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, she began posting songs on Myspace in 2008, which led to her discovery by a promoter who invited her to perform at warehouse raves. In 2010, she signed a recording contract with Asylum Records, releasing a series of singles and mixtapes throughout 2011 and 2012.
In 2012, Charli XCX rose to prominence collaborating with Swedish duo Icona Pop on "I Love It", which became an international success. Her debut studio album, True Romance , was released to positive reception but failed to meet commercial expectations. In 2014, she contributed the hook and bridge to "Fancy" by Australian rapper Iggy Azalea, which finished the year as one of the best-selling singles worldwide and was nominated for two Grammy Awards. The same year, Charli XCX released "Boom Clap", which became her first solo top-ten single on the Billboard Hot 100. Her second studio album, the punk-influenced Sucker , was released at the end of the year and spawned the successful singles "Break the Rules" and "Doing It".
Charli XCX 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 , the mixtapes Number 1 Angel and Pop 2 , and the studio albums Charli and How I'm Feeling Now to widespread acclaim. Her fifth studio album, Crash , became her first to reach number one on the UK Albums Chart. She released the UK top-ten single "Speed Drive" as part of the soundtrack of the 2023 film Barbie. In 2024, Charli XCX released her sixth studio album, Brat, to critical acclaim and wide media coverage. It produced the commercially successful singles "360", "Apple", and "Guess" featuring Billie Eilish, her first number-one hit as a lead artist on the UK Singles Chart.
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 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, stating that she was a "half-Indian girl with frizzy hair" in a predominantly white environment, who was bullied and discriminated against for her Indian features. 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.
At 14, Aitchison persuaded 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 at them. 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 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.
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