It’s been one year since brat dropped, and the world finally caught up to the pop mastermind that is Charli XCX.

For longtime fans like me, it’s emotional. It’s powerful. It’s something I never thought I’d see on this level. Suddenly, the same girl who’s been pushing pop forward since she was a teenager is now headlining festivals, topping charts, and inspiring a new generation of music lovers who are finally seeing what we’ve always seen: a true pop star.

This era wasn’t just iconic… it was a full-blown cultural reset. The shows? Unreal. The outfits? Sickening. The energy? Unmatched. I saw her three times this era and each night felt like a sweaty, glittery baptism… and I walked out feeling like the most chaotic, hottest, realest version of myself.

I’ve been a Charli fan for years, back when it wasn’t “brat” to be. When people didn’t understand the glitchy brilliance of Pop 2, or the sonic risks of How I’m Feeling Now.

Charli and Britney Spears, my two forever icons, have always been lights for me. Women who built their own lanes, flipped the script, and never apologized for being too much, too weird, or too ahead of their time. They taught me that art is power, and that self-expression can be a lifeline.

And for me, that lifeline matters. As a 27-year-old single gay guy figuring out who I am; in love, in loss, in identity, in this big messy life, Charli’s music has been a soundtrack. A mirror. A safe place. brat didn’t just hit because it was loud or brash or brilliant (though it is).

It hit because it made so many feel seen, like someone out there gets what it means to feel vulnerable and powerful at the same time. It let us scream in our cars, cry in the kitchen, and dance half-naked in the bedroom like the main character we always secretly wanted to be in a movie.

To see the world fall in love with brat the way we have, the memes, the stan energy, the lime green everything, has been honestly healing. Like the pop girl justice system is finally restoring balance!!

Charli, if you ever read this: thank you. For making weird feel cool. For writing songs that remind us it’s okay to feel everything all at once. For being brave and bratty and brilliant in a world that tries to water women down.

I hope one day I get to hug you, look you in the eye, and take the baddest, brattiest, party girl shot of our lives. You’ve changed pop forever, and changed lives along the way.

Celebrate the one-year anniversary by pre-ordering the limited one-time run edition album zine of brat, which is up now at Charli’s website.

Happy one year to brat. The girls, the gays, and the world will never be the same. 💚