Olivia Dean, Lily Allen, Charli XCX and More: The Brit Girls Are It Girls

Paul Revere may have loudly warned, “The British are coming!” in the time of the American Revolution, but the British pop-girl invasion of 2025 came more quietly, one TikTok at a time.

Of course, all-American stars like Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter and Ariana Grande aren’t going anywhere — and they remain at the top of the charts — but up-and-comers like Olivia Dean, Raye and Lola Young are giving them a run for their money, infiltrating our playlists, mood boards and Instagram feeds — and we’re not mad about it!

The most recent wave of U.K.-based female talent can be traced back to last summer, when we were all describing things as “so Julia” thanks to Charli XCX’s Grammy-winning Brat. A few months later, you couldn’t turn on the radio without hearing Young’s earworm “Messy,” which h