Based on observing Charli XCX for the past few months, you might think the whole concept of being Brat is to be cool and edgy, with a don’t-give-an-eff attitude. But according to Charli, when you get right down to it, Brat is pretty much the opposite of that.

“The whole idea of being a brat is interesting to me, because why are people brats?” Charli says while talking to Variety. “Why do people act out and be difficult and misbehave? I think it’s because sometimes you’re overcompensating for insecurity or feeling uncomfortable, and I think that’s where the two fit together.”

In fact, if you listen to the lyrics of the Brat album, you’ll note that Charli is singing about being insecure, either about her weight or her appearance or her ability to be a mother. “My insecurities are not based on the way that I create. They’re based on the way that I look, the way that I feel in a room full of people who sometimes intimidate me, and not being good enough, feeling like an outsider, whatever.”

“I think sometimes people aren’t honest about that, although maybe everyone else in the world is Zen as f*** and doesn’t feel like that,” she laughs. 

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