Seeing ‘Clairo shade’ all over your timeline? Here’s what the memes actually mean

I know what you’re thinking. You’re trying to find a way to decipher how this article could potentially be Clairo shade. I assure you it is not. This is a Clairo shade safe space, but it will be a place where you can finally get explained to you what the long running meme actually means. This year, the term has taken over Twitter with even Clairo herself replying to the laughs. But what is actually going on, I hear you cry! Here’s an explained rundown of the Clairo shade memes and tweets.

Okay, I’ll bite: Who’s Clairo?

Claire Cottrill aka Clairo is an indie pop star. She started off making bedroom pop that went viral before her acclaimed debut album Immunity came out in 2019 – featuring her best song, Bags. Potentially one of the best song of all time, actually. She’s collaborated with artists like Mura Masa and Charli XCX, and then went to the woods with Jack Antonoff for her 70s inspired album Sling in 2021 and forgoing some of her commercial success. Not Clairo shade, just evidence she wasn’t chasing a hit!

Clairo has returned this year with her album Charm and it’s her most commercially successful ever. But whilst she’s been in the midst of her album era, the memes have taken over. And probably have helped raise her profile significantly, actually.

Clairo shade?

Clairo shade is a meme used by the very online and very hilarious Twitter music lot which basically bends over backwards to explain how everything and anything “could be” Clairo shade. Basically, implying that things that have nothing to do with Clairo or her music in any way, shape or form are actually a sly dig at Clairo’s expense. It’s easier to explain this with examples.

This might be Clairo shade bc 1, 4, and 3 respectively correspond the letters to “A” “D” “C” in the Latin alphabet, which could stand for “And Die, Clairo”…….. https://t.co/04Agfoptbb

— macklin (@saintmacklin) July 10, 2024

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The above is an example of how ridiculous it gets. “This might be Clairo shade because 1, 4 and 3 respectively correspond to A, D and C in the alphabet which could stand for ‘And die, Clairo'” is a hilarious and outrageous way to view the inevitably flop Katy Perry record.

Barack Obama not putting Claire in his annual summer playlist got described as “international levels of Clairo shade”

we have achieved international levels of clairo shade https://t.co/YOErDXwgNK

— Nickeeee (@Nick__Nation) August 12, 2024

Another ridiculous political one: “Trump assassination lowkey Clairo shade.”

Trump assassination lowkey Clairo shade

— josh (@notjoshszn) July 13, 2024

Even when accounts such as PopCrave wished Clairo a happy birthday, people said how it could be shade because they just put a full stop instead of an enthusiastic exclamation point.

no exclamation point??…. this feels like clairo shade https://t.co/lWggbPVPMm

— wiLL (@willfulchaos) August 18, 2024

There are even viral Clairo shade cakes, for god’s sake.

whole party lowkey felt like clairo shade pic.twitter.com/eF93fw55wS

— willa (@poIarseltzer) August 18, 2024

My streaming stats prove no Clairo shade from my end however. And I hope yours do the same!

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