Charli XCX Artistfacts

August 2, 1992
Charli's birth name is Charlotte Aitchison. Regarding the 'XCX' part of her stage moniker, XCX was her screen name when she used the MSN chat service, and it stuck.
She began writing songs when she was 14, with her debut offering about going on a date to a fish and chip shop. "I just wanted to do something. The only thing prior to that, that I'd done and really enjoyed, was home chemistry sets. And I'd kind of outgrown them," she told Cosmopolitan. "It was getting to the point of, if you want to do chemistry, you've got to actually do it and be really good at it. And I was like, 'Eh, pass. Maybe I'll just try music.'"
A&R executive Ed Howard spotted Charli in 2008, during an impromptu performance in a pub at three in the morning. "She gets up on a chair in the middle of this crowded bar, wearing a crazy wig," he recalled to Billboard magazine. "Her look was incredible, but mental."
One of the songs Charli sung on the fateful day she was spotted by Ed Howard, "Valentine," she released for free on Valentine’s Day in 2012.
Charlie wrote "I Love It" but felt it wasn't for her so gave the demo to her label mates, Icona Pop. It became a huge international hit for the Swedish duo.
Charli XCX has a form of the medical condition synaesthesia, where the senses mix. In Charli's case, she experiences music visually. "I haven't been diagnosed with it but people mention it to me a lot," she told the BBC. "I see music in colors. I love music that's black, pink, purple or red - but I hate music that's green, yellow or brown."

American singer-songwriter John Mayer has the same neurological condition.
She has an affinity for '90s culture, which she feels was a very eclectic and underrated decade. She cites The Craft as a favorite movie and The Spice Girls as one of her favorite artists.
Charli was brought up in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire by her Scottish concert promoter father and Indian mother, who was raised in Kampala, Uganda. According to Charli, her mom was "kicked out" of Uganda with her family by Idi Amin.
Her 2024 album Brat was a cultural touchstone, appropriating the word to mean bold and self-possessed despite one's flaws. "I think the reason people relate to this record is, people want to be a little bit messy and own the imperfect parts of themselves," she said.
Charli XCX married The 1975 drummer George Daniel on July 19, 2025. The ceremony took place at Hackney Town Hall in London, with about 20 close friends and family members in attendance. The pair also work together: He co-wrote and co-produced Charli's Brat tracks "Club Classics" and "Apple."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

More Songfacts:

Happiness Is A Warm GunThe Beatles

John Lennon got the title of the Beatles song "Happiness Is A Warm Gun" from an article in a magazine published by the National Rifle Association.

Goodbye Yellow Brick RoadElton John

"Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" is one of the few Bernie Taupin lyrics that is more about him than Elton John. The song is about giving up glitz for the simple life - not exactly Elton's M.O.

Killing An ArabThe Cure

"Killing An Arab" by The Cure was inspired by Albert Camus' book The Stranger.

Wild BoysDuran Duran

Duran Duran's "Wild Boys" is based on the book of the same name by William Burroughs.

VenusShocking Blue

The original "Venus" was a #1 hit for the Dutch band Shocking Blue. Listen to the first line and you'll hear a muffed word: "goddess" was sung as "goddness."

I Love ItIcona Pop

Icona Pop consider "I Love It" a kiss-off to their boyfriends. "We just wanted to get the song out and get the pigs to hear it," group member Jawo said.