Charli XCX closed out her brat era by naming successors during her Coachella set at weekend two by flashing names of directors and artists at the end of her performance.
With Lady Gaga’s Mayhem Ball tour on the horizon and women in music having a moment, who knows what this summer will bring?
Kailyn Wood, a USC senior, shared what brat summer meant to her.
“It’s very party girl...I think just being authentic and just not caring about what other people think,” Wood said.
As for this summer, Wood went ahead and named one of Charli’s successors as the name to watch out for.
“Lorde just dropped a single, which is really good. And I know Charlie and Lorde are kind of connected, and they’ve done work together in the past. I think at Charlie’s Coachella performance, she kind of said, let’s make room for Lorde summer, and a bunch of other artists, so I think it’s definitely heading in that direction,” she said.
The Kendrick Lamar and Drake rap beef was another showdown that took the summer by storm. George Zhou thinks the feud was good marketing for the artists.
“The big artists are kind of copying that wave of super techno beats in pop culture, and having one-on-one battles with other artists. I don’t know if battles is the right word, but I think it creates a lot of hype, and people are super ingrained in each song that drops and overanalyze it. So it’s probably a good marketing strategy,” Zhou said.
Kendrick earned 5 Grammys for his hit single “Not Like Us.” Throughout this summer and into the next awards season, Zhou expects to see the women of popular music stay in the limelight.
“Olivia Rodrigo, Lizzie McAlpine, like all of those people, are starting to really catch mainstream notice...I feel like that indie kind of stuff is going to be big next, but obviously the house scene is just super big, and that probably will reach more mainstream audiences as well,” Zhou said.
Katie Almoney, a human biology student, didn’t get so lucky in seeing her favorite artist win awards. This summer, she hopes to see more music from Billie Eilish so she can get her flowers.
“I want to see something more from Billie Eilish. I’m like, ugh, I loved her last album. I was so bummed that she didn’t win anything and she needs to do something else, because it’s gonna be so good,” Almoney said.
How do these artists gather these cult followings? Kevin Lyman, an Associate Professor at the Thornton School of Music, made it simple to understand.
“It starts with a great song, right? You’ve got to have a great song and great music. It’s also timing. It’s like when you see a spark in an artist’s career, sometimes that spark starts to give a flame, and then you can get that big push behind them,” Lyman said.
Sometimes, it isn’t even in the artist’s control, Lyman said, social media can take over.
“I think the fans have more of a say in if that song is going to be popular, now more than ever. The fans actually have more than they used to, and that a lot of times, that catches a wave on social media like TikTok or Instagram,” he said.
Lyman is the man behind the Vans Warped Tour. Since the start of the tour, he has watched many of the original bands rise to stardom. He said this happens when fans cause a big enough commotion to catch the attention of big labels or festival organizers.
“We’re not a major label, but as a festival, we’re starting to look at acts and go, ‘Oh, wow, the fans are responding to this act. Wouldn’t it be smart if we jump in right now with the strength we have...and promote these bands’,” he said.
From his expert perspective, Lyman sees a shift upon us.
“There’s so much great female music coming out, like that female rock side, which I think is awesome. When pop becomes big, there’s going to be a movement completely opposite coming behind it,” Lyman said.
From Lolo to Lorde, who knows what the summer will bring?