BRAT: A Wild West Robbery

How was your Brat summer? Did you find yourself losing your sanity to Von Dutch on the dance floor? Or were you too busy posing with your green T-shirt in the pub garden? Whatever floated your boat, there hasn’t been a hyperpop dance album with as much cultural significance as Brat since, well, ever. Having an entire summer season named after it, and with London’s New Year’s fireworks inspired by it, many expected Charli XCX’s masterpiece to win Album of the Year award at the 2025 Grammy Awards. So, it was surprising to say the least when we didn’t see her walk up on stage to receive her deserved award and instead watch now 35-time Grammy award winner Beyoncé collect the award for “Cowboy Carter”.  

Image from Pitchfork.com

It's no secret that Beyoncé is music royalty. Holding the record for both Grammy award wins and nominations with 35 and 99 respectively, her effect on the global music scene can’t go unrecognised. Beyoncé’s eighth album did break the record for an album’s streams in a single day but paled in comparison to the effect it had on popular culture. Life in the summer of 2024 was that of a double-decker sized party, a time where dance music had been well and truly revitalised, Brat green was the undoubted colour of the season and people from all walks of life were experiencing nothing short of a music revolution on a scale we hadn’t seen in decades. Even now, amidst the dull English winter months, “Brat” still has its grip firmly around us, with social media seemingly a never-ending cycle of videos inspired by the hit album.  

The 67th annual Grammys ceremony had more than its fair share of media outcry, enter Kanye. But perhaps the most frustrating thing is the award’s refusal to prioritise a cultural renaissance over numbers. Especially when at the same ceremony, one of the most culturally relevant hip-hop songs in recent memory (Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us”) won a record five Grammy awards in one night. It is, however, more than safe to say that although Cowboy Carter rode off with its award, the ceremony backed the wrong horse.