When Charli XCX's dedicated fanbase descends upon Coachella, they yearn to be serenaded by those timeless club anthems, and the chart-topping diva more than obliged this weekend, orchestrating a star-laden spectacle that officially breathed new life into the beloved "Brat Summer." On Saturday night, the perpetual party girl transformed the main stage of the Indio, California, music festival into a pulsating club, bringing her electric Brat tour to the sun-drenched desert. And she didn't embark on this journey alone; Troye Sivan, Lorde, and Billie Eilish all made surprise appearances at various points during her exhilarating performance, eliciting thunderous reactions from the captivated crowd.
Charli first beckoned Sivan to the stage for a revamped version of their "Talk Talk" collaboration from their joint Sweat tour the previous year. After they grooved and strutted across the stage in unison, Sivan shouted into the microphone, "I'm so f***ing obsessed with you, Charli!" to roars of approval.
Next, Charli and Lorde merged their talents on a remixed "Girl, So Confusing," sending the audience into a frenzy with Lorde's unexpected stage debut. The pop titans once again buried the hatchet through their music, passionately grappling with the intricacies of womanhood and their former rift before embracing. Charli then sang into the Auto-Tuned microphone, proclaiming, "Lorde summer 2025!"
Finally, after kicking off her "Guess" remix performance with a defiant "That's right, bitch!" and belting out the first verse and chorus solo, Charli welcomed Eilish to the stage. The crowd erupted once more as Eilish dived into her verse, infusing their 2024 collaboration with fresh vitality. Both singers jumped around ecstatically until the song's conclusion, when they hugged and Charli screamed, "I f***ing love you, bitch!"
The remainder of the set was comprised of the remaining Brat songs (one fortunate fan even got to showcase their "Apple" dance on the big screen). Charli only performed three tracks that weren't from the album: "Unlock It," "Blame It on Your Love," and her surprise encore, Icona Pop's "I Love It," which she co-wrote.
Watch a compilation of all of Charli's special Coachella 2025 guests performing in the video below.
But the singer had one more delightful surprise up her sleeve before wrapping up her flawless set. As Charli exited the stage, a heartfelt yet playful message appeared in pieces on the giant screens, culminating in her pleading with her fans not to let Brat Summer fade away.
"Thank you so much Coachella," her message began. "Does this mean that Brat Summer is finally over????? ... Idk? ... Maybe? ... Yeah, cuz duh, it was already over like last year. ... Wait... was it? ... NO???... I don't know who I am if it's over??? F***... Wait... I remembered... I'm Charli XCX... and honestly... I just want this moment to last forever... PLEASE DON'T LET IT BE OVER."
Back in September 2024, Charli declared the end of Brat Summer on social media. And after lime-green billboards with the word "brat" scribbled out were spotted along the highway leading to Coachella, it seemed as though Charli was poised to usher in a brand-new era. Now, it appears she's revisiting the golden days instead.
And we're certainly not complaining, because Brat Summer isn't merely an era; it's a pop culture movement that continues to grow in magnitude. And it will endure for at least one more week, as Charli is scheduled to return to Coachella for the second weekend on Saturday, April 19.
