Biography
British singer-songwriter Charli XCX co-wrote and produced some of the biggest pop hits of the 2010s. Born Charlotte Emma Atchinson in Stevange, England in 1992, XCX began her recording career at the age of 14 after receiving a loan from her parents. After a few days spent inside the recording studio, XCX emerged with two singles, "!Franchesckaar!" and "Emelline"/"Art Bitch", which she posted on her MySpace page. It didn't take long for the songs to catch on, and before long XCX was performing before hundreds of British teens at warehouse raves across London. It was also during this time that XCX released her debut album, 14, in 2008. Despite never releasing the album commercially, XCX spent the next few years building her name recognition at gigs all across London by giving 14 away for free. The hard work eventually paid off, and in 2012, XCX's music found its way into the hands of the rising Swedish pop duo Icona Pop. The duo recruited XCX to write their next song, which became the breakout hit, "I Love It." The success off "I Love It" thrust XCX into the mainstream seemingly overnight, as the song went on to become the theme to the popular American reality series, "Snooki & JWoww (MTV 2012). Still riding the success of "I Love It" in 2013 XCX released her major label debut, True Romance. The album was well-received by critics, thus lending further credence to XCX's growing status as a talented young pop singer-songwriter on the rise. In addition to the critical success of True Romance, in March of 2014 XCX helped write and produce "Fancy" for the Australian hip-hop star Iggy Azalea. That song went on to reach the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 charts, which was spurred in part by a music video inspired by the classic teen romance "Clueless" (1995). 2014 was also the year XCX contributed the song "Boom Clap" to the film "The Fault in Our Stars" (2014), starring Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort as two terminally ill teens that fall madly in love.
