Charli XCX - "360"

[avamaxstan]

That user is so determined to be right about a master conspiracy to suddenly make Charli an industry plant, a full decade after her commercial peak  

Of course the radio pick-up couldn't possibly have anything to do with the album being mega-viral, dominating pop culture and even the presidential campaign, and being the most acclaimed album of the year.

[No Brakes]

Oh god y’all are destroying me, come on now!

Can I take back the comments of her being the new Jessie J?

I apologize, I hope this song does well and Charli can get a few hits, why not.

I’ll stick to the SMITH threads…

[Maximillian]

Others have already said it, and sorry No Brakes, not trying to beat your up further here, but this has been one of the more fascinating guerrilla marketing, viral hits to see happen over the last ... decade? XCX has always had steady, good music that was just overlooked (there were so many radio hit, ready to go songs on her last album). You mentioned Tove Lo, who is one of my all time favorite artists, but unlike Tove Lo, XCX really touched on content and material that resonated with an entire generation with "BRAT".

Thats the beautiful thing about art -- sometimes accidents happen. This was never meant to be a worldwide record smash that storms the radio charts (I certainly do not think her label or XCX were sitting around expecting more success than her last few albums, and I certainly do not think her label magically gave XCX a pile of cash to have the hit album of the summer either).

However, it IS a critically acclaimed album (currently sitting at 95/100 on Metacritic), whose content and messaging took over the world in a cultural moment. The thing is, while XCX put the train in motion, the train started running faster than XCX could drive it. "Brat Summer" became a rallying cry for Gen Z and woman especially in a hyper charged political election season, so much so, it got the attention of the VP / Presidential Candidate. Thats f****** wild, man.

So it should be no surprise that when you have a critically acclaimed album, and then you pair that with a rallying cry that woke up Gen Z around the world, endorsed by the VP as her campaign mantra, a steady album that is selling about ~200k copies US per month, several charting hits on BB100, that radio would finally drag its feet to give some of her music some spins.

Last note -- radio has been notorious the last few years for either supporting the wrong horse in the race (Katy Perry, for instance) over artists people actually are streaming and begging for (Charli). We have to stop acting like radio is an authority anymore on what people want or listen to.

[No Brakes]

You are absolutely correct about everything above, specifically about radio. (Excellent post by the way.)

Since I’m getting killed might as well throw this question out there too.

What did Charli XCX do that Lorde didn’t?! Bitterly, Lorde should have had the summer last year that Charli XCX is having.

[collin]

Aug 12, 2024 10:18:35 GMT -5 No Brakes said:

You are absolutely correct about everything above, specifically about radio. (Excellent post by the way.)

Since I’m getting killed might as well throw this question out there too.

What did Charli XCX do that Lorde didn’t?! Bitterly, Lorde should have had the summer last year that Charli XCX is having.

Lorde does not care about getting mainstream success anymore. That might change in the future but she has said that she is set with what she built for herself during her first album cycle and is just kind of doing whatever she wants. Solar Power is basically about trying to understand herself and connect with nature instead of put herself through the lifestyle of a superstar

[Ling-Ling]

And it needs to be stated, any of these non-top 40 pop artists can have a moment. We just saw Tinashe land her biggest hit in years with "Nasty." We just saw Kylie Minogue have her biggest hit in over a decade with "Padam Padam." Charli just got ultra lucky, because the entire era became a mantra/movement and she pounced on it.

Tove Lo, Carly, Lorde, Lana, etc. could all have another hit or at least a cute comeback moment. They're constantly bubbling under the general public with passionate cult fanbases. The right song, the right TikTok trend, the right collab? Anything is possible. Carly was on the verge of one a couple albums ago, but she and her label dropped the ball.

