Charli XCX is celebrating the release of her second full-length album, Sucker, her first major release since becoming famous in the US.

Charli XCX Drops New Album Sucker

Charli XCX, fresh off her Saturday Night Live debut, released her new album on Monday, Dec. 15 – Sucker is already sitting comfortably in the Top 10 on iTunes. The UK singer made a big impression stateside this year – most notably singing the hook on Iggy Azalea’s hit “Fancy” and appearing on the soundtrack to The Fault In Our Stars.

Who Is Charli XCX?

Charli XCX may be living a charmed life, going to Taylor Swift’s birthday party and rubbing elbows with Beyoncé, but the singer vows never to make pop music simply for the sake of fame. “I make pop music, but I do it on my own terms. I’ll never play the game, so to speak, just for success. I’ll always follow my heart and make the music I want to make,” Charli XCX said in a recent interview with NPR.

Born Charlotte Emma Aitchison, Charli XCX started making music as a teenager, posting songs to MySpace in 2006 when she was just 14 years old. In 2008, Charli XCX adopted her stage name from her MSN Messenger screenname and released her first unofficial LP. She performed at London raves, with her parents’ blessing – “As long as I did my homework,” Charli XCX joked. 

At 18, Charli XCX got her first record deal, but struggled to find her voice. “I was lost you know? … And when I got signed I hated pop music; I wanted to make bad rap music. I didn’t know who I was. I didn’t know what I liked. Even though I was signed, I was still figuring it out,” Charli XCX said.  After collaborating with various producers and finding her writing voice, Charli XCX released her first EP in 2012 titled You’re the One and proceeded to open for Coldplay during their European tour. She also co-wrote the Icona Pop hit “I Love It” and is featured on the track as a guest vocalist, but she didn’t release her debut album, True Romance, until 2013.

Charli XCX: A New Kind Of Female Pop Icon

Though Charli XCX refuses to name an artist whose career she’d like to emulate, she is open about her love of ‘90s pop music, and, if her platform sneakers are any indication, is a big fan of the Spice Girls. But, for the most part, Charli XCX says that she finds her creative inspiration in the freedom of no longer caring what other people think. “Part of the reason that things have gone well for me this year is because I’ve really begun to not care what people think about me – at all. In everyone’s life, there’s a moment where it clicks and you’re just like, ‘You know what, f—k it,’” the singers said in an interview with The Fader. 

Charli XCX appears to have a great deal of control over her fate as a recording artist. She is credited as an executive producer on Sucker, something she is clearly proud of. “It was always important to me that I was recognized for doing that, because there’s such a huge misconception about women in the industry and how we’re all supposedly puppets. I just wanted to make it clear that’s definitely not the case with me,” Charli XCX explained to NPR.  

Charli XCX hopes her album, which challenges society’s expectations of what is ‘sexy,’ will inspire women to be confident and independent, saying, “I feel sexy singing these songs and I hope that inspires other girls and women, because you can totally be confident and feel amazing in your own skin without having to try to conform to what Heat magazine, or FHM or any guy says is sexy. I think what women think is sexy is what is sexy.”

“I really just want to change the way women think about themselves. A lot of young girls are quite lost. I think it would be cool for women to feel like they connect to someone who is also a bit scruffy. I’m not clean-cut and perfect, I say dumb s—t and I fall over – and I want girls to know that’s cool,” she added in the same interview.

As to what Charli XCX’s future looks like, she says she hopes to build an empire. “I want to have an empire, with a publishing company and a label, but not a bulls—t one that just has a party every week. An actual one. A serious one. I’ll give Jay Z a run for his money,” the singer told Billboard.

For now, in addition to her new album, Sucker, fans can hear Charli XCX’s writing on Gwen Stefani’s upcoming album.

Article by Olivia Truffaut-Wong

Olivia Truffaut-Wong was born and raised in Berkeley, California, where she developed her love of all things entertainment. After moving to New York City to earn her degree in Film Studies, she stayed on the East Coast to follow her passion and become an entertainment writer. She lives on a diet of television, movies and food.