Charli's Victory Lap | Brat Arena Tour Review

The spirit of Beyoncé was in Barclays Center that night

Last year, I went to the first-ever brat show to kick off the now-infamous brat summer.

So I Went To The Brat Brooklyn Paramount Show

I knew then what I know now, Charli XCX is in a lane of her own and is not to be fucked with. I wore my homemade (by me) bedazzled brat shirt that I wore to the first brat show to lean into the full circle moment. Because I went to SWEAT, I felt less pressure to record and felt free to just enjoy myself. However, pretty quickly, it became clear to me that I was going to have to write a review of this show, so I started taking notes and recording for this letter.

I predict that Charli will release a live album to complete the brat era, filled with the interludes and everything. To basically cement the feeling of brat summer into history forever. Thus fulfilling her request to not let brat summer ever end.

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Brat Arena Tour Review

At the Barclays Center on night 3 of the brat Tour, I saw a fully realized vision of a pop icon. Charli has stated that before she began working on the music for Brat, she developed the aesthetic, themes, and ways of communicating. Charli is a pop star, but she makes it clear that that’s not all she is. She is a woman with thoughts and feelings. She is well-read and well-studied. She knows exactly what she is doing and why at all times.

I truly think the only thing that wasn’t planned for the brat era was the whole “Kamala is brat” thing. I really appreciate planning and when people, but specifically musicians, take time to fully realize an era and make it about more than just the music.

Me and my girlssss. We had the time of our lives.

The Brat Wall

The perfect example of that is the ongoing deterioration of the brat wall.

At each show of the Brat Arena tour, the Brat Wall has been getting dirtier and dirtier and more cut up. Almost as if it were a towel or t-shirt on the floor of a club. Or possibly it’s the floor of the club itself. I think this resembles the public’s perception of her. The word brat scribbled out reminds me of a bathroom stall with cryptic writings on it. Almost as if someone saw her name and crossed it out in frustration. Or possibly it was Charli (the popstar character) who wants to separate herself from her brat persona. It makes sense with her recent TikTok about being fascinated by when famous people stay in the spotlight “too long” and “the tension” that that creates. I think that tension is being personified with the brat wall.

The Set List Sequencing

Halfway through the show, it became clear to me that the show was broken up into different sonic and thematic sections. "

“The brat,” “The forward thinking popstar,” “ the perfect pop songs”

1. 365

   ("featuring shygirl remix")

2. 360

3. Von dutch

4. Rewind

5. Rewind ("featuring Bladee remix") - I wish she would do the full remix version

6. I might say something stupid (ft. the 1975 & Jon Hopkins remix)¹

7. Club classics - somehow this wasn’t on my Charli rapping playlist

8. Unlock It

9. Talk talk

10. Apple ("featuring the Japanese house remix") (Jenna Ortega and Romy Mars do "The apple dance").

    I fully thought that Romy Mars was that Beck from the first season of YOU. LMFAO I was so focused on Jenna. But this could have its own letter in significance. Romy Mars is THEE Gen alpa nepo baby. She has just received the pubic stamp of approval from Charli. She is the new It Girl, whether we like it or not. Personally, I’m here for it, and I think she’s fully relatable. Her songs aren’t too bad either. I’m excited to see where she goes from here. If she goes full influencer/it girl, or if she really decides to be a singer.

11. So I

This section was incredible as always, but I realized that all of the songs were her take on classic pop music. The songs are upbeat and easy to dance to. The songs that you can play to someone, and they will understand. It’s Charli showing that she is not only a talented performer but songwriter. So many of these songs have such impressively catchy melodies. Before anything, Charli can write a great pop song!

During So I, it struck me that not only was that song beautiful, but it had a pretty simple pop song structure. For so long, I thought of Charli as such an alien superstar, if you will. Someone who took the pop genre and pushed it forward. But while she was performing So I, I realized that she is also a master in pop in the traditional sense. The girls better be glad that she went the route she did, because she could have dominated the traditional pop space. And in some ways, she did.²

Charli Thee Rapper

1. So I (“featuring a. g. cook remix”)

2. Spring breakers

3. Girl, so confusing (“featuring Lorde remix”)

   Charli had a star pimple patch on her face, but at first it looked like it was a drawn-on heart, and for about 20 minutes, I fully convinced myself that Marina (and the Diamonds) was going to come out and do girl, so confusing. More like girl, so delusional LOL.