[Maximillian]

Aug 12, 2024 10:40:47 GMT -5 Ling-Ling said:

And it needs to be stated, any of these non-top 40 pop artists can have a moment. We just saw Tinashe land her biggest hit in years with "Nasty." We just saw Kylie Minogue have her biggest hit in over a decade with "Padam Padam." Charli just got ultra lucky, because the entire era kinda became a mantra/movement and she pounced on it.

Tove Lo, Carly, Lorde, Lana, etc. could all have another hit or at least a cute comeback moment. They're constantly bubbling under the general public with passionate cult fanbases. The right song, the right TikTok trend, the right collab? Anything is possible. Carly was on the verge of one a couple albums ago, but she and her label dropped the ball.

I was typing out a reply, but you just nailed what I was going to say. A lot of this is luck, right timing, capturing the essence of what is going on and pouncing on it the right way. I mean, if "BRAT" was released in November this year, would it have had the same success? Probably not.

Any of those artists you mentioned could still land another hit. On the flip side, we have seen artists that should have done very well this year that ended up falling flat -- partly due to bad luck, partly due to not reading the room, partly to missing the mark on whats going on in music right now -- Katy Perry, Camila Cabello, Dua Lipa.

So, that luck definitely goes both ways.

[Ling-Ling]

Like legit, you can't tell me Tove Lo isn't gonna get another hit, lol. The touring, the constant influx of music, the fact that her profile has actually gotten bigger since going independent. She's right there on the cusp, I can feel it in my bones.

[Maximillian]

Aug 12, 2024 11:02:43 GMT -5 Ling-Ling said:

Like legit, you can't tell me Tove Lo isn't gonna get another hit, lol. The touring, the constant influx of music, the fact that her profile has actually gotten bigger since going independent. She's right there on the cusp, I can feel it in my bones.

Her artistry is top tier right now and I count down the days for the moment she charts another hit

[joshtheking]

Aug 12, 2024 10:18:35 GMT -5 No Brakes said:

You are absolutely correct about everything above, specifically about radio. (Excellent post by the way.)

Since I’m getting killed might as well throw this question out there too.

What did Charli XCX do that Lorde didn’t?! Bitterly, Lorde should have had the summer last year that Charli XCX is having.

Um, release music lol. And if you're talking about Solar Power from 2021...Charli released *good* music.

But if there's a time for Lorde to strike it would be now, or next year. She just needs to play her cards right, but like it has been said she might not want mainstream success anyway so we'll just have to see

[fearlessarrow]

Top 20 on Pop and top 10 on Dance! Also 1 add on HAC this week.

POP:
28 20 CHARLI XCX 360 3888 2257 1631 10.108

+281 Spins
+129 Bullet
+0.468 Audience

HOT AC:
53 47 CHARLI XCX 360 104 33 71 0.196

+7 Spins
= Bullet
-0.008 Audience

DANCE:
20 9 CHARLI XCX 360 294 231 63 0.067

[gerry]

22 adds on pop so far… this is definitely becoming a smash hit.

[Juan Carlos]

Third most added (tied with "Hot to Go!") with 46 adds this week.

[fearlessarrow]

In addition to the adds for this song, "Apple" got 7 adds and "Guess" got 4 adds on Pop this week.

POP:
27 20 CHARLI XCX 360 4138 2444 1694 10.516

+250 Spins
+63 Bullet
+0.408 Audience

HOT AC:
53 47 CHARLI XCX 360 106 41 65 0.206

+2 Spins
-6 Bullet
+0.010 Audience

DANCE:
19 9 CHARLI XCX 360 296 245 51 0.073

[Juan Carlos]

Aug 14, 2024 6:22:08 GMT -5 fearlessarrow said:

In addition to the adds for this song, "Apple" got 7 adds and "Guess" got 4 adds on Pop this week.

And it should be clarified that these were early adds, which mean that Atlantic hasn't been sent any of these tracks to radio yet.

I guess this confirms that US radio is finally on board with Charlotte's BRAT success and her building cult following over the last few years and this isn't a conspiracy to play her songs after all.

