Charli xcx: Master of the Niche

Music
Written By Tseion Melaku

Charli xcx is in a league of her own. Not because she’s mastered all of artistry’s elements, but because she’s mastered one — the art of the niche. Long jet black hair, pared back grunge, and sunglasses paired with Boiler Room sets, Auto-Tune, synths, painstakingly vulnerable lyrics, and simultaneous club anthems have defined Charli’s artistic persona since 2020. None of these qualities sound as though they’re compatible. However, they are and they embody Charli xcx. In short, she’s a morose yet vibrant and emotionally intelligent party girl. In an era where many artists are desperate to pivot at a moment’s glance, or rather an algorithm’s glance, she has managed to double down on her niche time and time again, until the world glanced at her.

Embedded via Instagram — Charli XCX for Billboard, photographed by Charlotte Hadden at Loft Studios in London.

When I think about the world’s biggest superstars from Beyoncé to Bad Bunny, I find that they have done the same. They have used their own unique set of seemingly conflicting but constant characteristics to create their artistic personas. Beyoncé was a country girl from the South that took on R&B and Pop, dominated, and did so with a uniform: blonde hair, designer outfits with streetwear accents, a deeply introverted yet commanding personality, raw storytelling, and vocally flawless, show-stopping live performances. Bad Bunny, aged 24 when he released his first studio album, presented the world with gender fluidity, avant-garde aesthetics, emotional yet suave lyrics, reggaeton, and his Puerto Rican heritage from the very beginning of his career, and he increasingly does so with each new album.

Embedded via Instagram — Interview Magazine featuring Bad Bunny, photographed by Jack Pierson and styled by Mel Ottenberg.

Talent alone isn’t enough to sustain or propel massive, enduring success as a musician. In fact, it is arguably one of the less relevant features of a superstar in today’s world. Regardless of culture, region, race, or ideology, people are obsessed with anomalies. Therein lies the genius of a well-defined niche. Talent devoid of tension feels familiar and commonplace. Every culturally relevant superstar that has achieved longevity in their career has chosen a niche, redefined it with their own distinct musical personas, and then waited for the world to understand it. Despite ridicule, lack of recognition, inadequate compensation, or time passing in a sedated state, they persisted. The same tension between seemingly contradictory attributes that creates alienation, discomfort, and misunderstanding often leads to a fantastic niche, and better yet, to greatness. Charli xcx has managed to cultivate her own distinctive niche, and she has spent over a decade fine-tuning it and remaining devoted to it. The Brat Era, only describable as indisputably iconic, felt innovative and authentic because of the home she built for it. A master of her niche, Charli xcx is an artist of specificity and taste. The next era promises to expand the world she already built, not of Brat specifically, but of the club anthems and sensitive lyrics she has introduced us to from the start.

Tseion Melaku