4. Everything is romantic

   ("featuring caroline polachek remix" w/ elements of a.g cook remix from PARTYGIRL boiler room set)

5. Everything is romantic

6. Speed Drive

   (remixed w/ elements of easyfun remix from PARTYGIRL boiler room set)

I have already gone viral and was noticed by Charli for recognizing that she is a rapper. This section proved that if Charli wanted to make rap music full-time time she could. She does not get enough credit for how fast she sings and her breathwork. Even the speed of the So I remix is incredibly fast. She essentially goes from the pop star to the rapper. Signifying that she can do anything she puts her mind to. It reminded me of Beyoncé in a way, but more on that later.

Going out with a bang

I’m not sure what category these songs are in besides being bangers.

1. Sympathy is a knife

   Such an important and impeccable song. I was delusional and thought that Ariana might come out, but to be honest, that seems like a very overwhelming thing for her to do, and I can see why she wouldn’t want to. A Charli crowd is different than a Mariah Carey Christmas crowd. She’s also singing her ass off in this clip.

2. Guess

   (“featuring Billie Eilish remix”)

3. 365

For whatever reason, during the show, I looked to my left and noticed some people in the box seats in the middle of the theater. I particularly noticed two men looking very confused and gesturing to each other. It seemed to me that they were pantomiming something to the effect of “can you believe this?” “Is she serious?” “People really like this?” It was very funny to watch. At one point, one of the guys shook his head and left! About 5 minutes later, I looked and saw that the other guy had left. Leaving a row of girls getting their lives to Charli, thrashing around and licking the floor.

Then it dawned on me, this is the entire point of this show. Charli knew that releasing brat and specifically Guess would piss people off. Specifically, men. Charli was one step ahead of them the entire time. She knew that people would be confused by her choice not to have any dancers. She knew that people would be confused about the entire show and brat’s premise in general. She even proves it at the end, “You wanna guess if I’m serious about this song.” I always thought it was more of a question. But I realized maybe it’s a statement. She has been controlling the narrative the entire time and any time you thought you caught her slipping was calculated.

Why else would she put so much effort into every single detail about this era? She wants people to think about the expectations that they put on women, specifically women performers and why them going outside of that pisses them off so much.

Encore

1. party 4 u³

2. Vroom Vroom

3. Track 10

4. I Love It

5. Dread

   (remix of I Love It - "you can't dread the end”)

A 4.5-song encore is almost unheard of. However, when one of your best songs is going viral on TikTok, you almost have to include it. Thank GOD that damn rope finally worked! It was possibly my favorite part of the entire concert. The image of Charli holding that rope, harnessing its power, was so beautifully poetic. Here is Charli at the possible crux of her fame, taking charge and harnessing her energy to put on a show that is so authentically her without compromising her vision. She takes the rope and shakes it, bending it to her will. She is the master of her own destiny and her own success. She has no one else to thank but herself.

I wish I had gotten a full video of Track 10 because there was a shot of her in the middle of that water that was so beautiful, it was almost cinematic. Then she does Vroom Vroom, of course, and then ends where it all began with I Love It. Truly, the essence of everything brat. That song is so bratty! She has been a brat all along and will continue to be. It is who she is, and she can’t help it. Nor does she care! She loves it!

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Now, I am going to need y’all to stay with me here. I promise I’m being 100% serious.

Charli XCX Is Beyoncé’s Daughter

I know this is going to seem ridiculous and untrue, but last night confirmed it for me. I am not saying that the music she makes is in any way like Beyoncé's. Although, I do think that All Up In Your Mind could very easily be a Charli XCX song with a few different production and lyric choices.

