“You’re so brat.” To many, this sentence would prompt furrowed eyebrows and confused faces, as this grammatically incorrect sequence of words comes off as intangible or even offensive to the average reader. However, in 2024, this three-word, seemingly baffling, phrase became the single-handed greatest compliment anybody could receive. 

This summer, “brat” transformed into a cultural phenomenon, appearing on Instagram posts, Los Angeles billboards, food items, and even political campaigns. What began as another unassuming album release proved to be something much more.

British singer Charli xcx skyrocketed to fame following the release of her sixth studio album “brat” in June of 2024, which peaked at number 1 in the United Kingdom, Australia, and Ireland and reached the top ten in 12 additional countries including the USA. According to Metacritic, it is the highest-rated album of 2024 and the 16th highest-rated album of all time. From its range of emotional themes, to its contrasting dance-pop beats yet nuanced lyrics, and even down to its album cover and title, “brat” transformed from a music release into a full movement and cultural phenomenon.

Being called a brat did not become a compliment until this summer. A brat is well-known to be “a child, typically one that is badly behaved”. The word is commonly used to describe children, especially girls, who act out, defy authority, and don’t abide by the rules. Charli xcx’s hit album, however, has given “brat” a new meaning: “someone who is confidently rebellious, unapologetically bold, and playfully defiant”. Not only did Charli redefine the dictionary definition of the word “brat”, but she also utilized her album as a tool to redefine social standards and change society’s perspectives on what is understood to be “good” or “bad”. 

The album “brat” is an unapologetic embrace of individuality, encouraging listeners, especially women, to break free from societal norms – in fact, that’s exactly what a “brat” is according to Charli herself. The media has specific, curated, and stereotypical ideals of what women should be, putting every woman into a box, and Charli xcx tells her listeners to disobey that false narrative. She embodies what a “brat” is – complex, playfully defiant, and bold – through her album, going against what is generally accepted to be correct or conventional. On her record, Charli expresses her anxiety about the future of motherhood while also singing about being a 365 party girl and leading a care-free lifestyle, proving that women, just like her songs, are complex and nuanced. Women can be confident and wild – like Charli sings about in her songs “365” and “Club classics” – but simultaneously struggle with generational trauma and overwhelming grief – like in “Apple” and “So I”.  “There’s a lot of pressure on women to not talk about that stuff super openly, especially not in pop music or in music generally”, Charli said to The Cut. She describes the media forcing women into a curated image of  “free and fun and wild”, but finds herself grappling through difficult and real questions like “Am I less of a woman if I don’t have a kid?” or “Will I feel like I’ve missed out on my purpose in life?”, even while being known as a fun, pop-star, party girl. Charli xcx describes her album as messy, emotionally volatile, and confrontational, condemning the standards that society has set for her.  The singer redefines “brat” as an attitude and a call to embrace your rawest and most authentic self – no matter how difficult or complex. 

“brat” has not only redefined the word brat itself, challenging societal norms, but it has also redefined fashion and beauty. “brat” style has emerged across every social media platform, deviating greatly from what was previously trending. Prior to the new wave of fashion that “brat” began, ‘prettiness’ aesthetics like “clean girl” or “coquette” dominated social media, characterized by fresh, natural makeup, voluminous curled hair, and perfectly glossed lips. The “brat” aesthetic, however, completely goes against every aspect of “clean girl” and “coquette” and instead raised a so-called “anti-fashion” that trampled the ideals that had been projected for the past year. While “clean girl”, as its name implies, urges girls to be put-together and girly, “brat” says that girls can go out in wrinkled clothing, unbrushed hair, and slept-in makeup without any critique. While fashion movements like “clean girl” reinforce the stereotypical, curated ideals that women constantly have to be neat, feminine creatures, “brat” aims to express the idea that women should be able to showcase the realest versions of themselves, no matter what that may be. Charli claims that “brat” can go the way of something like “quiet luxury” but it can also be “so trashy”. A “brat” is the truest, most confident version of anyone – whether that be put-together and elegant or messy and care-free. Aligning with the songs on “brat”, the “brat” fashion aesthetic also expresses that “nothing is required but everything is allowed”.

#8ACE00: The hex code that took the world by storm. It isn’t a coincidence that slime green has been everywhere recently – billboards, clothing, packaging, and even the United States Vice President’s political campaign. The cover art of the album “brat” reinforces exactly what the album’s songs and the name itself does: it redefines something known by society to be ‘bad’ or ‘ugly’. Charli’s vision for the cover of the album, known for its bold yet simple lime green square with “brat” written in the now-iconic lowercase arial font, she “wanted to go with an offensive, off-trend shade of green to trigger the idea of something being wrong”. Whereas nearly every single musical artist has their photograph on their music, Charli purposefully used the bold and unconventional green color for “brat” to “question [society’s] expectations of pop culture” and defy what is known to be “good and acceptable” within the music industry and society as a whole. Like her songs themselves, the color now known as “brat green” embodies rebellion and the rejection of societal norms. Charli xcx’s unorthodox move in the world of musical cover art serves as a disruption of what is standard and well-liked in the music industry. Like a “brat”, “brat green” is rebellious, effortless, and slightly crazy. Similar to the widespread influence of “brat”, this color can be found plastered on T-shirts, nail polish, handbags, hair, and even furniture, becoming a symbol for everything that “brat” stands for.

Even major political figures like Kamala Harris – United States Vice-President and 2024 presidential candidate – went “brat green” to support her political campaign. In the summer of 2024, Charli xcx endorsed Kamala Harris, tweeting “kamala IS brat” in reference to the confident and bold attitude characterized by her album and exuded by Harris. The Vice-President welcomed this title, rebranding her campaign to incorporate Charli xcx’s music and her bright green album cover. Upon the implementation of “brat” in Harris’s campaign, many began to wonder, how could this album possibly be influential in the political world? Embodying Harris as “brat” – relatable, real, fun, confident, and bold – made her all the more real and human for the Gen Z electorate. April Chrisman, a 23-year-old voter, tells the Washington Post: “I think Kamala’s management jumping on that was one of the best decisions they could have made… It’s definitely going to get young people out there and more interested in the whole process.” Chrisman states that through Harris’s personification of “brat”, it was “interesting to see the dichotomy of woman” and “how you can represent two different things at once.” Harris has faced criticism for her personality, like her laugh and her jokes, across the internet. However, Kamala’s embrace of “brat” redefines this criticism and reshapes it into making Harris more likable and relatable. Charli xcx describes a brat as a girl who can sometimes be messy, complex, and say the wrong things sometimes. Harris’s incorporation of this definition into her campaign made her more nuanced and more appealing to Gen Z voters. While she is a professional, committed woman, Kamala Harris also tuned into her fun and sometimes ‘meme’-worthy side – what “brat” is all about.

“brat” has taken the world by storm, whether it be through food, clothing, social media, dictionaries, or politics. Charli xcx’s latest release began as an album, but expanded into so much more, transforming into a full cultural phenomenon. “brat” tackles the complexities of being a woman, the redefining of societal standards, rebellion, and inner confidence. “brat” has become so much more than a four letter word with a green background. It has become an empowering symbol that encourages listeners to become the truest versions of themselves – no matter how difficult, nuanced, or confusing they may be. Everything from Kamala Harris’s “brat green” HQ page to “brat”wurst sausage serves as a reminder that a “brat” is what you make it out to be.