New Spotify record for Bishop’s Stortford superstar Charli XCX

Former Bishop’s Stortford College student Charli XCX has broken a Spotify record and even beaten Taylor Swift.

After accumulating 14.4 million streams since its release on August 1, her track Guess, featuring Billie Eilish, has become the biggest debut for a female remix.

It has surpassed Taylor Swift and Ice Spice’s remix of Karma in another career high for Charli, the former Start Hill resident who was born Charlotte Aitchison.

The 32-year-old honed her craft at The Half Moon in North Street by performing at Bishop’s Stortford Acoustic Club and showcased her growing star quality at Stortford Music Festival Bish Bash. Over the years, the event has hosted other acts who have gone on to global fame, including former St Mary’s Catholic School student Sam Smith and Hertford’s George Ezra.

After Charli’s parents, Shameera and John, helped her make her first album, she began posting on Myspace in 2008. That led to her discovery by Chaz Cool, a promoter running warehouse raves and parties in London.

She was invited to perform and billed under her new stage name, Charli XCX. By 2010, she had a recording contract.

In 2012, her worldwide hit, I Love It, collaborating with Swedish duo Icona Pop, sealed her success. Since then, her career as a performer and songwriter has gone from strength to strength.

As a result of her latest release, dubbed the soundtrack of summer 2024, she has gained 259,444 Instagram followers since Thursday. With a total follower count of 5.6 million, it is estimated the musician can earn up to £28,900 per sponsored post on the social media platform.

Data from Songstats shows that Charli has gained 15.9m global Spotify listeners over the last three months alone.

Worldwide online interest in Charli XCX has soared 194% over the last seven days, according to Google Trends.