10 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
Charli XCX at Dublin's Malahide Castle: A pulsating set from 365 partygirl
A pulsating beat, strobing lights, and a yell 'Dublin, what the fuck you at?'
Dressed in a white top with a black bra peeking through, black thigh-high boots and her signature wraparound glasses, Charli XCX appears on stage to the roar of 20,000 people shortly after 9.20pm.
It's a heady rush from 365 (the ShyGirl remix) into 360, the crowd jumping as Charli invites fans to 'put their fucking hands up'.
On Von Dutch, she struts down the stage steps, singing to those at the barrier: 'It's okay to just admit that you're jealous of me / You're obsessin', just confess it 'cause it's obvious / I'm your number one, I'm your number one!' After the year she's had, it's hard to call that hyperbole.
From viral TikTok dances to the singer's sixth album, brat, dominated summer 2024. And Charli - almost two decades since she first entered the industry - has finally made it to the top.
In just the fortnight prior to tonight, the 32-year-old has headlined three separate festivals, so it's somewhat understandable that she might be a bit wrecked. She admits as much to the crowd.
'I was feeling a bit tired, a bit low [before the show]', she tells us, 'then I saw everyone's faces.'
'Dublin goes fucking hard for Charli XCX.'
Charli XCX at Dublin's Malahide Castle
Despite her gruelling run of shows, of course, 365 party girl delivers.
On Guess, where she sings of someone wanting to 'guess the colour of her underwear', she flips her skirt giving the crowd a peek, on Track 10, she writhes under rain, singing directly into the cameraman's lens.
Pre-show, social media was abuzz with who might be 'the apple girl' for the hit, all about generational trauma, with its one TikTok choreography.
At Primavera, it was Chappell Roan. In London, Chicken Shop Date founder Amelia Dimoldenberg got the honour. For Malahide? No CMATs or Jedward (the most popular predications we saw), but a dedication stan painted top to toe in green. Go have your moment, queen.
It's hard to know how much Charli, known for her enthusiastic embrace of auto-tune, is actually singing live, but no one here cares. Her role is to act as ringmaster for letting go and embracing one's inner brat. She's a showman, and for that she can only be given full marks, even when she admits herself she isn't on top form.
At a tight one hour, the only audible disappointment from attendees is that we didn't get more.
