Welcome to FTW Explains, a guide to catching up on and better understanding stuff going on in the world. Have you seen some stuff about “brat summer” and something about a Charli XCX meme and how Kamala Harris is somehow being called “brat”? And you’re very confused about that whole thing? Don’t worry. We’re here to help.
I think we just summed it up above, but: yeah. “Brat” is all the rage right now, from music to a meme, and we’re here to help you understand what the heck that means (full disclosure: I was one of those people until recently!).
Let’s dive in:
British singer/songwriter Charli XCX just released her newest album in June. Guess what? It’s called Brat. It has a green cover, which has led to a lot of people doing stuff like this:
Is brat good design? pic.twitter.com/QUpcicksX1
— Dylan Field (@zoink) July 24, 2024
It's a brat summer in Miami pic.twitter.com/l2owBRLEAf
— Miami Hurricanes (@MiamiHurricanes) July 25, 2024
the original brat #littleshopnyc pic.twitter.com/QtS2aSj1De
— Little Shop of Horrors (@littleshopnyc) July 24, 2024
People are also doing a TikTok dance to the song Apple and it is so good:
@thepitmansisters apple doesn’t fall far @Charli XCX
IF STEPHEN COLBERT CAN DO THE APPLE DANCE, SO CAN YOU GEORGE pic.twitter.com/iBDmeGW7ig
— /ˈtinɑ/ ⎕ (@hazyheadbigcity) July 23, 2024
In the tradition of other trends we’ve seen like “Hot Girl Summer,” it’s a way of embodying the coolness of that trend. So whatever you’re feeling while listening to Brat, you’re embodying that this summer.
Good question! It’s a way of calling her cool — Charli XCX tweeted as much — although there’s some confusion around that.
kamala IS brat
— Charli (@charli_xcx) July 22, 2024
Correct.
@fallontonight Kamala Harris is having a brat summer @Charli XCX #FallonTonight #TonightShow #KamalaHarris #Charlixcx #brat #bratsummer #JimmyFallon
That’s brat summer for you.
