BRAT summer is not going anywhere, and the recent collaboration between hyperpop icon Charli xcx and Billie Eilish is making sure of it. The new remix ‘Guess featuring Billie Eilish’ – aka the crossover we never thought we needed – features two of the biggest stars in music and pop culture today, creating a seamless and epic duet between the pair.
After the release of BRAT on June 7 this summer, the album has dominated online spaces like TikTok. It has been proving popular with ordinary users, Olympians and celebrities like Daisy Edgar-Jones, as Kelly Heyer’s iconic routine to Charli’s hit song ‘Apple’ spreads like wildfire.
The increased mainstream popularity of BRAT’ led to many believing it was a short-lived phase in pop culture, to which Charlie replied “oh? See u next week :)” in a cryptic instagram post.
The following week, Charli broke the internet with a mysterious image of her and (as eagle-eyed fans noticed) Eilish posing in underwear, hinting at the earth-shattering collab.
The song remains loyal to Charli xcx’s club-focussed hyperpop music, with heavy bombastic beats surrounding her sensual lyrics “You wanna guess the colour of my underwear / You wanna know what I got going on down there” in what is possibly her most explicit song yet. Charli directly addresses the listener throughout the song, implying her control over her own sexuality, as well as the lens she is often viewed through as a woman in the public eye.
Charli introduces Billie with a reference to her smash hit ‘LUNCH’, ending the verse prior to Billie’s with “Eat it up for lunch / Yeah it’s so delicious”.
Billie Eilish’s contribution on the remix heats the track up several degrees, with an open, unapologetic queerness. Her verse reframes Charli’s lyricism – “Don’t have to guess the colour of your underwear / already know what you got going on down there” in her signature soft, low tone flips Charli’s verse on its head in a completely unexpected, fun twist.
If the collaboration itself wasn’t enough to send aspiring ‘brats’ into a full-on spiral, the accompanying music video certainly is. Directed by Aidan Zamiri, the video is a sweaty, sexual, upbeat party featuring over ten thousand pairs of underwear and two pop icons.
All unworn garments from the shoot were also donated to US Charity ‘I Support The Girls’, who help those experiencing homelessness by collecting and distributing bras, underwear and vital menstrual products.
BRAT summer has shifted from an aspect of Charli’s artistry, to a seismic cultural phenomenon, and the contribution from Eilish is only adding fuel to the fire that is BRAT.
Words by Rosie Brennan
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