Charli XCX on Saturday Night Live: ‘My parents drove me to raves aged 15’

Pop star Charli XCX has revealed how her parents drove her to raves where she was performing, at the age of just 15.

She added that she managed to persuade them to do that by telling them she had “swim practice… At 2:00 A.M.”

The singer’s album Brat inspired a cultural phenomenon in the summer, with many people adopting the “brat” way of life.

It has built momentum since its release in June this year, through not only its original tracks, but remixes too.

The British singer, who is now 32, delivered an opening monologue while hosting Saturday Night Live (SNL) on NBC in the US.

In it, Charli, whose real name is Charlotte Aitchison, told viewers how she got to where she is now.

“I actually started performing when I was really young, and I played at my first rave when I was 15 years old,” she said.

“My parents actually drove me there. And, if you’re wondering how did I get my parents to drive me to a rave? Well, I just told them, ‘guys, I’ve got swim practice. At 2:00 A.M.’”

She went on to joke that she has come “a long way” and now considers herself “a triple threat, which in England means I sing, I drink, and I smoke”.

Charli’s sixth studio album inspired millions of posts on social media, plenty of dance moves and even reached the heights of American politics, with US presidential candidate Kamala Harris giving her social media a brat rebrand in an attempt to attract younger voters.

During her appearance on SNL, the British pop star defined exactly what brat means to her.

“So many people have asked me, what is brat, and honestly, it’s just like an attitude, it’s a vibe,” she said.

“I have to say brat summer has been a crazy experience,” she added.

In attempting to define the word on SNL, she cited an incident where US businesswoman Martha Stewart had mistakenly claimed a journalist who covered her legal proceedings was dead.

“Martha gets mad about an old magazine article and she says that she’s glad the journalist who wrote it is dead – that is brat,” she said.

“And then last Friday, when that exact journalist responded and said, ‘Hey, ‘I’m alive…’ – that is extremely brat.”

Charli, who was also a musical guest on the show, went on to say: “Honestly though, anyone can be brat.”

“Keeping it real is very brat, it is all about being vulnerable, so truly, this is a dream come true,” she said.

“I am so excited to be here, and I’m not used to being out this early on a Saturday night but for you guys, it’s worth it.”

Charli has previously defined brat as a girl who “has a breakdown, but kind of like parties through it”, who is honest, blunt, “a little bit volatile”.

She told the BBC’s Sidetracked podcast that someone brat might have “a pack of cigs, a Bic lighter and a strappy white top with no bra”.

Creating an aesthetic has been something popularised on TikTok, with Charli’s brat girl summer seen as a rejection of other trends such as the “clean girl” who looks feminine and well kept.

Brat was crowned Collins Dictionary word of the year earlier this month, with lexicographers defining it as someone with a “confident, independent and hedonistic attitude”.