Since the June release of her critically acclaimed album Brat, Charli XCX has been making appearances exuding its titular ethos. Though the concept of “brat” has always been a little indefinable, all you’ve needed to do to understand it has been to look at XCX—her messy, chic black hair; pursed lips; and huge sunglasses all embody the je ne sais quoi of someone who has been out all night partying. So I was curious in the lead-up to her hosting gig on this week’s Saturday Night Live: Would she let her brat mask slip at all?
She did. Although the British pop star started with a fairly stilted, brat-focused monologue—“it’s an attitude; it’s a vibe,” she explained—she proved herself more than game to shed the aesthetic in sketches. Her performances demonstrated a range that those who are largely familiar with her Brat era might not yet know: She can be awkwardly goofy, and she can be a skilled impressionist.
[Read: The legend of Charli XCX grows]
In “Babymoon”—a follow-up to the viral skit “Bridesmaid Speech” during Ariana Grande's episode earlier this year—XCX fit right in with a chorus of female cast members as they sang a parody of Chappell Roan’s synth-pop song “Hot to Go!” Once again, the overarching gag was that these BFFs had written a jokey song about how their pal Kelsey (Chloe Fineman) had cheated on her spouse with a man named Domingo (Marcello Hernandez)—only now she was pregnant and they were singing at her baby shower. The charm of the recurring sketch lies in its wildly inappropriate reveals, but the true joy of last night’s version was watching XCX take part in the dorky dance moves, her limbs stiffly spelling out the words of the tune.
Later, XCX was an impressive mimic in “Wicked Auditions,” a parade of impressions of celebrities ostensibly doing screen tests for the upcoming Wicked movie. Performing as Adele, XCX nailed the fellow Brit’s specific London accent but also her penchant for cackling at her own jokes. After that, XCX trotted out a take on her friend and tourmate Troye Sivan, imitating his Australian accent and affecting his laid back posture. In a twist, she appeared with Bowen Yang, who was in costume as XCX herself.
Meanwhile, in “Here I Go,” a musical digital short with Andy Samberg, XCX played a creepily happy, pearl-wearing housewife who, along with her husband, loved to call the cops on fellow white people. XCX cheerily leaned into a Karen archetype, portraying her character’s surveillant tendencies with sinister glee. And for “Banger Boyz,” a sketch featuring a Joe Rogan–inspired podcast, XCX turned up her vocal fry to play the show’s producer—reading absurdist ad copy for fake products like Zyn Junior, a nicotine pouch for kids. She accurately captured the performatively laid-back tone of these kinds of shows while also differentiating herself from the room of bros; her voice implied that she was along for the ride, but her eyes suggested that she knew they were ridiculous.
XCX’s versatility shouldn’t really come as a surprise. As she mentioned in her monologue, she started performing when she was a teenager and has been pursuing her career ever since, navigating the challenges of the music industry and the boxes it tried (sometimes unsuccessfully) to slot her into. One of her first early hits was “Boom Clap” off The Fault in Our Stars soundtrack, which now seems un-brat with its teeny-bopper version of romance.
Brat exploded in part because it felt like the fullest expression of XCX’s ethos: a workhorse approach to songwriting alongside her 365-party-girl attitude toward life. Her SNL episode suggested that she’s ready to apply that industriousness to her next act—in the film world. She’s lined up for a number of movies, including I Want Your Sex, the latest from the queer provocateur Gregg Araki, and Sacrifice, from the French director Romain Gavras, which co-stars Chris Evans and Anya Taylor-Joy.
But of course, when XCX took the mic for the musical performances of her songs “360” and “Sympathy Is a Knife,” she once again put on her sunglasses. Stomping around the stage, she had the untouchable vibes of someone who truly embodies the cooler-than-thou energy that she’s created.
theatlantic.com