I For One Welcome Our New Overlord, Charli XCX
A Live Report From Pop’s Latest Coronation, with Video of Charli’s Iggy-less “Fancy” Performance
Charli XCX, whose chorus put the Fancy in Iggy Azalea’s “Fancy,” is out for global domination. I can’t exactly confirm that last part, though, it’s only a hunch. A hunch I’m drawing based on her show last night at New York’s Webster Hall, where the 22-year-old British singer/song writer demonstrated that she’s been ready for all the stardom coming her way.
Either Charli, or whomever is running her campaign, knows that everything counts. As you walked into the venue, you quickly realized that Webster had been festooned with pink, white, and silver balloons. That the night was going to have a prom theme.
In all my years of seeing concerts at Webster Hall, not one band prior had decided to costume the venue. Many acts try to revel in the broken down vibe, to borrow its affectations. Fortunately for Charli, this tactic was incredibly smart. This wasn’t just a pop concert, this was a night to remember.
Pushed back to December 16, Sucker was originally slated to release next week, which explains the word’s omnipresence last night. From merch shirts to banners, and even emblazoned across the tops of the cheerleader uniforms that Charli and her all-girl band wore, tonight was all about this next step in Charli’s career.
While her 2013 release (the very indie-friendly True Romance) was well regarded, it only sold 12,000 units in the states. Her new album finds Charli making a bigger sound that is pushing her to the skies, and led to the hit single “Boom Clap” selling more than a million units in the US alone.
Sucker didn’t get pushed back on account of said career adjustment, though. It was delayed because the success of “Boom Clap:”
Yes, you can argue that after all the time “Boom Clap” spent up at the top, follow up singles “Break The Rules” and “London Queen” will need their time. As Scully would tell Mulder, though, there’s a much more plausable answer. The move back probably came from her label believing that the album deserves the holiday-shopping traffic that a December release will provide.
That this is the album that will elevate her even higher than her collaboration with Ms. Azalea, her star turn.
Revealing new song after new song, Charli’s set was a preview of Sucker, and proof that it’s ready. Debuts like “Caught in the Middle” and “Famous” were great, with the latter allowing Charli to instruct the audience in the chorus beforehand (a series of oo’s and ooh’s).
Rocking through her set with the swagger of a more established artist, Charli’s dance moves on stage were proof that she’s a child of the times she grew up during. From a recurring hip thrust that wouldn’t have felt out of place in a Jock Jams ad, to a confident stage presence instilled via osmosis via the careers of Britney Spears and the Spice Girls, Charli’s borrowing from the past without anachronistic moments.
Her set list was another demonstration of confidence. Able to take on Icona Pop’s “I Love It” which she featured on was a great move, but trumped by the inarguable moment of the evening.
Her two-song encore set opened with a song that she said “we might know,” and it was her mega-hit “Fancy.” Yet, thankfully, there was no Iggy Azalea in tow. Instead Charli surprised the crowd by rapping her collaborator’s verses on her own, a first for her live shows. You’ll see in the above video it’s done with an complete confidence, as if she didn’t need Iggy.
The night closed out with “Boom Clap,” because of course it should. After it finished Charli left, Britney Spears’ “Toxic” played the audience out on the PA, reminding us of Charli’s ambition.
With tickertape and popped balloons everywhere, this was a suitable replacement for prom that Charli says she never attended. The obvious queen of the night, Charli entered already wearing her tiara. Not that anybody’s asking for a recount.
