From her early days performing at London warehouse raves as a teenager to writing chart-topping mega-hits and creating a global cultural reset with BRAT, Charli XCX has spent over a decade proving that she doesn’t follow pop trends—she dictates them.
To celebrate her birthday, we’re looking back at the definitive tracks that built her empire, rewired pop music forever, and proved that being a “cult artist” and a global superstar don’t have to be mutually exclusive.
1. “Track 10” (Pop 2, 2017)
Widely considered by critics and die-hard fans (“XCXperts”) as her absolute masterpiece, “Track 10” is the crown jewel of her experimental mixtape Pop 2. Deconstructing her own pop songwriting into a dizzying vortex of pitch-shifted vocals, explosive metallic synths, and raw emotional vulnerability, the song laid the blueprint for the hyperpop movement.
2. “Vroom Vroom” (Vroom Vroom EP, 2016)
The moment everything changed. Teaming up with the late visionary producer SOPHIE, “Vroom Vroom” alienated casual radio listeners at the time—and instantly cemented Charli as the future of electronic music. With its industrial basslines, squeaking tires, and unapologetic swagger, it remains the ultimate flex in her catalog.
3. “360” (BRAT, 2024)
You can’t talk about modern pop culture without talking about BRAT. As the defining anthem of a global phenomenon, “360” delivered razor-sharp confidence over slick, minimalist production from A.G. Cook and Cirkut. Accompanied by a star-studded “it-girl” music video, it proved Charli could turn effortlessly cool nonchalance into a chart-topping art form.
4. “Girl, so confusing featuring lorde” (BRAT, 2024)
What started as a painfully honest reflection on female rivalry and media comparison evolved into one of the most emotionally resonant pop reunions of the decade. By bringing Lorde onto the official remix to hash out their personal complexities in real-time, Charli redefined what a pop collaboration could be: radical, vulnerable, and deeply human.
5. “forever” (how i’m feeling now, 2020)
Created in just six weeks during lockdown alongside her fan base via interactive Zoom sessions, “forever” captures chaotic beauty like no other track. It blends distorted noise-pop walls of sound with a tender, enduring love song, proving that even in isolation, Charli’s creative instincts operate at warp speed.
6. “Unlock It (Lock It)” feat. Kim Petras & Jay Park (Pop 2, 2017)
Featuring one of the most addictively sugary hooks in modern music, “Unlock It” is pure euphoric bliss. Long before it found a second life as a viral sensation years after its release, the track stood as proof of Charli’s unmatched ability to write hooks that get permanently lodged in your brain.
7. “Boom Clap” (SUCKER, 2014)
Before she completely tore up the rulebook for underground club music, Charli proved she could conquer mainstream radio whenever she wanted to. Featured on The Fault in Our Stars soundtrack, this soaring, stadium-sized anthem delivered her first solo Top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, proving her talent for pure pop catharsis.
8. “I Love It” with Icona Pop (2012)
Written by a 20-year-old Charli in under an hour, “I Love It” launched her onto the international stage as a hitmaking force. Its aggressive, care-free yell of “I don’t care, I love it!” became the defining party anthem of a generation and ushered in a decade of unapologetic attitude.
Whether she’s dominating festival main stages, crafting movie soundtracks, or hosting subterranean warehouse raves, Charli XCX continues to run laps around the pop industry.