[fearlessarrow]

POP:
25 20 CHARLI XCX 360 4393 2644 1749 10.917

+255 Spins
+55 Bullet
+0.401 Audience

HOT AC:
48 47 CHARLI XCX 360 108 51 57 0.223

+2 Spins
-8 Bullet
+0.017 Audience

DANCE:
19 8 CHARLI XCX 360 304 255 49 0.077

[avamaxstan]

Aug 12, 2024 10:18:35 GMT -5 No Brakes said:

You are absolutely correct about everything above, specifically about radio. (Excellent post by the way.)

Since I’m getting killed might as well throw this question out there too.

What did Charli XCX do that Lorde didn’t?! Bitterly, Lorde should have had the summer last year that Charli XCX is having.

Last summer? Huh? Lorde’s last release was over three years ago, and it flopped because it was not catchy and a big quality downgrade from Melodrama. lol.

[fearlessarrow]

POP:
24 20 CHARLI XCX 360 4616 2901 1715 11.406

+223 Spins
-34 Bullet
+0.489 Audience

HOT AC:
47 48 CHARLI XCX 360 110 62 48 0.248

+2 Spins
-9 Bullet
+0.025 Audience

DANCE:
18 8 CHARLI XCX 360 313 266 47 0.077

[No Brakes]

Aug 15, 2024 20:11:41 GMT -5 avamaxstan said:

Aug 12, 2024 10:18:35 GMT -5 No Brakes said:

You are absolutely correct about everything above, specifically about radio. (Excellent post by the way.)

Since I’m getting killed might as well throw this question out there too.

What did Charli XCX do that Lorde didn’t?! Bitterly, Lorde should have had the summer last year that Charli XCX is having.

Last summer? Huh? Lorde’s last release was over three years ago, and it flopped because it was not catchy and a big quality downgrade from Melodrama. lol.

Dang, you’re right.

[itsaboutart]

Aug 17, 2024 8:30:05 GMT -5 No Brakes said:

Aug 15, 2024 20:11:41 GMT -5 avamaxstan said:

Last summer? Huh? Lorde’s last release was over three years ago, and it flopped because it was not catchy and a big quality downgrade from Melodrama. lol.

Dang, you’re right.

All true. But I genuinely think that Lorde changed the landscape of pop music. Her understated lamenting pop moved the needle that was Katy Perry maximalist pop at the time.

Melodrama was one of the best of our generation. Solar power just didn’t work. Remember Lorde is still so much younger than Charli. There really is a chance for her to have a big splash with the next album.


Anyway congrats to Charli all very deserved. I prefer Girl so confusing to Guess though. Just my opinion

[fearlessarrow]

POP:
22 18 CHARLI XCX 360 4842 3087 1755 11.858

+226 Spins
+40 Bullet
+0.452 Audience

HOT AC:
48 49 CHARLI XCX 360 116 67 49 0.282

+6 Spins
+1 Bullet
+0.034 Audience

DANCE:
15 7 CHARLI XCX 360 320 277 43 0.078

[No Brakes]

Aug 17, 2024 8:45:09 GMT -5 itsaboutart said:

Aug 17, 2024 8:30:05 GMT -5 No Brakes said:

Dang, you’re right.

All true. But I genuinely think that Lorde changed the landscape of pop music. Her understated lamenting pop moved the needle that was Katy Perry maximalist pop at the time.

Melodrama was one of the best of our generation. Solar power just didn’t work. Remember Lorde is still so much younger than Charli. There really is a chance for her to have a big splash with the next album.


Anyway congrats to Charli all very deserved. I prefer Girl so confusing to Guess though. Just my opinion

Agree completely on Lorde changing the game more than anyone in the 2010s, I’m not sure if it’s close.

In regards to Charli, I don’t think there are any songs as “big” as GLB or HTG, but I think their are more overall hits …like 4 or 5 off Brat than CR currently has lined up. Both good artists so whatever.

