On November 8, 2024, The Recording Academy released their nominations for the 2024 Grammys Album of the Year. Nominations are André 3000’s, New Blue Sun, Beyoncé’s, Cowboy Carter, Sabrina Carpenter’s, Short N’ Sweet, Charli xcx’s, BRAT, Jacob Collier’s, Djesse Vol. 4, Billie Eilish’s, Hit Me Hard And Soft, Chappell Roan’s, The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess, and Taylor Swift’s, The Tortured Poets Department. The Grammys are on February 2, 2025.
Though many of the albums nominated are undoubtedly amazing and special in their own way, BRAT by Charli xcx shines above the rest.
BRAT is the sixth studio album by Charli xcx and was released on June 7, 2024 through Atlantic Records. Listeners across the globe fell in love with the hyper, dance, and electric pop feel of the album and quickly became a cultural phenomenon influencing younger generations across the globe.
If you were anywhere on the internet this summer, you could not escape BRAT. “Brat summer”, was a phrase that grew popular among social media users and GEN-Z, describing a summer that is wild and filled with partying and confidence. At the end of the day, everyone wanted to live a brat summer, and so many people could not stop talking about it. Everything about Summer 2024 was BRAT.
Being “brat” became a personality trait for people everywhere as well. The quality of being “brat” implies a lot of self-confidence, recklessness, and being carefree. So if you were called brat at all this year, take it as a compliment.
BRAT also sparked many different social media trends. On TikTok, the song “Apple,” which is on the BRAT album, created a popular dance trend on the social media app and is now being used on Charli xcx and Troye Sivan’s, “The Sweat Tour”.
Despite its cultural impact, BRAT absolutely dominated the charts following its release. BRAT hit number one on Billboard’s “Top Dance/Electronic Albums”, and all of the 15 tracks on BRAT were seen on Billboard’s “Hot Dance/Electronic Songs”.
The week of BRAT’s release was the biggest week for Charli xcx’s career, earning her highest rank on the all-genre Billboard 200 where it was Number 3. BRAT also sold 30,000 copies on vinyl in its first week, placing it at number one on the Vinyl Albums ranking.
Without a doubt, BRAT is the most deserving album to win Album of the Year at the 2024 Grammys. Its influence on culture, social media, and people was and still is monumental. No album this year can beat BRAT when it comes to influence on people, fashion, and lifestyles across the globe. And the cherry on top is that BRAT swept the charts following its release. People everywhere loved this album, I loved this album, and so many other artists love this album. If the Grammys are familiar with Charli xcx’s BRAT empire, there is no doubt that they will award it Album of the Year; however, I do not think that BRAT will take the Grammy this year.
The album that is going to win the 2024 Album of the Year is going to be Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard And Soft even though it is clearly not as deserving as BRAT.
The Recording Academy has shown their infinite amount of love for Billie Eilish and her music. No one will forget in 2020, when Eilish completely swept the Grammys, winning 5 awards out of six nominations for her album When We All Fall Asleep Where Do We Go.
Eilish’s third studio album Hit Me Hard And Soft was released on May 17, 2024 through Darkroom and Interscope Records and like BRAT, it quickly rose to the top of the charts. All 10 of the tracks on the album were on Billboard’s Hot 100 in the top 40. During the week of its release, Hit Me Hard And Soft hit No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart.
Every single track on the Hit Me Hard And Soft album is sonically beautiful. From the beautiful orchestral sounds on “SKINNY” to the electric beats of “BITTERSUITE” and “L’AMOUR DE MA VIE”, the album flowed so well together.
Yes, I enjoyed Hit Me Hard And Soft more than I did BRAT; however, when I think of 2024, I think of the infamous, simple, lime green colored album titled BRAT. BRAT was everywhere; In art, in fashion, in people, on social media, literally everywhere. I hardly saw any of Hit Me Hard And Soft anywhere, and when you compare the two albums, BRAT clearly had a larger impact than Hit Me Hard And Soft did.
This does not mean that I think Hit Me Hard And Soft is not deserving to win, I just don’t think it is more deserving than BRAT. If the recording academy is naming the winner solely off of the music in and of itself, Billie is going to win. However, if they take cultural impact into account, Charli xcx should take the title this year.
