Battle of Rebellion: Charli XCX vs. Skye Sweetnam

Teenage rebellion has been a hot topic in music for as long as we can remember. We were in the heart of it growing up and we can still taste it as we grow older. While being a teen has it’s bittersweet moments, there’s nothing sweeter than hearing our own rebellion through the eyes of another soul. Pop music, through all of it’s high and low points, can come in with a bang and stick in our minds for years to come, bringing every adolescent emotion with it – not to mention the days when you’d jump around your room with a hairbrush belting out every ounce of frustration like it was a neccessity.

In 2004, I strongly remember having Skye Sweetnam‘s “Billy S” stuck in my head every morning as I begrudgingly made my way to school. Now, a decade later, we have another anti-school anthem by the brash and powerful, Charli XCX, in “Break The Rules.” Whether you were the school nerd or not, you can’t deny that little spark of rebellion you feel when hearing anthems like these two.

While Sweetnam’s “Billy S” isn’t as bold as XCX’s chart-topping hit, (there’s no “getting high and getting wrecked” – more like a PG-let-me-sleep-and-leave-me-the-hell-alone/early Avril Lavigne sort of rebellion) it still resonated with somewhat-brazen 16-year-olds like myself. XCX’s modern-day anthem, with a killer instrumental track, brings teenage rebellion (though she’s 22) to a whole new level, proving that this kind of I-don’t-give-a-f@$% behavior is here to stay. As if any of us had a say in the matter.

Check out both songs below and let me know your thoughts on each and which one you think would win in a battle of rebellion. Mashup, anyone?

“Billy S”

vs.

“Break The Rules”