As 2025 is welcomed, a reflection on the past year is needed. It has been a defining year for music and tours across many genres. Some of the most anticipated tours from artists this year included Sabrina Carpenter, Billie Eilish, Taylor Swift and various others.
Although one tour in particular seemed to blow up across social media, just like her sixth studio album “BRAT,” was the “Sweat Tour.” The Sweat Tour was a co-headlining tour between artists Troye Sivan and Charli XCX. The tour began on Sept. 14 and concluded on Oct. 23. Sivan and Charli XCX both performed a mixture of their own songs and some of their collaborations.
Charles XCX’s phenomenon of “BRAT Summer” took a grasp on the internet’s neck and soon was being quoted by everyone. “BRAT Summer” has been defined as embracing the messy, chaotic and imperfect side of oneself. In an Instagram post, Charli XCX described it as, “Me, my flaws, my fuck-up’s, my ego all rolled into one.”
The most well-known song from “BRAT,” “Apple,” went viral on TikTok due to a user creating the iconic “Apple Dance.” During the Sweat Tour, when “Apple” came on, the crew would pick someone in the crowd to record their “Apple Dance” while it was projected on the side screens.
The “Sweat Tour” was a perfect match to embody the energy and wildness that “BRAT” embodied. The “Sweat Tour” brought back the trashy, rave and clubbing scene into arenas across North America. In huge contrast to other concerts like Sabrina Carpenter’s frilly and lacy “Short N’ Sweet Tour” or Billie Eilish’s “Hit Me Hard and Soft Tour.”
One of the reasons why “BRAT” was such an iconic moment in 2024 was the trends generated from this album. This album turned BRAT into much more than just a title. “BRAT” became a lifestyle and quickly took the album to a way higher level.
From the “Apple Dance” to various marketing campaigns and even Kamala Harris adopting the trend as well. “BRAT” was adopted by everyone and that was part of the reason why it became so mainstream.
In the music industry, many artists are set up to pit against each other and create unnecessary drama, especially female artists. There’s a song on “BRAT,” called “Girl, So Confusing,” that represents this exact issue.
The thing that differs Charli XCX from other artists is that she doesn’t care about people’s opinions. She is known to have the mindset that she will do what she wants to do, she’s going to make what she wants and nobody’s going to persuade her a certain way.
When you take away the controversy and drama of this era, “BRAT” mixed up pop culture and the bold, messy and care-free aesthetics of this album. It became a cultural reset over the year.
Critics shone their “light” of insecurities towards Charli XCX, but she turned that “light” around and turn it into her own spotlight with “BRAT”.
