Sabrina Carpenter, Charli XCX and Chappell Roan: Vulnerable, chaotic and playful

“Being a girl can be so confusing sometimes,” Charli XCX sings on her latest album, Brat.

Vulnerable lyrics, existential questions, and an honest exploration of the complexities and contradictions of womanhood make Brat more than just a collection of music.

For Millennials and Gen Z, it reflects a highly relevant lifestyle.

In the words of Charli XCX, Brat is a “broken-down girl who likes to party a little bit.” She is honest, straightforward, and “a little capricious.” Brat has become a mainstream phenomenon in recent weeks.

The same week that my grandmother told me about one of her friends “for brats,” Charlie tweeted “Kamala is brat,” and the US Democratic presidential candidate renamed her X profile.

Charli isn’t the only pop girl ditching bland style.

People like Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter aren’t your typical perfectly polished and manicured pop stars: they’re scruffy and candid artists who put their Wear your heart on your sleeve. Both have dominated the charts this summer.

What makes them stand out is their shared outlook on life. They appear honest, authentic, and have perspective and life experience.

There are only so many times you can dance to a song that has a smooth beat and is full of meaningless mantras about girl power. Eventually you’ll be craving something more, and that’s exactly what the new wave of popular girls have to offer.

In “The Kid,” Charlie candidly explores what it’s like to enter your thirties. On her truth-telling hit Von Dutch, she doesn’t care if people say anything about her, while her energetic songs 360 and 365 are wild and carefree, telling us we can still have a good night out (phew!) .

Meanwhile, she offers personal and introspective reflections on topics like “motherhood”: “I’ve been thinking about this/I might not have the time/Will it bring new purpose to my life?”

Existential questions resonate with most millennial women. Should I have a baby? When is the right time? Will it change my life? What if I have other wishes?

Josee Malon, a 23-year-old society executive from Kent, said she admired Charli because she gave fans “such a deep insight into her creative mind and personality, which is true of all musicians” Nothing can be done.”

“Beyoncé, for example, is private and mysterious, which some people think is part of her charm and appeal, but to me it’s a disservice to her. Why would I want to be influenced by someone who gives me zero energy?

“Charli XCX delivers 110% energy and she makes you a part of her life and feels like a friend.”

It’s not just women who are fans of these popular girls. Political campaign manager Spencer Caminsky, 26, has followed Charli since 2016 and likes Brat because “it’s more raw and direct.”

“It’s all the great things about her past work, now expanded to more vulnerable aspects of her life that she never talks about – you really feel her emotion and regret.”

at the same time, 26-year-old queer pop icon Chappell Roan A strong Gen Z following has been established.

While she wasn’t the first queer female pop artist, her drag queen costumes, sexy lyrics, and searing melodies made her one of the most mainstream.

Chappell’s music focuses heavily on her queer identity – “Pink Pony Club” was inspired by her first visit to a gay club, while “Good Luck, Babe” is about a relationship with a girl who insists she’s not really gay Romance.

Jonah Graham, 25, said he is a fan of Chappelle’s “unapologetically queer” music because she “let people know there is a place where they can go through their strong emotions” , irreverent humor and boundless joy come together”.

But even without the same experiences Chappelle sings about, the themes of rejection, freedom, acceptance and self-discovery are universal.

Kamala Harris also leaned toward Rowan to appeal to younger voters, posting a meme on TikTok quoting Rowan’s lyrics: “What we really need are women!”

While Ms. Harris isn’t the person Chappelle and Charlie most resonate with, Ms. Harris almost certainly doesn’t “own a pack of cigarettes, a Bic lighter, and a braless white suit,” according to Charlie’s little brother. People with shirts.” Definition, that’s not the point.

Cultural critic Lucy Ford told the BBC, “Kamala is a little kid because she is now a dominant cultural force and what has happened with this album and the cultural vibe it has Separation”.

Fun, cheeky pop is Sabrina Carpenter’s province—the 25-year-old takes Taylor Swift’s confessional style and adds just the right amount of humor.

Her X-rated off-the-cuff codas always cause a stir. “The BBC said I should keep it PG / BBC I wish I had it / There’s a double meaning if you dig deeper,” She sang on Radio 1’s Big Weekend programme.

“Sabrina is unabashedly hungry in her music,” Ford explains. “It feels like embracing the fun and silliness and not taking things too seriously.”

In other songs, she subverts the typical romantic pop song. This time he was fascinated by her and “looked cute wrapped around my finger.”

Her self-indulgence—and unapologetic focus on love—is utterly childish. Why do we have to pretend that knowing someone likes you isn’t exciting?

But why are fans craving complex, chaotic music this summer in particular?

Content writer Olivia Cox recently took an in-depth look at these three artists and said they stand out because they each “embrace silliness” in their own way.

“It feels like pop music takes itself too seriously,” she said.

Rachel Humphreys, 29, a digital PR manager in Pontefract, said the artists were a “cultural reset” that provided an element of escapism.

Music is “a welcome distraction from the daily stresses of adulthood.”

One reason for this, Ford said, is that it’s “a response to the very sentimental ‘celebrities, they’re just like us’ thing in music over the last few years, where artists carry their souls in their music” with their fans. “Look straight up”.

All of these reasons explain why outdated feminist slogans—such as those Katy Perry’s latest single “Woman’s World” – Don’t resonate with Millennials or Gen Z.

Perry’s satirical music video, which shows women dancing around construction sites in tiny clothes, using urinals and wielding sex toys, seems unreal compared to the music of these Gen Z artists.

But the smart, straightforward pop songs we’re hearing now aren’t as new as we think.

Mercury Prize nominee CMAT told the BBC the phenomenon was “not sudden”.

“Women have always written stories in this funny, tragicomic way, but the people who wanted to hear those stories were other women – who, until recently, were not considered to be very good women. [desirable] market.

She said her own music was criticized a few years ago and labeled “novelty music” because it was humorous.

“There has never been a discussion before that this was highbrow or something we should take seriously – because no one takes women seriously,” she added.

The likes of Madonna and Lady Gaga laid the groundwork for the music, but the modern trend began with the likes of Lorde, who poked fun at the ridiculous positivity of 2010s pop lyrics on “Team” – “I’m a little too obsessed.” Told to put your hands on the ground.” Up in the Air” with Billie Eilish.

One of her first songs was written from the perspective of a psychopath with a car trunk full of corpses.

Her music has always been weird—and every song on her new album, Hit Me Hard And Soft, embodies that duality.

Dynamics change, ideas hang in the air, and nothing is ever resolved.

This feeling, in the past few years, many people will have some feelings.

To achieve longevity, today’s kids need to intuitively tell when popular music and broader culture will change again and get there before anyone else.

Additional reporting by Mark Savage.