1. Charli XCX began posting songs on Myspace in 2008 before entering the London rave scene.
59 Facts About Charli XCX
1. 2.
In 2014, Charli XCX featured on Iggy Azalea's single "Fancy", which became one of the year's best-selling singles worldwide.
3.
Charli XCX began working alongside producers associated with the UK collective PC Music in 2015, developing a more experimental sound and image.
4.
Charli XCX released the EP Vroom Vroom and the mixtapes Number 1 Angel and Pop 2.
5.
Charli XCX contributed the UK top-ten single "Speed Drive" as part of the soundtrack of the 2023 film Barbie.
6.
Charli XCX was awarded the ASCAP Global Impact Award in 2024 in recognition of her contributions to pop music, as well as being on 2024 Gold House's most impactful Asian A100 list, making her the first South Asian woman of British Indian origin to be honoured.
7.
Charli XCX's mother was born into a Muslim family of Gujarati Indian descent in Uganda, while her father is Scottish.
8.
Charli XCX grew up in Start Hill, Essex, and attended Bishop's Stortford College in nearby Bishop's Stortford.
9.
Charli XCX has spoken extensively about her difficulties at school growing up, stating that she was a "half-Indian girl with frizzy hair" among predominantly white people and that she was bullied and discriminated against for her Indian heritage.
10.
Charli XCX demonstrated an affinity for music from an early age, being interested in acts such as the Spice Girls and Britney Spears, and began writing songs at the age of 14.
11.
Charli XCX was billed on flyers under the stage name Charli XCX; "XCX" was her MSN Messenger display name when she was younger.
12.
At the age of 18, 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.
13.
Charli XCX stated that was "when things started to come together".
14.
Charli XCX left during the second year of her degree course at the Slade School of Fine Art to focus on her music career.
15.
Charli XCX sent her two beats, and she quickly wrote songs for each, one of which became "I Love It" and the other of which became "You're the One".
16.
Charli XCX stated she did not end up releasing "I Love It" herself as 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.
17.
Charli XCX 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.
18.
In early 2014, Charli XCX was featured on Australian rapper Iggy Azalea's single "Fancy"; the track topped the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming both artists' first number-one single on the chart.
19.
Charli XCX expanded her portfolio of songwriting for other artists during this period, with credits on Azalea's 2014 single "Beg for It", Ryn Weaver's debut single "OctaHate", and material for acts including Sky Ferreira, Neon Jungle, Rihanna, and Gwen Stefani.
20.
In mid-2014, Charli XCX contributed the song "Boom Clap" to the soundtrack of the film The Fault in Our Stars.
21.
Charli XCX said the song came 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".
22.
Charli XCX considers herself a feminist and wrote one of the songs on Sucker, "Body of My Own", as a feminist statement.
23.
Charli XCX appeared in the documentary about gender equality The F Word and Me, which premiered on BBC Three in 2015.
24.
In May 2015, Charli XCX released "Famous", as the fourth single taken from Sucker.
25.
In July and August 2015, Charli XCX co-headlined a US tour with Bleachers.
26.
On 26 July 2017, Charli XCX released "Boys", along with a self-directed music video featuring an ensemble cast of male celebrities, including Joe Jonas and Brendon Urie, among others.
27.
On 6 August, Charli XCX performed at Lollapalooza music festival 2017.
28.
The leak of the album featuring the then-lead single "After the Afterparty" led to the cancellation of the album release and Charli XCX deciding to make an entirely new third studio album.
29.
On 15 March 2018, Charli XCX performed at El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles in support of her mixtape Pop 2.
30.
In May 2018, Charli XCX started performing on Taylor Swift's Reputation Stadium Tour as an opening act alongside Camila Cabello.
31.
On 16 May 2019, Charli XCX released the second single from Charli, "Blame It on Your Love", featuring American singer and rapper Lizzo.
32.
On 13 January 2020, Charli XCX was featured on the Galantis song "We Are Born to Play", which was used as the theme song for the Japanese theme park Super Nintendo World.
33.
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Charli XCX announced a new album, titled How I'm Feeling Now in April 2020.
34.
Charli XCX used her platform on Instagram to communicate with fans while making the album, posting different variations of lyrics, single covers and sound samples that could be voted on, the most popular being the one she released officially.
35.
In February 2023, Charli XCX revealed in an interview with British Vogue that she had signed a new recording contract for her next two albums.
36.
Charli XCX contributed to the soundtrack of three films, releasing the singles "Hot Girl", from the soundtrack to the 2022 film Bodies Bodies Bodies, and "Speed Drive", from the soundtrack to the 2023 film Barbie.
37.
Charli XCX served as the score co-composer alongside Leo Birenberg for the 2023 film Bottoms.
38.
In 2024, Charli XCX played her second Boiler Room set since 2020, titled PARTYGIRL, which took place on 22 February in Brooklyn.
39.
Charli XCX served as the executive producer to the soundtracks for the film Mother Mary and the TV series Overcompensating.
40.
Charli XCX co-executive produced the former with Jack Antonoff and produced music for the latter.
41.
Charli XCX was named US ambassador of cosmetics brand Valentino Beauty in October 2024 and appeared as host and musical guest on Saturday Night Live on 16 November 2024.
42.
Music critics have characterized Charli XCX's music using a variety of terms, including dance-pop, electropop, pop-punk and alternative pop.
43.
Pop 2 and Charli XCX were noted for their numerous collaborations and maintained their predecessors' avant-pop composition as well as incorporating elements of avant-garde, Eurodance, and J-pop music.
44.
Charli XCX's singing voice has been compared to that of Gwen Stefani and Marina Diamandis.
45.
Charli XCX has been described as having an alto vocal range.
46.
Charli XCX has been described as a figurehead of the 2010s "hyperpop" style, though she rejected the term on social media, stating that she does "not identify with music genres".
47.
Charli XCX has named Rihanna as her "favorite pop girl" and hopes to write a song for her.
48.
Charli XCX aspires to write songs for Katy Perry and Gwen Stefani.
49.
Charli XCX has said that True Romance was based around "Martika, and the Cure and Britney" while influences of Belinda Carlisle, Marina and the Knife were noted by critics.
50.
Charli XCX cited Kanye West as an inspiration for her idiosyncratic use of Auto-Tune.
51.
Charli XCX said that she learned about performing and attracting a crowd from Taylor Swift.
52.
Charli XCX has cited Marilyn Manson's live performances and visuals as a source of inspiration, and has cited him as an influence for her performance at the American Music Awards of 2014.
53.
Charli XCX has expressed her admiration for the 1990s' pop culture which she prominently used as the inspiration for her music video for her single "Break the Rules", her single "1999" and its music video, and her album Crash.
54.
Charli XCX has further stated that the 1990s to her was epitomized by "Spice Girls and Britney".
55.
Charli XCX considers Spears' album Blackout to be one of her favorite records, citing the album's song "Piece of Me" as her favorite song from the singer.
56.
Charli XCX has cited Avril Lavigne and the fictional characters Cher Horowitz, Wednesday Addams and Nancy Downs as inspirations for her fashion style, which she describes as "90s schoolgirl".
57.
Charli XCX wore ties during her adolescence to imitate Lavigne.
58.
Until 2022, Charli XCX was in a long-term partnership with Huck Kwong, whom she had previously dated in 2014 and had been friends with since 2012.
59.
In 2022, Charli XCX began publicly dating British musician George Daniel, who is the drummer for the alternative band the 1975.