Charli XCX

Charli XCX at the 2017 Grammy Awards

### Born

Charlotte Emma Aitchison, 2 August 1992 (age 26), Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England

### Occupation

Singer · songwriter · record producer · music video director

### Associated Acts

Jewels and Diamonds

**Charlotte Emma Aitchison** (born 2 August 1992), known professionally as **Charli XCX**, is an English singer, songwriter, music video director, and record executive. Born in Cambridge and raised in Start Hill, Essex, she began posting songs on MySpace in 2008, which led to her discovery by a promoter who invited her to perform at warehouse raves and parties. In 2010 she signed a recording contract with Asylum Records, releasing a series of singles and mixtapes throughout 2011 and 2012.

In 2013, Charli XCX rose to fame with the Icona Pop collaboration "I Love It", which became an international hit, reaching top 10 in North America and Europe. Her debut studio album, *True Romance* (2013), was released that year to critical acclaim, but failed to meet commercial expectations. In 2014, she received her first solo hit with "Boom Clap". Her second studio album, the punk-influenced *Sucker* was released at the end of the year, and respectively produced the successful singles "Break the Rules" and "Doing It".

In 2016, Charli was signed to a new label and released her third album *XCXISION*, her most successful to date. The album peaked at number 2 on the US Billboard 200 and spawned three top 10 singles on the US Billboard Hot 100, "Supernova", "Crash" and "Don't Spill The Liquor", the latter a collaboration with her former affair Drake. The album was eventually certified 2× Platinum by RIAA after selling more than 2 million album-equivalent unities in the United States.

In 2017, she released a joint album with Marina Diamandis under their collaborative project Jewels and Diamonds. *A Silent Thunderstorm* debuted at number 1 in a sleek of countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, and generated one of the biggest songs of the year, "Entertainment". Charli also began working with artists in the British collective PC Music, as well as producer Sophie, developing a more experimental sound and image. While working on her fourth album, she released the *Vroom Vroom* EP that year and the mixtapes *Number 1 Angel* and *Pop 2* in 2018.

In addition to her solo work, Charli XCX has co-written songs for other artists, including: Selena Gomez‘s “Same Old Love” (2015), Blondie’s “Tonight” (2017) and Kitty and Ivy's "Break" (2019).

## Early life

Charlotte Emma Aitchison was born on 2 August 1992, in Cambridge, England. Her father, Jon Aitchison, is a Scottish entrepreneur and former show-booker, and her mother, Shameera, is a Gujarati Indian former nurse and flight attendant born and raised in Uganda. Charli was raised in Start Hill, Essex, and attended Bishop's Stortford College in nearby Bishop's Stortford. While her parents weren't very musical, she demonstrated an affinity for music from an early age, being interested in pop stars such as Spice Girls and Britney Spears. She began writing songs when she was fourteen years old, writing a song called "Fish and Chips Shop".

At fourteen, she convinced her parents to grant her a loan to record her first album, *14*, and in early 2008, began posting songs from the album, as well as numerous other demos, on her official MySpace page. This caught the attention of a promoter running numerous illegal warehouse raves and parties in east London, who invited her to perform. She was billed on flyers under the stage name Charli XCX, which was her MSN Messenger display name when she was younger. Despite the illicit nature of the gigs, her parents were supportive of her career and attended several raves with her. In late 2008, while *14* was never commercially released, she released the two singles "!Franchesckaar!" and double A-side "Emelline"/"Art Bitch", under Orgy Music. She has since frequently expressed her distaste for her music of the time, going as far to call it "gimmicky dance tracks" and "fucking terrible MySpace music". At age eighteen, Charli moved to London to study for a fine art degree at UCL's Slade School of Fine Art but dropped out in her second year.

