If you’ve been on the internet in the summer of 2024, you’ve probably been bombarded with the color #8ACE00, a shade of lime green now dubbed as “Brat Green.” The color is so viral because of its front-and-center involvement in Charli xcx’s new album, BRAT, and has taken the internet by storm with its fun and carefree style, its innovative marketing, as well as the other important figures whose involvement in the trend was a shock to most. From the “Brat Wall” in Brooklyn to the countless lime t-shirts adorned with blurry, arial font, why is this color so inescapable?
In June of 2024, singer-songwriter Charli xcx released her sixth studio album, BRAT. The cover art featured the word “brat” over a vibrant lime green background in grainy, stretched Arial font. The 15-song album debuted in the top 5 on the Billboard 200 in multiple countries, garnering popular social media sounds, and viral dances to go alongside songs like “Apple”. The album has also coined many viral phrases, such as “Bumpin’ that,” “Let’s work it out on the remix,” and “I’m so Julia,” among others.
Charli, with the help of Brat, has caused a phenomenon, where the emphasis has moved far and distinct from the simplistic and self-explanatory “clean girl” image that was popular among teenagers and young adults. This simplistic look had been traded out for a messy and “trashy” aesthetic that embraces the chaos, reminiscent of those popularized by artists such as Ke$ha in the 2010s. Charli channels the eye-catching vibes of women such as Julia Fox and Gabbriette, whom her album references with the lines “I’m so Julia,” and “Call me Gabbriette, you’re so inspired,” both lyrics in the track “360.” This list includes other famous “it-girls” of the internet such as Alex Cosani, Emma Chamberlain, Rachel Sennott, and Chloë Sevigny, among others, who all featured in the music video for “360.” In the forefront of the style created for Brat is the newly dubbed “Brat Green” has been plastered on just about everything in preparation and marketing for the album, including shirts, water bottles, keychains, beach towels, lighters, and… even walls on the street?
On May 2, Charli tweeted out an address for a street in Brooklyn, NY which was the location of a surprise pop-up performance for the singer that same day, and the location would later be used for the infamous “Brat Wall.” The wall was used pre-release to write messages over the lime-green background, which included lyrics from the album’s tracks, and the painting of the wall all live streamed on her TikTok account each time it was updated. Three days after the release of the album, on June 10, the wall went completely white, adorning the cover for the deluxe version of Brat, “brat but it’s the same but there’s three more songs so it’s not” which was released the same day.
This white background was soon covered with a few more messages over the following weeks, such as “lorde,” which hinted at the remix that came out soon after, “the girl, so confusing version with lorde,” which came out in June 21, and finally “ok, bye!” which signified the conclusion of the saga which was the “brat wall.”
Beyond simple fashion and dance trends, brat has impacted an unlikely political field of influence through Kamala Harris. After Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the 2024 U.S. Presidential election, Charli xcx was among the many who expressed her support for vice-president Harris through Twitter/X. This inspired Charli’s fanbase, the “Angels,” to begin to include Harris in a plethora of edits, videos, and photos, utilizing the visuals and sound of “brat,” alongside Harris’ image and quotes. This hit a peak when after Charli took to X to post the viral “kamala IS brat” saying, the “Kamala HQ” campaign account on X changed their account banner to mimic the cover art of the album, with “kamala hq” written in Arial over a lime green background.
It’s not just Harris praising Charli, either. On the “I’ve Had It” Podcast, past US President Barack Obama had this to say about Brat Summer: “I just put out my playlist and “365” is on it. It is a great album. People question sometimes whether I’m actually listening to all this music, and as I’ve testified before, I am. Charli xcx, she knows what she’s doing.”
Because of Charli xcx, when people think of the word brat, they’ll think about the catchy club music, the neon “brat” green, the bold fashion choices, or even the Kamala Harris campaign crossover that make up the “brat” era. This era of Charli’s is truly remarkable and it’s not even finished, having her first Billboard Hot 100 Charting in the top 15 since 2014 with her track “Guess featuring Billie Eilish” charting at number 12. Who knows what else this era will bring for Charli and the Brat aesthetic.
EDITOR’S NOTE: For stylistic purposes, certain capitalization (e.g. brat, lorde) should be disregarded, including artists’ names, as we are spelling them the way they have chosen. This article has also been updated as of September 5th to include past president Barack Obama’s views on the album.
