It’s brat summer, and the world is dancing along to Charli XCX’s new song “Apple.” But will her fiancé, George Daniel, participate in the internet moment? Not so fast.
TikToker Kelley Heyer created a viral dance inspired by Charli XCX’s tune, off her “Brat” album. Celebrities like Ashley Tisdale, Brooke Shields and “Twisters” stars Daisy Edgar Jones, Glen Powell and Anthony Ramos did videos to the dance.
Charli XCX posted a TikTok of herself trying to convince Daniel to play along and film a video of his own.
“Baby, why don’t you want to do ‘Apple,’ though? I think you should do the ‘Apple’ dance,” she says. “People want to see you do it.” The caption says, “Tried my best,” indicating that her best efforts didn’t work.
Curious to learn more about Charli XCX’s other half? Here’s what they’ve shared.
He’s a drummer for the band The 1975
Daniel is a drummer for the English pop rock band The 1975. The band also consists of three other members: Matty Healy, Ross MacDonald and Adam Hann.
The 34-year-old and his bandmates became friends as teenagers when they were attending school together.
Per the New Yorker, they formed an “emo band that cycled through a series of emo names: Me and You Versus Them, Forever Drawing Six, the Slowdown, Drive Like I Do.”
While chatting with the publication, Daniel said of his relationship with Healy, “You love them more than anyone else in the world, and you cut them less slack than anyone else in the world.”
He inspired one of her songs
While Charli XCX doesn’t share much about their relationship, she said, in a TikTok video, he inspired her song “Talk talk.”
The song dated back to a “specific moment” from their relationship when they “were not together” but were “very into each other.”
“We were at the NME Awards. We were both (sitting at) different tables, and we were like texting each other, but we weren’t hanging out,” she said. “But we were both looking over at each other — it was very like, one of us would look, and the other one would look away, and then vice versa.”
In her song “Talk talk,” the musician sings about following someone to the restroom. She said she actually did that in real life.
“I saw that he went to the bathroom, so I was like, ‘Oh, I’ll go to the bathroom, and maybe we’ll bump into each other, and then we won’t be like texting all the time,” she said. “But then I got halfway there, and I was like, this is insane and then I went and sat down again.”
Daniel and Charli XCX have collaborated on songs
The British musicians have collaborated on several occasions over the years.
Per Rolling Stone UK, the pair first teamed up professionally in 2021 while working on the single “Spinning,” which featured Charli XCX, No Rome and The 1975. Since then, the couple has collaborated on several occasions.
While chatting with Rolling Stone UK, Charli XCX spoke about the unique dynamic they while working in the studio as a couple.
“We want to impress each other, and we think we’re both really good, but I’m actually such a b—- in the studio with George,” she said. “Because we’re obviously so close, you lose everything in terms of the normal studio boundaries.”
All kidding aside, the musicians have found a way to make music together professionally and personally.
“We flow really well, and he leaves a lot of space for people to breathe and be them and do their process,” she said.
Charli XCX applauded her beau’s producing skills in a 2023 post on X.
“My boyfriend is really hot AND he’s a great producer! who says men can’t multitask???” she wrote.
His career as a musician and drummer dates back to high school
In a 2016 interview with Coup de Main, Daniel said he started playing the drums in high school.
“I don’t really know why I wanted to start playing drums, I just did at school,” he said.
He started studying production also on a whim. “I took music tech, and then I still wasn’t really sure whether I had any kind of talent in it, and I did this film score arrangement for my GCSE exam and got full marks. I was just like, ‘What?’ I thought it was a mistake,” he said.
He continued to study production at college while the band was working on their own music.
Charli XCX applauded her beau’s producing skills in a 2023 post on X.
“My boyfriend is really hot AND he’s a great producer! who says men can’t multitask???” she wrote.
The couple confirmed their engagement in 2023
Daniel and Charli XCX announced their engagement in 2023 via a now deleted Instagram post.