Charli XCX is making sure her homecoming tour is kicking off in a big way.
The English musician launched the U.K. leg of her global Brat tour on Wednesday (Nov. 27) with a headline performance in Manchester, which expectedly leaned heavily on her culture-defining sixth album.
Nearing the halfway point of her set on Wednesday, Charli XCX turned her attention to late friend and collaborator SOPHIE, who died suddenly in February 2021. “This is the first time I’ve performed this song,” Charli XCX said before launching into the remix of “So I’ for the first time. “This song is for SOPHIE.”
“So I” had been written in repsonse to SOPHIE’s passing, telling NME it had been written about “dealing with grief”. SOPHIE and Charli XCX’s relationship dated back to 2015 when the pair announced a collaboration, which resulted in the late musician taking on production roles for Charli XCX’s Vroom Vroom EP and her Number 1 Angel album. The original version of “So I” received its live debut at the 2024 Billboard Women In Music Awards in March.
The Brat tour continued to London on Thursday (Nov. 28), with a handful of special guests taking part in the event. Launching the evening with the Shygirl remix of “365” with Shygirl herself, the set also featured the addition of Charli XCX’s fiancé, The 1975 drummer George Daniel.
Daniel’s appearance was notable for diehard fans, with his appearance during “Apple” resulting in his decision to finally relent from his long-standing refusal to do the song’s viral TikTok dance.
The set’s encore welcomed a number of special guests to the stage, including Caroline Polachek, who joined in for for the live debut of “Everything Is Romantic” and a version of her own song, “Welcome to My Island”. Likewise, Swedish singer Robyn teamed up with Yung Lean for a performance of “360” before running through her own hit single, “Dancing on My Own”.
