A Look Back at Charli XCX’s Hyperpop Era
Over the past decade, English singer/songwriter Charli XCX has had an interesting career and proven herself as one of the most important artists in modern pop music. She had a huge mainstream hit with “Boom Clap,” as well as contributing features to hit songs “Fancy” and “I Love It.” From the beginning, Charli has always had a knack for writing infectious choruses. When she started working with PC Music affiliated producers and making more experimental pop music, I don’t know if she knew that it would push her out of the mainstream light, into a more niche underground seen, but it is an artistic decision I will always have respect for.
Over the past 5 years, Charli has developed a strong and cult-like following by sticking to her guns and making the kind of music she wanted. She has been ahead of the curve, but given her recent social media posts and the recent release of “Good Ones,” the lead single to her upcoming album, it appears she is going back to a more mainstream and accessible sound. This is not necessarily a bad thing, she’s such a good pop songwriter she can still make great music even if it is more approachable. There’s no telling exactly what her music will sound like going forward, But I respect her even more for challenging her fanbase and continuing to evolve as an artist. Given the signs pointing to her returning to more traditional sounds, now feels like a great time to look back at the past 5 years of Charli XCX’s career and the innovative pop music she has given us.
The One That Started it All: Vroom Vroom EP (2016)
Two years after her 2014 album Sucker, Charli released the groundbreaking Vroom Vroom EP. With production handled by the late great SOPHIE, this project marked a new era for Charli and signaled as an artist to watch. The songs here hit hard, with the exaggerated bass and vocals that would go on to define her upcoming music. Overall, this is an incredibly fun collection of four great songs. The title track is still one of Charli’s most iconic songs to date.
The Leaked and Unreleased Album: “XCX World”
Given how much of a sore spot this one is for Charli and her fanbase is, I will try to keep what I say about it to a minimum. The fan-titled XCX World was slated to be Charli’s third studio album and released in 2017, but after multiple delays and the album eventually leaking, her record label eventually decided to scrap the album entirely. Sadly, we’ll most likely never get an official release of this album or get to hear it in its fully finished version. We’ll never know how important this album would have been to the Charli XCX cannon, but given where she was artistically at this time, and SOPHIE’s involvement in the album, it very likely would have been a great record. It’s hard to talk about Charli in this time without at the very least mentioning the lost album XCX World.
The Mixtapes: Number 1 Angel & Pop 2 (2017)
After releasing an EP, and not releasing XCX World, Charli decided to focus her attention on releasing mixtapes rather than albums. This was possibly due to pressure from her record label, but still, in 2017 we got two projects from Charli: Number 1 Angel and Pop 2. The fact these are considered mixtapes rather than albums does not change much about the music itself, these still sound like complete and well-thought-out ideas, though not quite as refined as the albums that would come later down the line.
Between these mixtapes, Pop 2 is the star of the show and fan-favorite. The experimentation is on full display here, and an excellent cast of features shows Charli’s ability to collaborate and incorporate other great pop artists into her sound. This was and still is an important moment in her discography, and a few years later it stills sounds as fresh and unique as it ever has.
Fully Realized Potential: Charli (2019)
After releasing an EP and two mixtapes, Charli XCX decided it was time to release her third full-length album: Charli. From my perspective, this is the best and most complete project she has released. All of the ideas she was working with before come together flawlessly here, with a consistent tracklist that shows her full range of abilities as an artist. The experimental side of her music perfectly combines with some more mainstream trends, creating an album that perfectly balances Charli’s great hook writing and pop sensibilities with the innovative sounds we’ve come to love from her. Executive produced by PC Music’s founder, AG Cook, the two brilliant minds were able to create a special pop album that feels larger than life.
The Quarantine Album: How I’m Feeling Now (2020)
In the early months of the covid-19 pandemic, Charli began working on the final album of this era in her career: How I’m Feeling Now. The lyrical themes of How I’m Feeling Now focused heavily on the loneliness and isolation of quarantining, and she brought fans in on the creative process. Through various Instagram live streams and the use of Zoom, she showed fans the entire process of her making the album. How I’m Feeling Now went on to become another boundary-pushing record in Charli’s discography. This time there were no major features vocally(fitting the theme of isolation well), but the production was still as innovative and forward-thinking as any of her projects. It counters the maximalist approach of Charli well with a collection of shorter, more fast-paced songs(about half of them being under 3 minutes). Overall, How I’m Feeling Now is one of Charli’s most important statements and best projects to date.
Since 2016, Charli XCX has pushed pop music forward with multiple great projects that were always ahead of the curve. In the years to come, it will be exciting to see how these projects influence pop music as a whole, as well as what else Charli has in store for us moving forward. Hopefully, we get to hear new music from her sooner rather than later.
