Coachella 2023: Charli XCX shows off vocal, dance prowess; goes back to '1999' with Troye Sivan

If you weren't dancing and singing at the top of your lungs early Saturday evening, you clearly weren't at Charli XCX's electrifying debut set at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.

The English singer and songwriter, whose real name is Charlotte Emma Aitchison, took the Coachella Stage by storm, showing off her vocal and dancing abilities in a nearly hour-long set. She kept the crowd energized and on their feet as she performed some of her biggest dance pop hits during her Coachella debut.

The singer came out to "Lightning" off her 2022 album "Crash," and audience members could immediately tell she was feeling herself. The English star — rocking a black leather bodysuit with silver accents on it, matching tall boots, black gloves and silver shades — busted out her exquisite dance moves with her four male backup dancers (who wore similar outfits).

She quickly made it known to the crowd that she didn't want to be the only person getting their groove on during her set.

"I know it's hot, but I want to see you move a little bit," she said as she switched to "Gone."

Charli XCX was discovered on Myspace in 2008 when she began posting songs on the social media platform, and she was later invited to perform at raves. That background served to her advantage as she kept her energy up the entire set, never faltering on the vocals nor choreography.

The singer rose to prominence with the Icona Pop collaboration "I Love It" in 2012, and the Coachella audience showed it was still jamming out to the song more than a decade later. The whole crowd screamed and jumped around as the well-known punky beat blasted through the festival grounds. The song was originally written by Charli XCX.

To give attendees an additional treat, Charli XCX was later joined by Australian singer-songwriter Troye Sivan for their song "1999." Sivan, also wearing a black ensemble, matched the Coachella singer's energy as the crowd loudly screamed for his entrance. The two performers also shared a couple of sweet remarks, with Charli XCX saying Sivan looked "very sexy" and saying "I love you" as he went backstage.

Aitchison has written a number of songs for other artists, including Iggy Azalea's "Beg for It," Selena Gomez's "Same Old Love" and Blondie's "Tonight." Throughout her set, she shouted out other female artists performing at the festival, including Rosalía and headliner BLACKPINK, who were scheduled to perform on the Coachella Stage later in the evening. She introduced her song "Constant Repeat" by dedicating it to "all the bad girls" who came to see her, as well as the other aforementioned female performers.

The remainder of her set included other fast-paced hits such as "Vroom Vroom," "Good Ones" and "Boys," as well as her remix of Caroline Polachek’s “Welcome to My Island.” But she was able to show even more of her vocal prowess with her performance of "Blame It On Your Love." The singer emotionally belted out the song, which reckons with a former love, and by the end, the singer left it all on the floor − literally, as she slowly laid down to close the song, then remaining there for a moment to soak it all in. Like the rest of her set, the crowd erupted into loud applause.

Ema Sasic covers entertainment and health in the Coachella Valley. Reach her at ema.sasic@desertsun.com or on Twitter @ema_sasic.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Coachella 2023: Charli XCX shows off vocal, dance prowess; goes back to '1999' with Troye Sivan