Charli XCX reveals she has nerve damage from performing live after Brat tour

The pop star finished the international leg of her Brat Tour on December 2

Charli XCX just revealed she has nerve damage following her international Brat Tour.

From her ultra-famous Sweat Tour series with Troye Sivan to her final international show in Glasgow, Scotland, on Monday (December 2), the 32-year-old pop artist has been non-stop performing for the last few months — and it’s taken a toll on her body.

Charli, whose real name is Charlotte Emma Aitchison, is walking away from her string of live shows with nerve damage in her neck.

Speaking to Variety in a recent interview, the “360” artist said she’d put her body through a lot, having been submerged under a constant stream of strobe lights and subjected to the sound of autotune almost every night.

“I’ve done a lot of physical damage to my body from performing,” she told the outlet, noting that when she’s on stage she’s “in a lot of pain.”

Charli XCX says performing live is a ‘hellhole’ (Getty Images)

In many of her performances, Charli is typically seen whipping around her long curly hair, bobbing up and down, and endlessly shaking her head. “Genuinely, physically, I have nerve damage in my neck from things that I’ve done onstage,” she noted.

“For me to give a performance that I feel is good enough, I have to really physically throw myself around — and that makes me very upset when I do it,” Charli added.

From an outside perspective, the artist’s on-stage presence appears effortless. However, this isn’t always the case. According to the “Talk Talk” singer, performing live is a “hellhole.” That said, she’s found comfort and support in her team, and especially in her Sweat Tour co-performer.

“Being with Troye softens that quite a lot and a lot of the other people on the tour made me feel a lot lighter,” Charli said.

Despite the tour’s effects on her body, Charli’s proud to have grown and expanded the “Brat” brand, which shockingly poured onto the U.S. political scene this summer in Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign.

As she reflected on all her accomplishments, including landing seven nominations at the 2025 Grammy Awards, Charli said she’s barely been able to rest.

“But I also don’t really sleep these days. 2020… um, what year is it?” she jokingly asked. “2024 has not been a very restful year, for sure.”

The self-proclaimed diva is up received Grammy nominations for Best Music Video, Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Best Dance Pop Recording, Best Pop Solo Performance, Best Dance/Electronic Album, and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.