A release day ranking of all the songs on Charli XCX’s Brat remix album

There was always going to be a remix album. If you think the fact we currently have Charli XCX releasing Brat and It’s Completely Different but Also Still Brat on some kind of remix album whim, based on the success of the parent record – you’d be wrong. Charli XCX has been masterminding this alongside her big acclaimed superstar moment, and has been drip feeding single cuts all the way through Brat summer. What Charli XCX has presented here with the Brat remix album is a reflective rework of every song on Brat – so I ranked all of the remixes on release day. It’s only right.

All 16 of these are truly amazing from Charli XCX, who knocks it out the park on this Brat remix album – getting them ranked was HARD. So bear with.

16. Guess featuring Billie Eilish

It feels absolutely criminal ranking a number one hit single featuring Billie Eilish as the worst ranked on the Charli XCX Brat remix album – but here we are. I think when so much of the album is completely reinventing the source material and making me feel something new, it’s hard for this one to compare. I always preferred the solo version anyway. No slight to Billie who has a blast with her verse and I still adore this remix, I just think it’s less special than the rest.

15. Mean Girls featuring Julian Casablancas

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I absolutely adore Julian Casablancas and really had my heart set on this sounding like his Daft Punk feature. His bits are the best, especially in the second half of the track. I think the fundamental issue here with it getting ranked low is just that Mean Girls is one of my least fave songs on Brat to start with. There I said it!

14. 365 featuring Shygirl

Every Charli fan has been HUNGRY for this remix to drop because it’s been teased since before Brat even came out. I love Shygirl. I like this remix a lot. Just never hits that gorgeous spot that the original does.

13. I Might Say Something Stupid featuring The 1975 and Jon Hopkins

When I clocked that professional auteur of saying something stupid Matty Healy would be featuring on this track, my mind was racing at the wordy excellence of holding himself accountable might come spilling out. Sadly, I never feel like it quite gets there. This version feels like an interlude from the band’s A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships. Which is one of my favourite albums of all time, but just not what I had my hopes on.

That being said, the final half of the remix is outstanding – love the grungy guitar coming in.

12. Rewind featuring Bladee

I love that this remix sounds like the original song has ended and goes straight into this – a deeply confessional exchange of verses from Charli and bladee that reminds me of Delicious from Pop 2. Aka, one of the best songs Charli’s ever done.

11. Apple featuring The Japanese House

It would be hard to contend with the original, viral smash – but The Japanese House bring a lot of richness to the table. It’s like a softer version of everything that makes Apple great. After you’ve clubbed to Apple, you go and have a cig and listen to this version as you catch your breath.

10. Talk Talk featuring Troye Sivan

Released perfectly to coincide with Charli XCX and Troye Sivan kicking off the Sweat tour, it’s the perfect way to kick off the top 10 Brat remix album ranked. I love that it throws Talk Talk into the world of Troye’s last record Something To Give Each Other. The way Troye flips up the production when his verse comes in is so satisfying. Also just have to bow at the chic coolness of an uncredited Dua Lipa feature where she just sexily speaks French and Spanish with no fuss.

9. B2b featuring Tinashe

Gorgeous that Tinashe and Charli XCX have both respectively seen huge commercial success in their careers this year, and great to hear them link up again. Real ones remember Drop That Kitty! I love this version a lot more than the original. I love Charli shouting out Boom Clap and 2 On, and then we get Charli speaking en Français. Delicious.

8. Everything is Romantic featuring Caroline Polachek

I had my heart set on Rosalía featuring on this song. It’s produced by El Guincho, who created Motomami and El Mal Querer with her, after all. And yet, the magic of Caroline Polachek gave me something I didn’t even know I wanted. Whilst the original Everything is Romantic speaks of a holiday on the Amalfi coast – Caroline reframes it as a romantic look at the mundane ugliness of London. It’s a fascinating reworking.

7. So I featuring AG Cook

Nobody else could really touch So I, Charli XCX’s heartbreaking song for SOPHIE. Whilst the main album version is devastating as Charli pours out her regret, the new version celebrates “all the good times”. It is a cathartic and riotous celebration of SOPHIE, the music she made and what she brought to the world and to Charli as an artist. It’s the perfect flip side. The samples of XCXoplex and the outro to Unlock It. Wow. We miss you forever, SOPHIE.

6. Sympathy is a Knife featuring Ariana Grande

This link up was on absolutely nobody’s bingo card, and yet here we are. Ariana fucking Grande on a Charli XCX record. I love that this is a complete reimagining of the original and as brilliant as the OG in a completely different way. It feels incredible hearing Ariana Grande on this kind of production for once. Adore it. Her riffs and adlibs are insane, of course.

5. 360 featuring Robyn and Yung Lean

EVERYONE WHO HATES THIS SONG… YOU WILL BE DEALT WITH. “Got everybody in the club dancing on their own”? Masterpiece.

4. Club Classics featuring BB Trickz

It is so iconic to me that the remix of Club Classics features mostly sampled parts of the original 365. Real recognises real. Any naysayers who thought BB Trickz wouldn’t rip this feature to shreds were quickly shut up, because she’s practically electric on it. I need to be the sweatiest slut on the gay club dance floor to this remix immediately.

3. Von Dutch featuring Addison Rae and AG Cook

von dutch remix – charli xcx featuring addison rae and ag cook last part viral scream brat pic.twitter.com/Or0he2qQBT

— ‏۟ (@agcooked) October 11, 2024

This has been submitted for Grammy consideration, and for Addison Rae’s viral and improvised scream – it will win. Trust the Von Dutchess.

2. I Think About It All The Time featuring Bon Iver

Never in a billion years did I think I would have this track ranked as my second favourite on the Charli XCX Brat remix album – but it is perfect. The original is not my fave, despite loving the subject matter and the conversation it opens. This version, though… Bon Iver and Charli XCX fit together unexpectedly like a perfect match. Every single thing about it is gorgeous and moving. The vocals are beautiful. The spoken word reminds me of the wows of Self Esteem’s I Do This All The Time. Elevates the original in every way.

1. Girl so confusing featuring Lorde

girl, so confusing at charli’s bday w lorde omg pic.twitter.com/mOnB0mTArF

— se@n. (@seancellmore) August 4, 2024

The most iconic thing to happen to music this decade. Period. The best song ranked on Brat not only from the remix album, but from this entire Charli XCX era in general. What Lorde and Charli did here is so special. The entire lore and the story of it just creates something so magic that you could only do if you were a certain type of person and a certain type of artist. Working it out on the remix is for the history books.

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