After defending the artwork against critics, the 'Break the Rules' songstress declares that she wants to 'trigger the idea of something being wrong' with the cover art.
- April 3, 2024
AceShowbiz - Charli XCX has taken her time to explain the meaning behind the cover art of her upcoming album "Brat". The "Boom Clap" singer, who has been criticized over the artwork, revealed that she has specific aims with the unusual cover.
The 31-year-old songstress talked about the record's cover art in a new interview published on Sunday, March 31. Speaking to Vogue Singapore, she said, "They were like, 'Why isn't she going to be on the cover? She needs to be on the cover.' " She then asked, "Why should anyone have that level of ownership over female artists?"
Charli went on to spill the reason why she chose green as the color of the artwork. She told the magazine, "I wanted to go with an offensive, off-trend shade of green to trigger the idea of something being wrong."
The "Break the Rules" songstress elaborated, "I'd like for us to question our expectations of pop culture, 'Why are some things considered good and acceptable, and some things deemed bad?' I'm interested in the narratives behind that and I want to provoke people. I'm not doing things to be nice."
During the chat, Charli also discussed the forthcoming record in terms of its lyrics. She teased, "Lyrically, this is quite a different record for me," she unveiled. "I've written the songs almost in the way I would write texts to my friends or based on things I would say to them on FaceTime."
The "Speed Drive" singer continued, "We talk a lot about pop culture and music and it's been really fun to gossip about the songs we go. They'll ask 'Oh, who is this one about? Is this about a friend? Is it about an ex?' It has fuelled this fun, gossipy narrative which permeates the album."
The interview was published after Charli responded to criticisms over the "Brat" album's artwork. In mid-March, the cover art was compared to the artworks for Ariana Grande's "Eternal Sunshine", Taylor Swift's "The Tortured Poets Department" and Dua Lipa's "Radical Optimism", all of which featured photos of the singers' figures.
In response, Charli tweeted, "There is literally so much to say on this." In a follow-up tweet, she added, "I think the constant demand for access to women's bodies and faces in our album artwork is mysoginistic and boring."
