Is Everyone Charli xcx Now?

Of course, Demi’s not the first. We’ve been living through a full-blown Charli-sphere for over a year now. Camila Cabello’s C, XOXO rollout sparked comparisons to Brat before the album was even announced. Remember that video of Camila hanging out the car window that Charli recreated with “I Got It” and captioned, “lol”? Or the way Camila’s album art font was, well, kind of the same? I mean, that title, “C,XOXO” — Charli… X C X… most get the picture.

Katy Perry posted a blurry lo-fi carousel and fans swore she was either hacked or doing CRASH cosplay. Lady Gaga’s “Disease” video dropped and Reddit asked the hard questions: When did Gaga become Charli? Anne Hathaway wasn’t safe, either — her denim corset pic with teased hair and sunglasses sparked side-by-sides with Charli’s “Von dutch” cover. Even Kesha couldn’t resist the pull, her pink album art rollout having been influenced by Charli’s Brat art takeover on Spotify.

But none of this is new. Charli has been fueling the more mainstream pop girls’ creativity for over a decade now, writing hit after hit for artists who graciously hopped on her wave. Is originality a myth? It happened with Lady Gaga in 2008, too. Christina Aguilera was suddenly into BDSM. Kelly Rowland was now your “Commander.” History repeats itself, and maybe we all just wanna be back in 2008. The only difference? Gaga was breaking through. Charli’s been here. Now everyone else is just catching up.

It’s not like Charli isn’t in on it, either. Half of Brat plays like a preemptive eye-roll at the industry catching up to her five years too late. On “Spring Breakers,” she literally spells it out: people jacking her style while acting like they invented it. For all the fun of the Brat era, there’s an undercurrent of exhaustion — a pop star watching her originality go viral without getting the credit.

My question is, can we move on? The Brat-ification of things has gotten exhausting, and I’m sure Charli herself is over it. The Brat wall is burned and she’s moving into acting. If Charli and her gritty Berghain blues was the moment that defined the past two years, then what’s next? Another “recession pop” style trend? Maybe we go back to the ho-heys of Obama-era jolly like The Lumineers.

Image via Getty