Now 20 years old, Charli XCX (real name: Charlotte Aitchison) was just 14 when she recorded her first two songs in her bedroom. After posting them online, the tracks caught the attention of local club promoters, who requested she perform live at their venues.

Growing up as any impressionable teen girl during Britney Spears' most formidable years, Charli looked up to the pop princess and even set her sights on emulating her career. But as time went on and Charli's style matured, so did her tastes. Despite leaving her fondness for Spears to her youth, Charli still respects the pop star's production, heralding songs like "Hit Me Baby One More Time."

"I guess I just realized that I wanted to make my weird pop album and write the Britney sh** for other people," she told Radio.com. And that's exactly what she did. Charli is the writer behind Icona Pop's smash "I Love It."

Despite Charli's ability to write snappy club anthems, she much prefers the darker fare, evident in songs like "Cloud Aura". With a potpourri of '80s influences, she feels most comfortable referring to herself as a pop artist, yet it seems those filling out her shows are more interested in the underground. That said, her songs are undeniably pop in their instrumentation, so it is worth wondering: Will American pop radio embrace her edginess?