“There’s nothing that annoys me more than when people don’t think their emojis through”: Charli XCX on upping your WhatsApp game, why dancing at parties is compulsory, her teenage diary and more

Charli XCX in 2024 — (Image credit: Will Heath/NBC via Getty Images)

Back when a “Brat summer” simply meant you had to look after your younger sibling during the school holidays, Charli XCX already had the swagger of a pop superstar. The Essex singer, songwriter and producer born Charlotte Aitchison might have had to wait a few years for everyone else to catch up – her debut True Romance came out back in 2013 – but she possessed the vision and playfulness that she would perfect on Brat from the off.

That much is clear from her picks in 10 Commandments, a book collating the Q Magazine feature where artists would outline their rules for living. Her first one is a Charli XCX must: “Dance At All Parties”, the singer explaining she’d recently been at an aftershow and got on the dancefloor for three hours straight. “It was like a free drug,” she says. “It puts you in such a good mood. The other good thing about dancing is you don’t have to talk to other people.”

Just as crucial as throwing shapes in the club, she declared, was ensuring that you “Use Emojis Wisely”. “There’s nothing that annoys me more than when people don’t think their emojis through,” she states, explaining that her mum hadn’t got to grips with utilising them correctly. "My mum is always sending me millions, it doesn't help me understand the emotion she’s feeling.”

Alongside her other picks – “Never Forget Your Mum’s Birthday”, “Definitely Mix Champagne And Vodka”, “Always Carry Red Lipstick”, “Always Carry Spare Headphones”, “Freak People Out”, “Stay In Touch With Your Younger Self” and “Have A Curveball Ambition” – Charli also informs readers to “Write A Diary”.

“I always wrote diaries as if someone was going to read them,” she offers. “I’ve started doing it again now but writing about what’s happening. Everyone in their life does so much so it’s nice to have the hard evidence of being a human being.”

Let’s hope she’s kept up the diary entries throughout 2024 – the Brat chapters will be an absolute hoot.

Niall Doherty is a writer and editor whose work can be found in Classic Rock, The Guardian, Music Week, FourFourTwo, Champions Journal, on Apple Music and more. Formerly the Deputy Editor of Q magazine, he co-runs the music Substack letter The New Cue with fellow former Q colleague Ted Kessler. He is also Reviews Editor at Record Collector. Over the years, he's interviewed some of the world's biggest stars, including Elton John, Coldplay, Radiohead, Liam and Noel Gallagher, Florence + The Machine, Arctic Monkeys, Muse, Pearl Jam, Depeche Mode, Robert Plant and more.