Charli XCX is on good form. “I don’t want to go to school... I just wanna break the rules!” she bellows, to the delight of her predominantly young audience.

Full of teenage girls, and some boys, the singer’s fans were hooked from the moment her towering platforms bounded on to the stage at Monday’s gig.

Flanked by her Charli’s Angels, as they’re known for wearing angel wings with their silver sequin dresses, the star was full of attitude and energy from the word go.

The 22-year-old, known as Charlotte Emma Aitchison to her parents, certainly does her best to break the rules. Some of the mums and dads in the crowd, who clearly had been dragged along by their teenage daughters, covered a few ears during Charli’s first performance of the night.

Known for her eye-catching attire, the zebra print-clad artist didn’t disappoint and opened with the somewhat explicit but very energetic Sucker, with her all-female band rocking away beside her. I was more surprised at the number of very young fans she’d managed to attract on a Monday night, albeit half-term. Stood next to us were two girls, who were at their first gig, who were no older than 10. They’d travelled from London, obviously with parents in tow, to see their idol in the flesh.

Like many others, fingers glued to Instagram to post their pictures of the pop princess, they were mesmerised by Charli. And it’s easy to see the attraction.

Just like my generation with the Spice Girls, Charli XCX manages the perfect balance of rebellion and girly pink sparkle. Two songs in and the star was handed a giant inflatable guitar for her hit Breaking Up, but she managed to pull it off brilliantly with most wondering how she managed to walk, let alone dance, in those skyscraper heels.

Her rise has been long in the making. First spotted just 14 — the same age as many of the girls in the audience — her debut album True Romance was released in 2013. But Sucker, her third, is the first to gain mainstream attention. And it’s not bad to start with being named best pop album of 2014 by Rolling Stone.

Of course it helps when you co-write hits for others including the Icona Pop single I Love it, which sold more than two million copies in America, Iggy Azalea’s Fancy selling a staggering seven million copies worldwide, and not to forget her favourite track Doing It, on which she collaborated with Rita Ora.

Closing on Boom Clap, her first solo UK number one, Charli still had a screaming crowd to rock out to, even if it was way past most of their bedtimes.

A modern-day Britney, Charli offers a refreshing change to some of the safe and mundane pop on offer at the moment. And her infectious energy and feistiness has got fans wanting more rule-breaking.

KEELEY RODGERS