## Career

### 2009–2013: Career beginnings and *True Romance*

In 2010, Charli XCX was signed to Asylum Records, however she describes herself afterwards as being "lost". In an interview with The Guardian, Charli XCX said "I was still in school, I'd just come out of this weird rave scene, and I wasn't really sure what to make of that. And when I got signed I hated pop music; I wanted to make bad rap music. I didn't know who I was. I didn't know what I liked. Even though I was signed, I was still figuring it out." She eventually flew out to Los Angeles to meet with producers, and found it "wasn't working out for me" until she met with American producer Ariel Rechtshaid. They had a two-hour session and in that time wrote the song "Stay Away", and she stated that that's "when things started to come together". Early in 2011, she was featured on the Alex Metric single "End of the World". She left during the second year of her degree course at the Slade School of Fine Art to focus on her music career, and in May and November 2011, she released the singles "Stay Away" and "Nuclear Seasons" respectively, and gained attention from music website Pitchfork Media, where she earned "Best New Track" accolades for both; the former was eventually named to the site's "Best Tracks of 2011" list.

In addition to Rechtshaid, she began working with Swedish producer Patrik Berger. He sent her two beats, and she quickly wrote songs for each of them, one of which became "I Love It" and the other of which became "You're the One". She stated that she didn't end up releasing "I Love It" herself because she could not reconcile it with her sound, but in 2012, Swedish duo Icona Pop re-recorded the song and released it as a single featuring her vocals. The song became an international hit, hitting number 1 in Charli's home country and climbing to number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2013. In June, she released "You're The One" as a single from her EP of the same name, followed by her debut mixtape *Heartbreaks and Earthquakes*, a one-track file consisting of eight songs including a cover of the Blood Orange song "Champagne Coast" and Odd Future's remix of "You're the One". In September, she released a video for "So Far Away", and on Halloween, she released a new song called "Cloud Aura" featuring Brooke Candy, followed by her second mixtape *Super Ultra*, released exclusively through her website in November. In early 2013, she released "You (Ha Ha Ha)" and announced her debut album, followed by "What I Like" in March.

*True Romance* was released in April 2013. It peaked at number 85 on the UK Albums Chart, at number five on the US *Billboard* Top Heatseekers, and at number 11 on the Australian Hitseekers Albums Chart. The album was received well by music critics, earning a 76 on Metacritic, which assigns a rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". In May, she released a song with Welsh singer-songwriter Marina and the Diamonds, called "Just Desserts", followed by the video for "Take My Hand" later that month.

### 2013–2015: Breakthrough and *Sucker*

Charli XCX began writing her second album in mid-2013, saying she initially wanted to go to India to record, but later deciding she wanted to record in France, she said: "Two months ago, I wanted to go to India and record it, and now I want to record it in France. So I feel like nothing is definite – like, I feel very all-over-the-place at the moment. But at the moment, my heart's set on going to France and recording it, but that was different two months ago, so who knows what's going to happen?" Frustrated with the music industry, she ended up going to Sweden, isolating herself from her record label, and made a punk-inspired album over a month. Working on the album with Patrik Berger, they made it at a fast pace, saying that it is "not thought-about, everything really spontaneous [...] We don't think — it's like the first thing that comes out of my mouth is the cut on the record," however it was eventually scrapped for a more "pop"-oriented album. The album included a song called "Mow That Lawn", which was debuted live a year later at Ilosaarirock Festival in Finland.

In late 2013, "SuperLove" was released as the lead single from the album, and reached number sixty-two on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Charli's first solo entry on the chart. In January 2014, she released a song called "Allergic to Love" on her SoundCloud. While writing the album, she did further sessions with Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo, Rostam Batmanglij from Vampire Weekend, production duo Stargate, John Hill, and a session with Dr. Luke which she said "wasn't for me”. In an interview with *DIY* magazine, she stated that she wrote the record for girls and wants them to feel "a sense of empowerment". Charli explained in her tour diary with Replay Laserblast that the record's genre is still pop, but has "a very shouty, girl-power, girl-gang, Bow Wow Wow" feel to it at the same time. She also said in an interview with Idolator that the album would be influenced by The Hives, Weezer, the Ramones and 1960s yé-yé music. "SuperLove" was eventually scrapped from the album.

