Brat Charli XCX saves SNL from total disaster

While pop stardom has many advantages, it also has a few negatives. One is the commitment to hosting hysterically unfunny American comedy “institution” Saturday Night Live, aka the place where laughs go to die. Adele had to submit to this unpleasant ritual in 2020, and now it’s the turn of Essex-born singer and producer Charlotte Aitchison, aka Charli XCX.

It’s been a big year for Charli, who went from cult artist to mainstream entertainer with her Brat album. It was a decent-sized hit – topping the UK charts and peaking at number three in America – but an even bigger internet meme. Aitchison cleverly sold the concept of “Brat” as more than a sound. It was a vibe and lifestyle choice she defined as a kind of elevated clutter—a sensibility reflected by the LP’s lime-green color scheme. In a surreal moment, it even seemed possible that her support for Kamala Harris could have a meaningful impact on the US presidential election after she tweeted, “Kamala is Brat”.

This turned out to be a figment of social media’s imagination, but Charli is still riding a wave nonetheless. Ahead of a sold-out UK tour, her Saturday Night Live performance showcased her charisma as a pop star and, more surprisingly, her talents as an actor and impressionist.

She made her grand entrance after a typically unfunny “cold open” skit in which actors portrayed Donald Trump and Joe Biden while looking nothing like them (Alec Baldwin joined as Robert F Kennedy Jr., Trump’s incoming health secretary). The dull drumbeat led into Charli, who wildly thrashed through the traditional Saturday Night Live opening monologue.