About Charli xcx
Charlotte Emma Aitchison , known professionally as Charli XCX, is an English singer and songwriter. Born in Cambridge and raised in Start Hill, Essex, Charli XCX began posting songs on Myspace in 2008 before entering the London rave scene. She signed a recording contract with Asylum Records in 2010, releasing a series of singles and mixtapes throughout 2011 and 2012. She later featured on "I Love It" with Swedish duo Icona Pop, with the song becoming her first number-one in the UK and receiving global success. Her debut studio album, True Romance , was released to positive reviews but failed to meet commercial expectations.
In 2014, Charli XCX featured on the U.S. number-one song "Fancy" by Australian rapper Iggy Azalea, becoming one of the year's best-selling singles worldwide and receiving nominations for two Grammy Awards. The same year, she released "Boom Clap", which became her first solo top-ten single in the U.S. Her second studio album, the punk-influenced Sucker , was released spawning the singles "Break the Rules" and "Doing It". She began working alongside producers associated with the UK collective PC Music in 2015, developing a more experimental sound and image. She released the EP Vroom Vroom and the mixtapes Number 1 Angel and Pop 2 . Leaks and delays made her remake her third studio album from scratch, which resulted in Charli and the hit single "1999". Her fourth studio album, How I'm Feeling Now , was made entirely during the COVID-19 lockdowns and received critical acclaim.
Charli XCX's fifth studio album, Crash , marked her return to a mainstream pop sound and became her first album to reach number-one in the UK and Australia. She contributed the single "Speed Drive" as part of the soundtrack of the 2023 film Barbie. She then released her sixth studio album, Brat , to mass critical acclaim and wide media coverage. It was her second UK number-one album, producing the singles "360" and "Apple" with the latter reaching the top-ten in the UK. The accompanying remix album had "Guess" featuring Billie Eilish, which became her first number-one hit as a lead artist on the UK Singles Chart. Brat and its songs earned her seven Grammy Award nominations at the 67th annual ceremony, including Album of the Year.
In addition to her solo work, Charli XCX has co-written songs for other artists, including Iggy Azalea's "Beg for It" , Selena Gomez's "Same Old Love" , Blondie's "Tonight" , the Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello collaboration "Señorita" , and the Sigala and Rita Ora collaboration "You for Me" . She has received several awards including a Billboard Music Award and nominations for the BRIT Awards and the Grammy Awards. She 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.
Charlotte Emma Aitchison was born in Cambridge on 2 August 1992, the only child of nurse and flight attendant Shameera and entrepreneur and show booker Jon Aitchison. Her mother was born into a Muslim family of Gujarati Indian descent in Uganda, while her father is Scottish. She grew up in Start Hill, Essex, and attended Bishop's Stortford College in nearby Bishop's Stortford.
She 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. She 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.
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