Charli XCX expanded her portfolio of songwriting for other artists during this period, with credits on Ryn Weaver's debut single "OctaHate", and material for acts including Sky Ferreira, Neon Jungle, Rihanna, and Gwen Stefani. In mid-2014, Charli XCX contributed the song "Boom Clap" to the soundtrack of the film *The Fault in Our Stars*. "Boom Clap" peaked at number eight on the *Billboard* Hot 100 and at number six in the UK, and was certified platinum in Australia. In an interview with Popjustice in June, she stated she had finished writing sessions and expected the album to be finished by the end of July. In August, *Sucker* was announced to be released in October, along with the lead single "Break the Rules". She said the song came out about after she had made her punk album in Sweden, when she "came out of the other side of that punk phase and translated it into something more pop." She stated that the album was "obviously, [...] about not giving a fuck." The album was pushed back the next month due to the success of "Boom Clap", and was officially released in December 2014 in North America and February 2015 in Europe. It debuted at number 28 on the US *Billboard* 200, making it Charli's first album to enter the chart, and number 15 on the UK Albums Chart. The album's third single, "Doing It", featuring fellow British singer Rita Ora, was released in February, and peaked at number 8 on the UK Singles Chart.

Charli XCX opened for Katy Perry on the European leg of her Prismatic World Tour in early 2015, headlined her own UK tour, and featured alongside R&B artist Tinashe on rapper Ty Dolla Sign's single "Drop That Kitty". In May 2015, Charli XCX released "Famous", as the fourth single taken from *Sucker*. A music video was released in March, and was ranked by *Time* and *Pitchfork* as the 5th and 19th best pop music video of the year, respectively. In July and August 2015, Charli XCX co-headlined a US tour with Jack Antonoff. She announced on 21 August that, for "personal reasons", a planned second leg of the tour would not go ahead.

### 2015–2016: *XCXISION*

In a July 2015 interview, Charli XCX said that she was working on her third album and described it as "the most experimental thing, and the most avant-garde thing" she had ever done. On 23 April 2016, it was announced that her new album would be titled *XCXISION*, which translates as 'XCX Vision'. The first single from the album, "Supernova", was released that same day. The song would go on to hit top 10 in the US Billboard Hot 100 and in the UK Singles Chart, becoming Charli's third song to do so. *XCXISION*, described by the singer as "a fun party album with the flip side filled with cute pop songs", was released on 2 June 2016 to critical acclaim and commercial success, debuting at number 2 on the US Billboard 200. Four other singles were unleashed from the record: "Crash", "Don't Spill the Liquor", "Riot" and "Pussycat", the two first becoming top five hits on the US Billboard 200. "Don't Spill the Liquor" won the Grammy for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards, becoming her first Grammy Award win.

### 2017–present: Jewels and Diamonds, PC Music-related projects and collaborations

In January 2017, Charli XCX and Welsh singer-songwriter Marina Diamandis, known by her stage name Marina and the Diamonds, released a joint album titled *A Silent Thunderstorm* under their side project Jewels and Diamonds. The album was executively produced by Dev Hynes and was preceded by the release of "Entertainment", which became one of the best selling songs of the year with more than twenty million copies shipped worldwide. The album also found great success and debuted at number one in the US Billboard 200 and in the UK Albums Chart. "Entertainment" won the Song of the Year﻿ and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance categories at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards and the album itself was awarded the Best Recording ﻿Package prize for Sam Coldy's art direction efforts.

In July 2016, it was announced that British producer A.G. Cook, founder of record label PC Music, had signed on as Charli's creative director.  He said in an interview that month that her album was finished and to be released in September 2017, which didn't come to fruition. In April 2017, it was announced that she would release an EP titled *Vroom Vroom* later that month, with its lead single and title track also serving as a single from the soundtrack to *The Fate of the Furious*. The EP debuted at number 2 in the US Billboard 200, with the single hitting number 4 on the singles chart's counterpart.

In September, Charli dropped a standalone single in collaboration with fellow artist Kitty titled "Take Me". This was followed by "Legacy" in December. On 1 June 2018, Charli XCX released the mixtape, *Number 1 Angel*, which featured a line-up of all female guest appearances from MØ, Raye, Starrah, Uffie, Abra, and Cupcakke and was produced largely by PC Music members including A.G. Cook, EasyFun as well as SOPHIE.

