Charli XCX's portrait has been added to the National Portrait Gallery's collection, reports infohub.kz.
The photograph was taken by Harley Weir in 2023 and became one of the key images associated with Charli's 'Brat' era. Released in 2024, the 'Brat' album became a pop cultural phenomenon for its candour and debauchery.
Brandei Estes, the National Portrait Gallery's senior curator of photographs, said the gallery was 'delighted' with the acquisition. According to her, Charli is 'one of the defining cultural figures of her generation', and Weir 'has developed a distinctive photographic language that combines intimacy with a powerful sense of presence'.
The photo is exhibited in the gallery's 'History Makers Now' space. Its acquisition was funded by a gift from the Bukhman Foundation.
Charli's album 'Music, Fashion, Film' has been a critical and commercial success since its release on Friday. The Guardian described her as 'our most consistently bracing pop star' in a five-star review. This album could become her fourth UK No 1 and second this year, after her soundtrack to Wuthering Heights topped the chart in February. It is at No 1 in the midweek chart ahead of new releases by Snow Patrol, Shania Twain and the Strokes.
Over the weekend, Charli released three additional songs not included on the album. She described them as B-sides of the album tracks. The songs are titled 'I Keep on Thinking Bout You Every Single Day and Night', 'Playboy Bunny', and 'If You Take Away the Music Then What Has She Got?'. On Instagram, Charli wrote: 'I felt adamant I wouldn't put them on streaming because it sort of felt counterintuitive to the whole ethos of those songs, but I know you all really wanted them so I've begrudgingly put them on iTunes lol.'
One song from the album, 'Camera', documents Charli's recent forays into film acting. She has recently appeared in the Polish arthouse drama 'Erupcja', the fantastical '100 Nights of Hero', and opposite Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Evans in 'Sacrifice', as well as starring as herself in the mockumentary 'The Moment'.
Next, Charli will appear in Gregg Araki's 'I Want Your Sex', the comedy thriller 'The Gallerest', and the remake of the 1978 horror film 'Faces of Death'. She is starring in and producing the untitled next film by Takashi Miike, director of 'Audition' and 'Ichi the Killer'.
Her next major live shows are headlining the Reading and Leeds festivals, followed by a North American tour in September and October.