Instead, I mean by the way they are so passionate and almost obsessive over their craft. Much like Beyoncé, every second of that show was heavily choreographed and thought out. From the outfits to the lighting design⁴. It may not look like much to most people, but there was a reason why Charli decided on a minimal design. Why she decided to have no dancers.⁵ Why all of the imagery for brat has been brutalist, minimal, and to the point.

For the entire era of brat, Charli has been trying to make her fans and the world think about the expectations we place on Pop Stars. She spoke on this with the album cover for brat. Why do we put so much pressure on female artists to put their faces on the cover of their art? How come no one bats an eye when male artists do it and even praise them for it? Allowing their art to be praised, but the art by a female to become “a flop” or a failure.

If Charli wanted dancers, she would have had dancers. If Charli wanted to have pre-recorded visuals to accompany her performance, she would. If she wanted to have choreography, she would! She has done all of that before and has done it excellently. By taking all of that away, you are forced to focus on Charli and the music. You are forced to be present and truly live with her in the moment. Not to mention that Charli doesn’t need any of that. She has enough energy to command the entire stage all by herself. She is interesting enough without all the bells and whistles. Not to say that the bells and whistles are bad. She is just forcing us to think about why we think they are necessary. Male singers get praised for standing there and singing without any choreography, costume changes, or visuals. Why can’t Charli be doing something impressive by being herself and letting her music speak for itself?

Letting the music speak for itself is something that Beyoncé values a lot in her work. We are 3 years into a 3-act trilogy without a single visual to show for it! Beyoncé is going to do what she wants to do. Beyoncé is also someone who thinks about her “eras” holistically. Planning out all 3 acts in their entirety, including the tours before they came out. That level of planning can only be done by someone with a fully realized vision and perspective. Something I think both Beyoncé and Charli have and execute excellently.

Charli may not be consciously aware that she is like Beyoncé in that way, but I recognize it and appreciate it. If you think about it, in terms of the new age pop stars, aka the pop stars after Lady Gaga, Charli is #1. She is the best and my personal favorite.⁶ I love Charli because she doesn’t run from being a pop star. She loves pop music in its purest and rawest form. She doesn’t cringe at being labeled a pop star or making pop music because she recognizes that pop music is more than just fast beats and nonsensical lyrics. There is real worth and nuance to be found in pop music if you dare to listen.

Let me be clear, she is nowhere near Beyoncé in terms of singing ability, but she can sing! Charli always says that she can’t sing, but it is beginning to bother me, because she can!!! She always adds little ad-libs and things during her songs. Even on her earliest project, True Romance, she is singing⁷! She may use auto-tune, but it’s becoming clear to me that that is just a stylistic choice. I really believe that if she were to get voice lessons, she would be impressed with herself. I would loveeeeee it if she gagged the girls and gave us a non-autotune, straight-forward contemporary pop moment. I would LIVE!! Get into your Kelly Clarkson bag Charli! I believe in you!

But in all seriousness, I hope the possible ending of the brat era makes people realize that you should never underestimate Charli. Yes, she is a woman singing about underwear on stage, and yes, she is thrashing about and licking the floor. But she is also a woman with feelings and songs that are deep and complex. She is capable of being smart, sexy, funny, and unserious all at the same time. She has evolved beyond boxes, and it would be crazy to try to put her in one at this point. It’s inspirational how she defies expectations, genres, and odds. We should all be more like Charli. But she already knows that.

1. For about 5 seconds, I thought The 1975 might come out LMFAO. Imagine ajdbnsjknka

2. See: Senorita by Camila Cabello, Same Old Love by Selena Gomez, and plenty of others.

3. If she did any more songs from How I’m Feeling Now, like c2.0 or pink diamond, they would fit right in. HIFN was really brat 1.0

4. Which was INCREDIBLE by the way. I don’t know anything about lights, but I noticed how thought-out it was. I would love to hear her speak about her decisions and why she chose the light patterns she didn’t.

5. Besides them not making sense for any of these songs.

6. Alright let’s not get into specifics. Y’all know I love Ariana and Haim and all my other girls but Charli is in my top 5 fav artists of all time too.

7. Don’t even get me started on how she is SINGING on like half of the tracks on Charli. Do not play with my girl!!!