail of some kind of [[CoveredInGunge pink goop dumped on her]] by a SadistTeacher, not unlike the prom scene in ''Literature/{{Carrie}}'' (where it was pig's blood). Unlike that film, [[AttackBackfire she and everyone else finds it to be lots of fun.]] |
| 165 | ** In "Cloud Aura," Brooke Candy says [[Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay "Time to terminate shit, hasta la vista".]] |
| 166 | ** The lyrics on ''Sucker'' mention "Music/{{The Rolling Stones|Band}} on my phone" and [[Music/TheBeatles Lucy in the sky of diamonds]]. |
| 167 | ** Music/{{CupcakKe}}'s verses in "Lipgloss" features two [[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext simultaneously inexplicable yet hilariously fitting]] references to ''Series/ICarly'' and ''Franchise/WinnieThePooh''. |
| 168 | ** "After the Afterparty" has a bridge that repeatedly mentions "[[{{Music/Rihanna}} RiRi]] on replay." |
| 169 | ** Mykki Blanco's guest verse in "Femmebot" alone references ''Anime/GhostInTheShell'', ''Film/ExMachina'', ''Film/TheMatrix'', ''Franchise/DragonBall'', and "[[{{Pun}} Charlie]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OBlgSz8sSM bit my finger]]". Even the title might be a reference to the fembots from ''Film/AustinPowers''. |
| 170 | ** With the song being a throwback to The90s, the video to "1999" features Charli and Music/TroyeSivan recreating several iconic pop culture images and icons from that era, including ''Film/TheMatrix'', ''Film/Titanic1997'', ''Film/AmericanBeauty'', "[[Music/{{Eminem}} The Real Slim Shady]]", Music/SpiceGirls, "[[Music/BackstreetBoys I Want It That Way]]," Music/NSync-era Music/JustinTimberlake, Music/MarilynManson, ''VideoGame/TheSims1'', and even UsefulNotes/SteveJobs and ''Film/TheBlairWitchProject''. |
| 171 | ** ''CRASH'' and its cover is a reference to the Creator/DavidCronenberg film ''Literature/{{Crash}}''. |
| 172 | ** "Club Classics" |
| 173 | -->Yeah, I wanna dance to me\ |
| 174 | I wanna dance to [[Music/PCMusic A.G.]]\ |
| 175 | I wanna dance with [[Music/The1975 George]]\ |
| 176 | I wanna dance to Music/{{SOPHIE}}\ |
| 177 | I wanna dance to [[Music/HudsonMohawke HudMo]] |
| 178 | ** "360" contains references to model and singer Gabbriette, actress Julia Fox, and A.G. Cook (all of whom appear in the video). |
| 179 | * SillyLoveSongs: "Boom Clap," "You're the One," "What I Like," "[=SuperLove=]," “Unlock It.” |
| 180 | * SingerNamedrop: |
| 181 | ** Her Music/PCMusic-era singles and mixtapes [[OncePerEpisode use this liberally]] in the form of either "It's Charli, Baby," or a stuttered “XCX” tag resembling a radio call out. |
| 182 | ** Lots of it on “I Got It,” including Pabllo Vittar using the Portuguese pronunciation of XCX. |
| 183 | ** The coda of "New Shapes" has a backing voice muttering "Charli, Caroline, Chris" (including the track's two featured artists, Music/CarolinePolachek and Music/ChristineAndTheQueens). |
| 184 | * StylisticSuck: {{Downplayed|Trope}} as it's not made to sound ''bad'', but ''how i'm feeling now'' in general is a lot less polished in its production and mixing than previous endeavors, featuring a more lo-fi "bedroom pop" aesthetic in part due to it being created during COVID-19 lockdown, and in a very short 6-week timespan. |
| 185 | * ThreeMinutesOfWrithing: Her performance of "Need Ur Love" on the Late Show definitely was ([[SittingSexyOnAPiano on top of a piano, no less]]). The music video for "Gone" has her dancing in the rain and writhing on top of cars with Music/ChristineAndTheQueens. "Baby" is a fully choreographed dance in a very form-fitting outfit. |
| 186 | * TitleTrack: |
| 187 | ** The first track off of her 2014 album, ''Sucker'', is well... named just that. |
| 188 | ** The ''Vroom Vroom'' EP similarly begins with the titular track. |
| 189 | * TrademarkFavouriteFood: Apparently she ''really'' likes pizza. [[BigEater As in, enough to eat a whole one by herself.]] |
| 190 | * VisualPun: The cover for her single with Marina and the Diamonds, "Just Desserts," is ... a hand holding an ice cream cone. Bonus points for the intentional misspelling. |
| 191 | * XMakesAnythingCool: The name "XCX" doesn't really mean anything; it just sounds a lot cooler than "Aitchison," a clunky, difficult name for a pop star. |
| 192 | -->''"It stands for Kiss Charli Kiss, which is fucking lame. [[AGoodNameForARockBand It used to be my handle on MSN Messenger]]. Then I got signed and thought, "Maybe I need to make it cooler," so I told the record label it stood for X-rated Cunt X-rated."'' |
| 193 | * AWildRapperAppears: Charli loves collaborating with fellow artists, and starting around ''Number 1 Angel'' onwards, she's developed a feature-heavy ethos for her projects comparable to mainstream rappers. |
| 194 | ** Brooke Candy appears in "Cloud Aura," a lone RAndB song [[OutOfGenreExperience on a synthpop album.]] |
| 195 | ** Music/DannyBrown shows up on the remix of "What I Like." |
| 196 | ** Lil Yachty in "After The Afterparty." |
| 197 | ** Music/{{CupcakKe}} stands out for getting two full verses in “Lipgloss” on ''Number 1 Angel'', a verse in “I Got It” on ''Pop 2'' and a verse in "Shake It" on ''Charli.'' |
| 198 | ** ''Number 1 Angel'' also has rap verses from Starrah and Raye, while ''Pop 2'' has verses from Brooke Candy, Mykki Blanco, Tommy Cash, and Jay Park. |
| 199 | ** "Shake It" is a love letter to this trope: the song was specifically constructed to barely feature Charli and to highlight the four featured verses: Big Freedia, Music/{{CupcakKe}}, Brooke Candy, and Pabllo Vittar. |
| 200 | ** ''Charli'' also features rap verses from Music/KimPetras, Tommy Cash, and Lizzo. |
| 201 | ** Subverted on both mixtapes and ''Charli'' by many features with other singers rather than rappers. |
| 202 |
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