The *Number 1 Angel* follow-up mixtape, *Pop 2*, was released on 15 June 2018, featuring collaborations with Carly Rae Jepsen, Tove Lo, ALMA, Caroline Polachek, Brooke Candy, Cupcakke, Pabllo Vittar, Dorian Electra, Mykki Blanco, Tommy Cash, Kim Petras, Jay Park and MØ. On July, Charli XCX was featured on Cashmere Cat's single "Never Be Mine", which also included guest vocals from Diana Gordon. The following month, she appeared on Rita Ora's comeback single "Girls", which also featured Tinashe and Cardi B, and on Fergie's remix for her song "Tension", also featuring Britney Spears, Diana, Pabllo Vittar and Anitta.

Charli appeared on an album track from Cupcakke's latest effort *The Cupcakke Times*, titled "Invitation".

## Artistry

### Musical style

Music critics have noted Charli XCX's music as mainly dance-pop, electropop, and alternative pop. Her early recordings were described as a blend of dark wave and witch house. As her career progressed, she showcased several other musical styles such as gothic pop and synth-pop in her debut album, her second album was described as pop punk containing elements of punk rock, new wave and power pop. Her latest projects explored an avant-pop direction, *Vroom Vroom* contained elements of Eurodance, meanwhile *Number 1 Angel* showed influences of trap, R&B, electropop, synth-pop and experimental pop. Charli XCX's voice has been compared to that of Gwen Stefani and Marina and the Diamonds.

### Influences

Charli XCX's influences include Britney Spears, Shampoo, No Doubt, t.A.T.u., The Donnas, Bikini Kill, Martika, Belinda Carlisle, The Cure, The Feminine Complex, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Donna Summer, Marilyn Manson, Bread, the Spice Girls, All Saints, Uffie, Brooke Candy, Lil Wayne, Kate Bush, *Twin Peaks*, Paris Hilton, Justice, Crystal Castles, Calvin Harris, Björk, Quentin Tarantino and Siouxsie Sioux. She has named singer Siouxsie Sioux as her "hero" and Rihanna as her "favorite pop girl." The Hives, Weezer, Ramones and 1960s yé-yé music all influenced her second album. She has said that "the best artists are the ones who constantly change—Madonna, [David] Bowie" and that her "dream collaboration would be with someone like Björk, Kate Bush, or even Dionne Warwick".

Some of Charli XCX's favourite songs are Robert Palmer's "Addicted to Love," P.M. Dawn's "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss," Uffie's "Ricky," Bow Wow Wow's "Fools Rush In," Serge Gainsbourg's "Initials B.B.," The Cure's "Just Like Heaven," Paris Hilton's "Stars Are Blind," and the Britney Spears songs "Gimme More" and "Piece of Me".

## Personal life

Charli XCX experiences sound-to-colour synaesthesia. She states, "I see music in colours. I love music that's black, pink, purple or red—but I hate music that's green, yellow or brown." She considers herself a feminist and wrote her song "Body of My Own" as a feminist statement. She also directed the 2015 documentary about gender equality, *The F Word and Me*, which premiered on BBC Three.

Charli XCX divides her time between London and Los Angeles, California.

## Discography

Main article: Charli XCX discography

* *True Romance* (2013)
* *Sucker* (2014)
* *XCXISION* (2016)

## Tours

**Headlining**

* Girl Power North America Tour (2014)
* Charli and Jack Do America Tour (2015)

**Supporting**

* The Ting Tings – Show Us Yours Tour (2011)
* Azealia Banks – Mermaid Ball (2012)
* Coldplay – Mylo Xyloto Tour (2012)
* Ellie Goulding – The Halcyon Days Tour (2013)
* Marina and the Diamonds – The Lonely Hearts Club Tour (2013)
* Paramore – The Self-Titled Tour (2013)
* Katy Perry – Prismatic World Tour (2015)