[shakemaki]

Pure Heroine and Melodrama were monumental albums for the 10s, but let’s not pretend Born to Die (which predates Lorde) wasn’t infinitely more influential than both combined. The fact of the matter is Lorde, Billie, and pop Taylor all owe basically everything to Lana for their huge success. That sound blueprint doesn’t exist without Born to Die. To this day, we’ve still yet to get an album more influential since then on mainstream pop, and I really don’t think it’s remotely close. If I’m not mistaken, it’s also still the most streamed female album released before 2017, so that kind of says it all.

[No Brakes]

Melodrama was a good album, never should be referred to as “monumental” by any means, and for the most part, a commercial flop. There were some really good songs on that album that didn’t translate to radio and I’ll never know why.

Born To Die is a fantastic album too, I think it’s a push to say all of those artists should be thanking for the influence though.

[collin]

Aug 17, 2024 10:56:32 GMT -5 No Brakes said:

Aug 17, 2024 8:45:09 GMT -5 itsaboutart said:

All true. But I genuinely think that Lorde changed the landscape of pop music. Her understated lamenting pop moved the needle that was Katy Perry maximalist pop at the time.

Melodrama was one of the best of our generation. Solar power just didn’t work. Remember Lorde is still so much younger than Charli. There really is a chance for her to have a big splash with the next album.


Anyway congrats to Charli all very deserved. I prefer Girl so confusing to Guess though. Just my opinion

Agree completely on Lorde changing the game more than anyone in the 2010s, I’m not sure if it’s close.

In regards to Charli, I don’t think there are any songs as “big” as GLB or HTG, but I think their are more overall hits …like 4 or 5 off Brat than CR currently has lined up. Both good artists so whatever.

Chappell’s album is full of potential hits. Charli’s is not close in that regard, I wouldn’t say. Both of these ladies are taking a more album oriented approach which is really working. Hope we see more of that in the near future.

[mikeymonster]

FINALLY heard this for the first time on the radio today and it was so surreal!

It feels so insane to hear a true Charli banger on the radio. I've been a hardcore fan for over 10 years and I'm so happy she's seeing so much success this era! (also a little bittersweet bc I kinda loved her as an "indie" pop gem too)

[ObhiDonna]

Does anyone find that scene in the music video incredibly funny, where she’s on that vibrating exercise thingy and keeps on spilling red wine all over her boobs? I don’t know why it tickles me funny bone so freaking much! Loving the airplay gains this song is having and I really want it to go top-ten!

[fearlessarrow]

POP:
21 18 CHARLI XCX 360 4984 3386 1598 12.287

+142 Spins
-157 Bullet
+0.429 Audience

HOT AC:
47 49 CHARLI XCX 360 126 82 44 0.314

+10 Spins
-5 Bullet
+0.032 Audience

DANCE:
14 7 CHARLI XCX 360 334 284 50 0.077

[Juan Carlos]

SUNDAY PUBLISHED 8/18 UPDATE:

POP:
21 18 CHARLI XCX 360 4996 3386 1610 12.292

Chart run: 45 – 40 – 30 – 21 – 18 – (...)

HOT AC:
47 47 CHARLI XCX 360 126 82 44 0.314

Chart run: 47 – 47 – (...)

DANCE:
14 7 CHARLI XCX 360 335 284 51 0.077

Chart run: 48 – 43 – 48 – 49 – 41 – 36 – 23 – 14 – 7 – (...)

Officially Top 10 on Dance and Top 20 on Pop.

[fearlessarrow]

POP:
21 18 CHARLI XCX 360 5230 3608 1622 13.112

+246 Spins
+24 Bullet
+0.825 Audience

HOT AC:
47 47 CHARLI XCX 360 134 97 37 0.325

+8 Spins
-7 Bullet
+0.011 Audience

DANCE:
11 7 CHARLI XCX 360 349 292 57 0.078