On July 22, 2024, pop icon Charli XCX released her explosive hyperpop album “brat,” which would soon rise to become the highest-rated album of the year. Users on platforms like TikTok and Instagram created dance trends around the album’s most popular songs, like “Apple.” On the same day “brat” dropped, and one day after Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race, Chari posted three headline-grabbing words on X: “kamala IS brat.” The post has since gained over 300,000 likes, with over 40,000 reposts.
Brat is an album that inspires authenticity. The word “brat” might make you think of a small child throwing a tantrum on the floor of the grocery store, yet Charli reinvented the word. She explained the term in a TikTok video, saying, “you’re just like that girl who is a little messy…and maybe says some dumb things sometimes.”
Celebrity endorsements date back to the early 20th century. Figures like Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald gave their support to John F. Kennedy’s campaign in the 1960s. Endorsements have been used to attract younger voters, encourage voter turnout, and increase overall visibility of a candidate. In 2016, Beyoncé and Jay-Z supported Hilary Clinton as they tried to engage younger, especially Black, voters.
A new Harvard study found that celebrity endorsements actually have an effect on elections, aside from just getting a lot of press. In 2018, Taylor Swift posted on her Instagram urging people to vote at www.vote.org, which led to a reported increase of 250,000 new registered voters. However, A 2007 poll between USA Today and Gallup stated that 60% of adults said that celebrity endorsements were not important in their decision to choose a candidate.
Ever since Charli’s tweet, brat-style slogans popped up throughout the country. One Ohio voter wore a bright green shirt that said “we are not going back” in the brat font style. This phrase is often used by Kamala to show the positive driving force of her campaign, one that doesn’t focus on regressive policies or movements, especially for issues like female reproductive rights and anti-discrimination efforts.
Shortly after Charli’s tweet, the Biden-Harris campaign profile replaced its name with “kamala hq” written in the style of the brat album. Although Charli has stated that her tweet wasn’t necessarily an endorsement, she supports the future that Kamala Harris would have brought to America. Kamala appealed to much of the younger generation of America, as the youngest vice president of the US, and 19 years younger than Donald Trump. An increase of female empowerment followed the release of brat, an album that spoke about unapologetic femininity.
The Biden-Harris Administration has made great strides in the global empowerment of women, launching an initiative that totaled over $1 billion dollars in the investment of closing the economic, digital, and social gender gap. Charli XCX embodies female empowerment through her songs, explaining the complexities between female relationships. On her song “girl, so confusing,” featuring Lorde, Charli sings, “ I don’t know if you like me…I think you might hate me…it’s so confusing sometimes to be a girl.”
Young men, however, were not as greatly influenced by Harris’s campaign and her endorsements. AP News reported that 52% of men aged 18-44 voted for Donald Trump during the 2024 election, which was a large driving force towards Trump’s triumph. However, 55% of women aged 18-44 voted for Kamala Harris. The influence of brat may not have resonated as strongly with young men, as the themes of Charli’s songs are strongly about femininity.
When asked about the impact celebrity endorsements have on people’s opinions of candidates, there were mixed views. Physics major Sonia Girshin (‘25) commented, “They [endorsements] encourage voters…Everyone’s voice is important, not just the experts.” Furthermore, Senior Law and Society major Joshua Lou explained how seeing a celebrity you love can have a large influence. “It can definitely sway your choices when you see a celebrity, one that you associate good feelings with, back a candidate,” he said.
However, some feel that celebrity endorsements are taken too seriously, causing people to blindly follow candidates they don’t know much about. One freshman, who wishes to remain anonymous, went so far to say, “Kamala’s endorsement does not influence my views, it just shows how much brainwashing can influence our country.” Senior Law and Society major Philippe Krasnov added, “Celebrity endorsements can show how our system is flawed,” explaining how parasocial relationships can lead fans to mindless obedience when it comes to political opinions.
Although the 2024 election cycle has come to an end, Charli XCX’s impact on the political scene highlights the power of pop culture to shape elections. With catchy slogans and viral tracks, “brat” became more than just an album; it was a large influence on Harris’s campaign.
