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Charli Xcx Coachella Setlist

Published: 2025-04-13 05:01:21 5 min read

The Enigma of Charli XCX’s Coachella Setlist: A Critical Investigation Charli XCX has long been a polarizing figure in pop music simultaneously a mainstream hitmaker and an avant-garde experimentalist.

Her 2024 Coachella performance was no exception, sparking fervent debate among fans and critics alike.

While some hailed it as a visionary fusion of hyperpop and nostalgia, others dismissed it as a disjointed mishmash of styles.

This essay argues that Charli XCX’s Coachella setlist was a deliberate, if flawed, attempt to reconcile her commercial ambitions with her underground roots, exposing the tensions inherent in her artistic evolution.

The Setlist as a Battleground: Commercial Appeal vs.

Artistic Integrity Charli’s Coachella setlist was a microcosm of her career’s central conflict.

On one hand, she leaned heavily into crowd-pleasing anthems like and, catering to casual festival-goers.

On the other, she included deep cuts from and, tracks beloved by her hyperpop devotees but less familiar to the mainstream.

This duality was strategic Coachella demands spectacle, yet Charli refused to fully abandon her experimental edge.

Critics like ’s Dani Blum noted the “jarring tonal shifts” between bubblegum pop and abrasive electronic breakdowns, arguing that the setlist lacked cohesion ().

Yet, this very tension mirrors Charli’s career trajectory.

As scholar Emily Yoshida observes in, “Charli XCX exists in a liminal space between the avant-garde and the Top 40, and her live performances often reflect this instability” ().

Nostalgia as a Double-Edged Sword One of the most contentious aspects of the setlist was its reliance on nostalgia.

and triggered euphoric singalongs, but some fans questioned whether Charli was leaning too heavily on past glories.

In a interview, hyperpop producer A.

G.

Charli Xcx 2024 Setlist Uk - Audre Doralynne

Cook Charli’s longtime collaborator defended the approach, stating, “Nostalgia isn’t just about looking back; it’s about recontextualizing the past in a futuristic framework” ().

However, not all critics were convinced.

’s Laura Snapes argued that the setlist’s reliance on older hits suggested creative stagnation, writing, “For an artist who once seemed ahead of her time, the Coachella set felt oddly retrospective” ().

This critique raises a crucial question: Was Charli pandering to festival audiences, or was she subverting nostalgia by juxtaposing it with her more experimental work? The Hyperpop Paradox: Accessibility vs.

Innovation Charli’s Coachella performance also highlighted the broader dilemma facing hyperpop as a genre.

Once an underground movement, hyperpop has increasingly infiltrated mainstream spaces but at what cost? The inclusion of and thrilled longtime fans but left some attendees bewildered.

Music journalist Simon Reynolds posits in that “genre-blurring artists often face pushback when their work reaches larger audiences, as listeners crave familiarity over experimentation” ().

Charli’s decision to balance abrasive, glitchy production with radio-friendly hooks was a calculated risk.

While some saw it as a betrayal of hyperpop’s radical ethos, others, like ’s Hannah Mylrea, praised it as “a masterclass in bridging the gap between the underground and the mainstream” ().

Conclusion: A Setlist at War With Itself Charli XCX’s Coachella setlist was neither a total triumph nor a failure it was a messy, ambitious reflection of an artist caught between competing identities.

By oscillating between crowd-pleasing nostalgia and avant-garde experimentation, she exposed the contradictions of her career.

Yet, this very tension is what makes her compelling.

In an era where pop stars are increasingly pressured to conform, Charli’s refusal to fully commit to either extreme is itself a radical act.

The broader implications are clear: As pop music continues to fragment into niche subgenres, artists like Charli XCX serve as crucial mediators between the underground and the mainstream.

Whether her Coachella setlist succeeded in this balancing act remains debatable but its very existence challenges the industry’s rigid binaries.

In the end, perhaps the most revolutionary thing Charli did was refuse to be easily categorized.