Think of a four-letter word for a wild and rebellious child. It’s ‘brat’, also the title of Charli XCX’s latest album that celebrates the 1980s like we once celebrated, well, the 1980s. The song — from Brat — that has become the sound of 2024 is simply called Apple.

And when a ‘brat’ takes a bite of an ‘apple’ things can go wild. For the 32-year-old from Essex, the deceptive fruit opens her to the knowledge of imperfection. She thinks “the apple’s rotten right to the core/ from all the things passed down/ from all the apples coming before”.

Apple is the summer sound of 2024, coming with dance steps that are making even Stephen Colbert and Dave Grohl shimmy like there’s no tomorrow.

What’s Apple dance?

Charli sings about generational trauma on Apple but it needed New York-based actor and content creator Kelley Heyer to come up with the dance on “a whim” for TikTok. It unfolds to 1980s-style music.

(Left to right) Brooke Shields, Stephen Colbert and Dave Grohl with daughter Harper

Her carefree dance style creates the essence of the album, which according to Charli is “that girl who is a little messy… maybe says some dumb things sometimes…”. For Heyer, “brat summer means not giving a f**k, but it also means being kind”.

The dance captures the honesty of the lyrics on Brat. On the album, Charli channels her insecurities to a beat that’s unapologetically 1980s.

Heyer picked up the song early… when there were around 200 videos under the sound on TikTok. “Maybe because it has a slightly different beat and feel than the rest of the album. There’s something kind of structured about it which I think — Charli is a genius — she’s talking about generational trauma and being stuck inside this box of a family so the structure makes sense. I woke up one day and was like it would be hilarious if I made a dance to this as someone who has never made a TikTok dance before,” she told Autostraddle

Who is doing the Apple dance?

From Joe Jonas and Glen Powell to Stephen Colbert and Dave Grohl. The Foo Fighters frontman and former Nirvana drummer has been captured dancing to the song with his daughter Harper. They dance to the track but he is slightly behind Harper but tries his best to keep the momentum going.

Colbert, at age 60, has done his best to live up to the dance steps during a segment on The Late Show. Brooke Shields picked up the steps after her girls kept telling her “it’s a brat summer”. Joe Jonas did his variation of the dance a few days ago in Quebec.

Of course, Charli XCX also had to show off her moves and that’s exactly what she has done with Troye Sivan and photographer Terrence O’Connor.

Is Kamala Harris a ‘brat’?

US vice-president Kamala Harris is trying to give off ‘brat’ vibes

Charli played it cool when she posted on X (formerly Twitter) that “Kamala IS brat”, leaving the world wondering what it could do to the US vice-president’s campaign to become the President. Harris is yet to show off dance moves that will make the people of Thulasendrapuram proud but her HQ has already started to dig into the Brat trend.

Politics and history, of course, go hand in hand. Bruce Springsteen performed at Barack Obama campaign rallies while Lady Gaga and Jon Bon Jovi warmed up to Hillary Clinton. The “brats” are young. Rapper Megan Thee Stallion has already performed at a Kamala Harris campaign event in Atlanta. And many young Americans who love Charli’s music are also spotting cool vibes in Harris.

Feeling like the ’80s?

As generations X and Y are getting comfortable with middle age, the sound of that era has bounced back. Look at the most caffeinated drink of the summer — it’s “me espresso”, coined by pop singer Sabrina Carpenter in her big hit Espresso. The song is being kept company by Chappell Roan’s Good Luck, Babe! while parents are populating Instagram feeds with “dance like it’s the 80s” moves.

How to be a ‘brat’?

Embrace the loudest colour of the year — brat green. Don’t expect the colour to channel a sense of serenity; it’s about getting attention.

Act pouty and don’t conform to expectations.

Combat surveillance or find a way to enjoy yourself in spite of it.