Scene Stealer

There was a point when it looked like Charli XCX might become little more than just another casualty of the scene. Before cementing her status as one of 2011's most promising pop ingenues, 2008 saw a 15-year-old London club kid (born Charlotte Aitchison) as little more than a fixture of the city's warehouse party circuit, churning out a kind of juvenile, pouty electro-pop indicative of the dance floor preferences of the time.

Fast-forward three years, and Charli XCX (now 19) has released two immediately likable and addictive singles, both more mature and radio friendly than her previous efforts. There's the smoke-tinted "Nuclear Seasons," as well as "Stay Away," which somehow manages to evoke both INXS and the Spice Girls. It's not only the sound of an artist coming into her own, but of one positioned to shake up both sides of the Atlantic.

"The whole sound is a lot darker now," she explains over the phone from London, where she's taking time off to sporadically gig and work on her debut LP (which is "pretty much ready," but scheduled for a June release). Her recent time spent recording in Los Angeles with writing partner Ariel Rechtshaid (known for producing the likes of Cass McCombs and Glasser) helped mold her style. "For me, it's really important to make it a bit edgy," she says, and it's easy to see; after all, "Nuclear Seasons" equates a troubled relationship with a skin-crisping atomic blast. "I like to make my lyrics really cinematic."

Synthesizing a diverse range of influences -- from Kate Bush to SALEM to Justice -- Charli's listening habits have inadvertently helped grab the attention of both club and indie audiences alike. More domestic pursuits provided inspiration as well. "[Ariel and I] would go on little errands," she laughs. "We'd go on missions across L.A. looking for this certain kind of soap. And then we'd come back and be like, 'Great, now we got a wicked chorus idea. Let's do it.'"

But contrary to such squeaky-clean implications, the music feels built for after-hours. "It still works in club environments," she says. "I want to make pop music, but put it in a cooler light."