At London’s O2 Arena on Thursday night, “Brat” wasn’t just a word, or the name of Charli XCX‘s wildly successful album — it was a way of life.
Looking out at the sea of people who packed the sold-out show, the key-lime green of the album cover was everywhere, as were rave-ready shades and phrases like “bumpin’ that” and “I’m so Julia.” All over the arena, attendees took photos with the camera flash on and strutted up and down stairs as if on a runway, clearly influenced by Charli’s unabashed confidence. And, despite long queues for drinks and restrooms and the venue momentarily running out of wristbands for those on the floor, concertgoers were determined to have a good time — as long as they heard those club classics.
Charli delivered on this ASAP, starting the show with nihilistic anthem “365,” during which opener Shygirl made an appearance to perform her remixed version. The energy in the room was immediately electric, as the crowd jumped around haphazardly and danced like no one else was watching — something that would continue throughout her hour-and-45-minute performance. Consisting of five acts, which saw Charli changing into a different fabulous outfit for each, the set fluctuated between the “Brat” album and its remixes, which obviously have become such a phenomenon, and some of her older favorites that OG Angels relished. For example, the show’s second act saw “Pop 2” track “Unlock It” sandwiched by “Club Classics” and “Talk Talk,” which came as Charli rose higher and higher into the air on suspended scaffolding. Then came “Apple,” during which Charli has been known to put the camera on someone in the crowd doing the song’s viral TikTok dance. The audience got its first surprise of the night when her fiancé George Daniel appeared on screen, bashfully doing the moves he’s previously refused to on social media.
Though it was just Charli on stage alone, the show’s club-like design and clever camerawork kept the audience captivated. “Spring Breakers” saw her going underneath the stage and singing the track’s sassy lyrics directly to the camera man, giving it a sort of music video feel, and at other times in the set the camera was placed beneath the stage to capture Charli spitting — or simply shaking her ass — from down below. For slower track “Party 4 U,” a long illuminated rope was suspended from the ceiling that she swung around wistfully, and a “Flashdance”-esque moment was delivered during “Track 10,” when rain fell from the sky and drenched the singer, who was of course wearing all white.
With a remix album full of guests, audience members had hope that at least one of them would make an appearance — and Charli tripled that. During the show’s final act, she welcomed Caroline Polachek to the stage, who sang her remix of “Everything Is Romantic” — with everyone in the audience yelling “free bleeding in the autumn rain” — and her song “Welcome to My Island.” Before the crowd could recover, Robyn and Yung Lean popped out of nowhere to duet on their remix of “360,” with the three sharing a sweet hug while singing “we got that lights, camera, action.” Robyn then strutted to the front of the stage by herself, prompting screams from the audience as they realized she was there to sing her club hit “Dancing on My Own.” Attendees hugged each other and swayed in catharsis as Charli looked on, beaming. Though everyone had come to see her, the excitement from both Charli and the crowd at Robyn getting her own moment illustrated the fact that “Brat” speaks to a feeling — and a culture — much bigger than itself. And as Charli closed the show with “I Love It,” the song that first made her name in 2013, everything came full circle.
Charli XCX and Caroline Polachek perform at London’s O2 Arena.
Henry Redcliffe
