Charli XCX Rebrands Girl Power At Governors Ball 2015: See Photos From Her Set

Carl Williott | June 6, 2015 7:58 am
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Within the first minute of her Governors Ball set on Friday afternoon (June 5), Charli XCX implored fans to put up their middle fingers and chant “Fuck you, sucker” for the chorus of her latest album’s title track. Later in the show, during the ode to masturbation/self-empowerment that is “Body Of My Own,” the Brit dedicated the song to “all the ladies, all the people with pussy power.” These moments highlight just how odd, and refreshing, Charli’s rise to pop stardom has been. Rather than pick a lane, she has created her own, displaying a genuinely fun (and seemingly genuine) image that’s a far cry from the calculated aesthetics and curated “weirdness” of other pop acts.

But these raunched-up Spice Girls brat pop antics would be nothing if she didn’t have the music to back it up. Her set stuck mainly to Sucker material, which is the sort of sugary stuff perfect for a midday festival gig. “SuperLove” had a dizzying energy, “Doing It” got the crowd to give in to the groove, “Breaking Up” was snotty and silly (she brandished a comically huge fake guitar during that one, for no other reason than it’s huge and thus funny). On tracks like “London Queen,” “Break The Rules” and “I Love It” she gave off a mallrat-oi vibe, before unleashing an alternate, EDM-leaning version of “Fancy,” taking it upon herself to rap Iggy Azalea‘s verses.

Charli got the crowd to chant “pussy power” during the hit, which was the set’s penultimate song, and we can’t wait to see how she decides to unleash that power for the next phase of her career.