She signed a recording contract with Asylum Records in , releasing a series of singles and mixtapes throughout and Her debut studio album, True Romance , was released to positive reviews but failed to meet commercial expectations. In , Charli XCX featured on Iggy Azalea 's single " Fancy ", which became one of the year's best-selling singles worldwide and received nominations for two Grammy Awards.
The same year, she released " Boom Clap ", which became her first solo top-ten single in the U. Her second studio album, the punk -influenced Sucker , spawned the singles " Break the Rules " and " Doing It ". She began working alongside producers associated with the UK collective PC Music in , developing a more experimental sound and image.
Her third studio album, Charli , produced the hit single " ". She contributed the single " Speed Drive " as part of the soundtrack of the film Barbie. She then released her sixth studio album, Brat , to widespread critical acclaim and wide media coverage. The record was her second UK number-one album, and was named the best album of by Rolling Stone. It spawned the singles " " and " Apple " with the latter reaching the top-ten in the UK. Its accompanying remix album included " Guess " featuring Billie Eilish , which became her first number-one hit as a lead artist on the UK Singles Chart.
Charlotte Emma Aitchison was born in Cambridge on 2 August , the only child of nurse and flight attendant Shameera and entrepreneur and show booker Jon Aitchison. Her mother was born into a Muslim family of Gujarati Indian descent in Uganda , while her father is Scottish. She has spoken extensively about her difficulties at school growing up, stating that she was a " half-Indian girl with frizzy hair" among predominantly white people and that she was bullied and discriminated against for her Indian heritage.
At 14, Aitchison persuaded her parents to grant her a loan to record her first album, 14 , [ 12 ] [ 13 ] and in early , began posting songs from the album, as well as numerous other demos, on her official Myspace page.
