On the evening of February 22, after almost a month of anticipation, Charli XCX’s Boiler Room rave, Party Girl, took over Brooklyn.

After receiving an astonishing 25,000 RSVPs within the first few hours of the announcement, the largest count in Boiler Room history, New Yorkers have undoubtedly been thirsting for the British electropop star since her last visit in 2022, while on tour for her latest album CRASH. Throughout the week leading up to the show, it felt like everyone was refreshing their inboxes to see if they had made it to the guest list or asking their connected friends to snag them a plus one or leak the address.

The event was held at a warehouse in Bushwick, which had been completely transformed for the night. The DJ booth was surrounded by a railed balcony, so extra special guests could watch the crowd and performers from above, while the dance floor below was filled with mere press, media, and influencers; a risky but humbling approach for those used to special treatment. Party Girl was no doubt part of the artist’s promotion for her sixth album, which will lean in a more raw and confrontational club-pop direction. If the energy of the night is any indication as to how it will go over, I’d say some XCX club-pop bops are what people have been waiting for.

To kick things off, the night opened with DJ sets from Doss, who warmed up the crowd with a palatable set, teetering on hardcore techno at a few glorious moments, and EasyFun, producer of Von Dutch, the first song of the new album to be released next week. Charli arrived soon after, with producer and DJ A.G. Cook and The 1975 drummer and producer (not to mention her fiancée), George Daniel. As soon as she stepped behind the booth, the phones were out, flashing recordings blinding everyone, and all ears were blown out from the screaming of the crowd—an arrival fit for the music star. Charli’s DJ set was a mix of spinning and performances, with special guest appearances from Addison Rae and none other than New York it-girl, Julia Fox—who shocked the crown by performing her own debut song, referencing her New York Times best-selling book Down the Drain. A.G. Cook and George Daniel closed out the performance with some DJ sets of their own, alternating between breathier beats and bass-heavy tracks that reverberated through the floor (and Charli’s voice echoing the warehouse as she screamed “That’s my man!”)

In a mere three hours, months of planning around the sound and stage design culminated with one of Charli’s first smash hits I Love It—which everyone did. It’s undeniable the event might go down in history as Boiler Room’s “most-missed out on”—sorry, party girls. The exclusivity of the event didn’t go over well for all of Charli’s fans, though, only the brave and lucky got to witness the magic, as one successful event crasher explained to V, “I scaled a 10-foot fence that was pretty easy to get through at one particular corner. Some people smoking saw me as I made the 6-foot drop and pointed and laughed; I gave them a thumbs up and ran in.” She adds, “I knew if I really wanted to get into this party, I’d get in. I mean, women can do anything.”